Winter Car..?

[KDMatt]

I've been looking at lots of cars lately ... I miss being mobile and it's never fair to take the Z out into the snow, I'm curious to know what some of our snow/salt-belt drivers use in the snowy season, seeing as I am now on the hunt myself.

Oh, and if someone has a rust-bucket/beater 2nd or 3rd gen Z, now is the time to speak up!

I've been hunting 2nd gen Escorts, 2nd gen Preludes, Rx7's ... Corolla Sr5's ... Accords, Civics... lots of fun stuff...

[rewiredz]

i drive an 87 jeep Cherokee. decent snow machine even without very good tires on it. I've never been stuck, even when there was snow above the front bumper.it has an inline 6, so i still get around 22-25 mpg. probably would be better if it had a few less miles on it, 340,000. otherwise i would say something with front wheel drive usually does good in moderate snow fall. if its just for around Minneapolis you should be ok, they keep the roads pretty clean.

on a side note, do you go to the u of m?

[KDMatt]

A Jeep would be a pretty sweet snow car, but yes I agree all I really need is front wheel drive... but I'd be okay with rear wheel drive too.

Here are the two top contenders for me right now:

http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/car/480722991.html

http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/car/477301622.html

This dude I met told me the best winter car he ever had was a 280zx with monster snow tires. (I sort of want to try that out, and it would be nice, considering I know the L28 like the back of my hand now :rambo:)

Oh, and I'm not actually at the U of M, but close... right across the street from the West Bank pretty much.

[dogma420]

Although I haven't used them on my current 72 Z, I have some mounted big studded snow tires for it, and I'm temporarily living at about 1000 feet elevation in the West Hills in Portland, and if it snows anywhere in the Portland area, it's just around where I live, and 'if' I use my Z at all this Winter, I might just mount these tires...an S30 Z actually isn't a bad snow car, as long as you have traction, I've found. They are a nightmare with just regular radials on the back in snow/ice.

I use a heavy rear wheel conversion Van right now, which works just fine in the Portland area!

[DougN]

Matt,

Of the two you listed, I'd probably go with the Honda, I used to drive Accords when I did 30K+ miles per year and was exiled to Upstate NY. I put 4snow tires on in the winter, and never had a problem or got stuck in all the snow up there. See if the timing belt has been changed, as IIRC, 130K is about time to do that on the Accord, and it can be costly.

[hd240z]

My winter beater is a 97 Jeep Grand Cherokee. Never been stuck in a mid-west snow storm yet. Buying gas for it is painful though.

Front wheel drive cars do well in winter snow as long as the tires are skinny and have good aggressive tread. My son drives a 98 Accord to school in Illinois. It does good on gas and handles the bad weather pretty well.

[ggarrard]

I used to always had a winter "wreck" that saved the Zeds from the snow (usually cheap beater datsun 510s), but these days my daily driver (2000 Nissan Altima SE) is used all year round. The key is having 4 good snow tires. Much safer turning and braking than just 2. I put snows on all our cars for the winter (Altima, Mazda Protege P5, and Honda van). I'm on a first name basis with the local tire shop!!

GWGarrard

[zbane]

Matt, of those two, I would choose the Accord. Before you buy it though, check into the timing belt (as previously mentioned) as well as the CV joints. If you hear a clicking sound when turning, one of them is going out, and if one is going, the other is not far behind and will start clicking soon after you replace the first one (personal experience).

Check the trunk out-sometimes a seal goes bad somewhere and water will mysteriously appear. Again, experience.

Ditto on the comments about snow tires. I had installed "all season" radials which should be called "three seasons; all if no snow or ice." FWD can be a great thing, but if there is ice to contend with, there just isn't enough weight in front to push down enough to matter. 2nd gear starts help to alleviate this, but even then it is a pain in the rear. Also, the rear drums lock easily when on the slippery stuff-I slid through many stoplights in Santa Fe, even when I was only driving about 10 mph.

During good weather, the Accord can be a very spirited driver as is, and generally returns good to great gas mileage. I drove mine from NC to Chicago and got @ 40 mpg with cruise control at posted limits (or close, anyway).

[dogma420]

I should also say that up until now, Oregon has never used chemicals or salt on the roads in the Winter, just gravel...so that has a lot to do with even thinking about driving my Zed in the snow...

I have noticed Washington county using spray trucks in the last few years, to tell you the truth, I'm not sure if this harms cars or not...this spray is put down the day before it's supposed to snow (anyone in other parts of the country would laugh at that, but it doesn't snow here much at all)....anyone else out this way know anything about that spray that they're starting to use?

[e_racer1999]

why not look for an old suby? awd in snow ftw!

[ggarrard]

Dogma240 - My understanding of the spray is that it is basically liquified salt, and the advantage is it begins melting the snow more quickly than regular rock salt. It also is not swept off the road surface the way the rock salt is with traffic. But it is still calcuim, so it will eventually cause harm to your vehicle. Our rule of thumb up here is to store our toys well before the first sign of winter, and bring them out only after a few good rainfalls in the spring.

GWGarrard

[KDMatt]

why not look for an old suby? awd in snow ftw!

Not a bad idea, I can't find any older ones though, not at those kinds of prices.

The accord I posted sold.

I think I'm gonna go look at a 3rd gen Prelude now... one of those All-wheel-steering thingers.

I'll keep you posted.