lanceC

Can i posibley drive a first gen dailey in the winter. waybe with a set of blizaks and some weight? what are your thoughts.

85 FB

Last winter (in Jan '06), I was able to drive my car out of a snow-laden small-gravel driveway, onto an unplowed snowy road, and onto another unplowed road. All on tires with very low tread (about 4/32 or 3/32). The car came out as if it was born in the snow. All that was else in the car was me and I don't weight that much. There have been many a story of people performing amazing feats with their 7's in the snow.

It mostly depends on how much tread you have on your tires. The newer the tire, the better. Also, having a full tank of gas helps as it gives extra weight onto your rear wheels. It also depends on how well you drive. Having a manual is much better than the slushbox automatic.

Rx-7Doctor

iTrader: (13)

The 7 will handle just fine in snow. With good winter tires and either keep the tank full or throw a bag of cement in the hatch area. Just use common sense when driving in the snow, avoid hard braking which means plan in advance to slow down before you come to a signal or stop sign and allow your self more space inbetween you and the car in front of you.

85 FB

Translation: Downshift way ahead of time and let that motor engine-brake for you to slow you down.

Sgt.Stinkfist

iTrader: (6)

and wash the salt and crap off frequently, unless you want a rusty 7

85 FB

Amen to that. Spend a couple bucks at the Do-It-Yourself carwash booths and take that high pressure gun to the underbelly of your car and wheel wells. It's what I did recently to ensure all that crap was off the bottom of my car.

twinkletoes

iTrader: (17)

Sure you can.. i think.. i dont have snow here, i would think so if you had snow tires and chains and know how to drive in it. Listen to all the above too, good info.

85 FB

You don't even need snow tires and chains; just a good set of all-season. Altho, in your area, it'd probably be best for snow tires. Avoid chains. My tires were mismatched all-season radials (thanks to the previous owner) and low on tread (also thank the previous owner) and it handled fairly well just fine on its own on unplowed roads. Altho, it didn't make it up an incline of a road and got stuck in between both inclines. (thank the previous owner for the low tread tires)

twinkletoes

iTrader: (17)

ok, well like i said, no snow here, but that was my thought. Listen to them...i'll stay out of it. God bless

elwood

iTrader: (1)

Where does this fallacy come from? I had to break my wife of this idea. Downshifting in slippery conditions is like putting on the parking brake. It tends to lock the rear wheels, which tends to put the car into pirouettes. Your car will stop best under any conditions by using the middle pedal -- period.

83rx7boy92

^^^exactly when i bought my rx7 it was only driven in snow once in its life time my uncle was coming to an intersection downshifted and the rear tires locked up and he went sideways throught the intersection......he turned around went home parked it and never drove it in winter again for fear of crashing

Naegleria_Fowleri

Do you guys not rev match?

All it takes is a lot of understanding of the conditions. Brake way early. Mainly just don't do anything stupid with the car and you'll be fine.

elwood

iTrader: (1)

Yes, I rev match, but the post implied it was a good idea to use the engine as a braking aid in the snow. The only time it's a good idea to use the engine as a brake is on a very long, very steep downhill descent so as not to overheat the brakes. Under any other circumstances, using the engine as a brake is bad.

Naegleria_Fowleri

I agree, but I've never locked the rear end up bad enough to go completely sideways through an intersection. Maybe a bit of a kick sideways in the snow, but nothing out of control in the least.

FirebirdSlayer666

iTrader: (3)

I've driven 2 winters in my 7 and have had zero problems. You just have to know how to drive in adverse weather conditions and to know what to happen in emergency situations. I've just had all season tires and no weight. Only problem is maybe some traction loss trying to go from a stop. But man are they so much fun to just kick out and have some fun with!

notveryhappyjack

iTrader: (4)

I wouldn't downshift to slow down, if you plan on downshifting also plan on the car jumping about 100 plus degrees sideways the second the clutch comes out.

FBsliderseven

iTrader: (2)

heh im lucky i live in hawaii, one day it will snow here when the world decides to freeze over.
snow day!

clbsinvaders

Lol, it's not fun to have proxes in the snow.

fluffysheap

I think the reason people advocate downshifting instead of braking in the snow is that you cannot lock up the front wheels and lose your steering control. But, I concur, it is a stupid idea. Just drive gently.

Oh, and yeah, high performance summer tires aren't great. I've had Yoko AVS Intermediate, AVS Sport and Michelin Pilot Sports, the AVS Sport were actually almost drivable, but all three of them got me stuck in my driveway on more than one occasion. Have a spare set of wheels with snow tires or a winter car if you are planning on getting more than a dusting of snow.

Of course, if you have all season radials instead of high performance ones, you'll be fine, just be careful.

85 FB

Hmm, probably because I've done it before under the right circumstances and it hasn't failed me yet? If you know which RPM to do it at and depending on the road surfaces, it works just fine. As someone else said, it's called rev-matching. So, why don't you take that period and stick it where the sun don't shine? Oh yeah, and I drive large large trucks for a living and had to do that as well; also with no complications. Period.

elwood

iTrader: (1)

Take your emotions out of this, and be rational. Just because you got away with something doesn't make it a good idea. We all do dumb things and get away with them because of exceptional skill or luck -- that doesn't make it a recommended practice.

The reason I care about this particular one is that the idea of using engine braking to make winter driving safer is just plain wrong. There are lots of young, impressionable drivers who read this stuff and might end up in an accident because of it.

84RX_Se7en

If you have LSD and good tires they will handle like a 4 wheel drive car. No ****. I was out blazing past everyone with no problems in 6" to a foot on the roadways and two feet on the grass.

Everyone else was slipping and sliding and I was able to accelerate without spinning either way and then brake using engine-brake.

Aviator 902S

Probably the same young inexperienced drivers who think that just because they've spent an hour practicing how to drift in an empty parking lot they somehow qualify as professional rally drivers. Accidents involving these morons are not accidents but rather, eventualities.

I've been driving since the late '70s and live in Canada--- a place where snow is a factor every winter. Since the arrival of anti-lock brakes the downshifting technique has been rendered obsolete on vehicles so equipped.

But 1st gen RX7s don't have anti-lock. Down-shifting not only allows the driver to retain the ability to steer in slippery conditions, it also allows the rear wheels to continue to rotate, albiet slower. In other words, the rear wheels don't lockup unless the brakes are applied with sufficient force.

True, the rear wheels will "drag" (while still rotating at a slower speed than the car is travelling) as the car is being slowed down, and this may cause a minor degree of fish-tailing if the front wheels are sufficiently cut into a turn. But any driver who can't control this probably doesn't possess the necessary skills to be driving in icy conditions to begin with. The (potential) negative results of downshifting would pale in comparison to the much more likely results of said amateur to lock up the brakes under braking alone (no downshifting) and go skidding into on-coming traffic.

BTW, the 1st gen's near-50/50 weight distribution makes it an excellent winter driver, especially with the LSD-equipped GSLs and GSL-SEs. No sand-bags required. But why would anybody want to see a 1st gen destroyed by rust? There are way too few of them in pristine condition and salted roads are the primary reason for this, at least on the colder climes. We now park our 1st gens in the winter and drive expendable Toyota Tercels instead.

85 FB

84RX_Se7en & Aviator 902S, I concur.

I've been driving since I was 10, and grew up in a country (Russia) where snow was an everyday occurence, so my snow-driving habits have been strong since. While I can understand your reasons on this topic, everyone has their own driving habits and opinions. Many people will say that downshifting is bad because you'll upset the rear of the car and spin out (those that do not know how to drive/new drivers), yet a lot of other people, including myself, will say that proper rev-matched, low RPM downshifting is more beneficial because you're using the engine to slow the wheels equally, verus the brakes where if you stepped on them, even moderately, you run the risk of those wheels sliding on the ice because they've locked up. Plus, the brakes compress all four brakes, verus rev-matched downshifting slows just the rear wheels (unless you drive an AWD car, then it slows all wheels equally) to allow proper steering, and in case you need to make a sudden acceleration change. That's why I don't use just my brakes.

I used to do just the brakes, and would end up going where I did not want to be going. This is why I prefer the manual, because I have complete control over the car.

I suppose the best way to address this to the young, impressionable drivers is to not perform such techniques until they have enough experience under their belt. And, I don't feel like making this a huge post of proper driving techniques and how to do what because that is something that only passion, drive, and many miles in various environments will net you. However, I still stand by my theory of rev-matched downshifting because it has gotten me out of situations where getting on the brakes (even gently) only would've caused an accident.

lanceC

Thanks i wasent shore if it could be done i have driven camaros in the winter but there are a bit heaver. Im shore i can handal it. and yes i would defenetley clean the underbodey often.