Pete

I have a VW GTI VR6 for my winter car

Doug

Well, as of October 30, I have placed my car in hibernation. Was not happy at all, that the weather was half descent, but I made by descision.

I have it stored in underground parking at my apartment building, with a new car cover made by Wolf Automotive and it fits perfectly, even the mirror pockets.

I will start it up twice a month and move it monthly so keep the tires from flatening on one side.

Do any of you have any other recomendations??

Doug

Hybrid-RX8

If anyone is looking for a beater let me know.. I will be selling my winter beater for about 2.5-3K. It is a 92 CIVIC in pretty good condition.. power windows, locks... with new tires just bought this past summer.

herbert

Doug: Can u provide more info on the car cover ? Colour, price, fit, website ? I was planning on going to Cdn tire and getting one but if you have something that's nice looking and inexpensive, I'd like to hear about it.

Thanks for any info.

Hard-Body

Intrigue...this is of course a Canada forum, but your bragging got me thinking and I decided to check a few things out and Low and behold....YOU GET SNOW! Not much but I think you need to recant your claim


San Antonio Snowfall 1885 through Winter of 2004 in Inches

Feb. 14, 1895......4.2 Dec. 21, 1929......2.9 Jan. 11, 1973......0.8
Jan. 25, 1897......0.2 Jan. 21-22, 1940...3.2 Feb. 8-9, 1973.....2.1
Dec. 14, 1898......2.7 Feb. 3, 1941.......0.1 Jan. 13, 1982......0.5
Dec. 18, 1906......3.0 Jan. 14, 1944.......1.1 Jan. 2, 1985.......2.4
Feb. 17, 1910......0.1 Jan. 30, 1949......4.7 Jan. 11-13, 1985..13.5
Mar. 8-9, 1915.....1.9 Jan. 1, 1951.......0.5 Jan. 21, 1987......1.3
Jan. 10, 1918......0.4 Feb. 14, 1951......0.4 Feb. 7, 1988.......0.1
Feb. 4-5, 1923.....1.0 Nov. 23, 1957......0.3 Feb. 8, 2003.......0.1
Dec. 28, 1925......1.0 Feb. 11-12, 1958...1.2 Feb. 13-14, 2004...0.7
Jan. 23-24, 1926...6.4 Feb. 21, 1964......2.0
Dec. 21, 1927......0.2 Feb. 22-23, 1966...3.5

Hard-Body

Parker8;

I hope I didn't claim that I took it back for brakes- just that they are squealing occasionally and that I know of the "dealer warranty replacement" that has been posted here on the board. I haven't done anything yet about them. It is occasional enough that I won't do it until it gets worse- which it might. Meanwhile I will wear out their brakes. I might do it in the spring...

halfon

Stored my RX-8 today. Removed battery. Filled up with gasoline and added additive from Canadian Tire to prevent stale gasoline. The car is on jacks. I asked the Mazda dealer and initially they told me that overinflated tires would have been enough with not jacks. However, two mechanics at Mazda advised me that the jacks help prepvent problems with the wheel bearings.

Washed the car by hand in 4 degrees weather. Gave it a good cleaning inside and protected it with the cover I used to have for an MX-6. The cover is fitting perfectly.

Wake up time will be in mid-May 2005.

Danielson

[B]Well, I drove my 8 all winter long last year without any problem (with winter tires) and will do it again this winter...love driving it too much to put it away for so long.

MyRxBad

iTrader: (1)

I'm wondering what type of story they gave you about the possible wheel bearing damage. The car was desinged to be rolling on them all the time.
Just put about 5more psi in the tires and you won't have to worry about flatspotting the tires.

herbert

I had mine out for 20 minutes yesterday...took a break from working (at home) to go get some gas and a quick spin. It still has the stock tires on it. I just can't make up my mind about putting it away for the winter. I'm in denial about the fact that the snow's gonna start flying soon - like this morning in T.O. - and that it's going to be many months before I can drive again.

The indecision is driving me nuts !!!

Halfon: you're waiting until mid-May to take yours out ? I've never stored a car for the winter. Do you really have to wait that long ? That'd just kill me.

halfon

Yes, I keep mine in storage until mid May for a simple reason.

I am an accountant and I will be too busy with personal, business and corporate tax returns to drive for pleasure until May anyway.

herbert

Gotcha.

I'm thinking I'll be taking the Rx-8 out in January and going to get winter tires. I just don't think I'm going to last through the winter. I might have to put a plow on the MX-3 to clear a way to the garage though :D

foxman

I was really nervous today as we had some very light snow and freezing overnight. I am not swapping out tires but cars. I have a '96 Dodge Dakota that I can use in the winter. Anyway, right before I am getting ready to leave the house, my mom calls from her work and says that her parking lot is completely glazed over. Well I go ahead and chance it anyway with my summer tires and it was ok, whew!.

Basically I am going to drive the truck on bad snow/ice days and drive the 8 whenever I can. Typically we get a couple of bad snows that last for a week or so and that is pretty much it.

Mistersql

Even though I bought winter tires for it I've decided to park it after all. I'll probably do that this weekend.

Yeah it sounds funny to have spend all kinds of crazy money on tires but I just think that the money I gain with the resale value will outweigh the money spent on snows.

I'm not really ready to post 'winter tires for sale' just yet since I had a tough time parking the car last year just after I had bought it. I had it for a month and parked it, I only ened up taking it out in mid April. At least this year, the snows are already on it when I park it, if I get too much of an urge I'll just give the insurance co. a quick call and put it back on the road.

pot8r

I'm done for the winter. I'm doing the same thing this year as last year, gas stabilizer, and take it out in the driveway for 15 min every other week. I'll drive the 3 for the winter. I'm already looking forward to March 15th.

lafrad

My apartment has a heated garage (the basement) that is kept at 76 deg F, and warmer right after everyone comes home from work (warm engines), and has a softened water hose for washing your car. I got the snow tires and will be driving all winter long.

There really is no sense in spending all the money on a car that can be driven all year (with appropriate tires), making payments all year, and putting it away for 4+ months.......

rotten42

correct...especially when winter lasts as long as it does here. (calgary) Besides I've been turning off the DSC and having a little fun on the back roads. man, this car is balanced nice. Not once has it ever felt like the back end was going to go all the way around when I'm hang'n it out around corners......great fun!

pot8r

What makes sense to me may well not make sense to you, I agree. It makes no sense to me to put the 8 through the winter beating that is driving in salt and slush for four months. It makes more sense to drive the 3 around town and the SUV on longer jaunts. I have no payments, I have other rides, and I want to have the 8 a LONG time, and I want it to be in great shape the whole time.

BTW, I used to drive the 7 all year way back when 'cause it made sense to me then.

scoop

"There really is no sense in spending all the money on a car that can be driven all year (with appropriate tires), making payments all year, and putting it away for 4+ months......."

Hmmm and there is no sense to in spending all that money on a car AND then trash the heck out of it by rusting it out with salt. Get the finish sand blasted off and be nervous as hell having a bunch of morons come sliding at you out of control. Payments or not a you could keep a sports car in pristine condition for 20 years or more, drive it every winter and it will be heap of junk in 10 years. I think that some of the views expressed here may be a little short sighted. When you add up the cost of winter wheels/tires and extra wear and tear/depreciation you are probably looking at the value of a winter beater. The car may be drivable in winter but it is very far from an ideal winter car, both my Audi and Subaru are far more drivable in winter. Actually any FWD sedan with skinny winter tires would also be better, they will also stop faster, corner better and be more stable than huge honken SUVs which are not on my pick list. For what other people are dumping into winter tires I got my hands dirty this past summer and dumped tons of parts into my 14 year old Audi. The car is in fantastic mechanical condition now and there is peace of mind driving it through anything because it doesn't owe me a thing. I understand the attachment to the new toy and it is difficult to park it but it's even more difficult in my mind torture it. Besides when you park it and then take it out in April it's like getting a new car all over again.

Also taking the car in and out of a heated garage everyday is really hard on it. When the car comes in from the cold, moisture condenses all over it like crazy, combine that with some salt, super high humidity from all the ice and snow melting off other cars and you have set up perfect conditions for corrosion. You are far better off to leave the car outside frozen like a rock all winter.

Being a west coast boy originally I wouldn't park the car there except for a few snow days, I am only talking eastern winters that eat cars . . .

Pete

i still pull mine out from time to time here in toronto.. Weather is still above avg

pot8r

Because I have a teenager of driving age, and three rides, if I tell my insurance company I'm parking the 8 for the winter, I actually save about $1000 in insurance. The flip side is that once I park it, I can not take it out on an unseasonally nice day.

daddyg

i guess it all depends on what you want with your rx8. most of us probably want to get as much enjoyment out of it now, and aren't necessarily looking to preserve it for 20 years.

to each his own. if the roads get bad enough here in toronto (and so far, it's been mild), then i'll just keep off the roads.

Lschiavo

On my crappy winter car, the engine's temperature gauge does not seem to move at all, even if I drive for 3 hours. I would not expose my 8's engine to -20 C, even on winter tires. Poor engines on your car! :D

lafrad

I have no doubt that the Rotary will be able to warm itself up NO PROBLEM on those -20 deg F days that you get once in awhile.

If your gauge doesn't move on your other car, I wouldn't trust it to go 3 miles, as I would sure as HELL not want to break down and walk the rest at -20.... you might want to get your thermostat/water pump/engine coolant checked out

scoop

You know that temperature gauge not moving may simply be a failed open thermostat that's worth all of maybe $7 plus a few bucks worth of coolant. It is normal for them to fail open on some cars so they don't overheat and failure is relatively common in older cars. The car will suck a lot more gas if the engine doesn't reach normal operating temperature, your heater won't work as well either and the emissions will by higher so there might be some risk to the cat. My winter car was like that all last winter though, I fixed it during the summer and the car is none the worse for it . . . You could also see if the gauge moves if the car is sitting still at idle for a while or if you put a bit of cardboard in front of the rad, that will tell you if the guage actually works. There is simply too much cooling in winter if the thermostat is stuck open and cold air is moving across the rad, sitting still it should warm up. I would personally do a little investigation as it may not be all that big a deal to fix and you might actually save money on fuel in the end.

I offically pulled the driving coverage off the 8 today, I am afraid the nice days have come to an end . . .