In ie8 if elements don\'t \'repaint\' with the associated css when you change the classname, how can you force the browser to refresh and not kill ie8 performance?
var ie8 = whateverYouUseToDetectIE();
var element = document.getElementById("my-element");
element.className += " new-class";
if (ie8) {
element.fireEvent("resize");
}