thegemini

Park it and forget about it mmmmm k. I lived in Maryland when I had my GSL SE and I got stuck so many times it wasnt funny, the car is way to low and you have to drive in 3 gear very slow or you will fish tail all day. I had so many problem just getting back into my parking space. Dont risk wrecking your baby or having so other idiot smash the little 7 up. These are just my personal thoughts, its took me forever to find my dream car and the last thing i want is for it totaled

tallbozo

iTrader: (5)

Without chains or traction tires, they aren't the best car to drive. Being so Lightweight is one issue. I threw some chains on in the rear and it was quite pleasant to drive.

trochoid

iTrader: (6)

It's almost June so why is this thread even brought back up, Post count? If one needs to worry about snow this time of year then it's time to move.

Naegleria_Fowleri

^That was the first thing I thought when I saw this thread pop up in my notifications.

Arthur Dent

my house - yesterday ... a bit abnormal for this time of year to be sure

Aviator 902S

I'll second that, since I live in Black Diamond. (For those unfamiliar, Airdrie is 1/2- hour north or Calgary, Alberta Canada --- which is about 5 hours north of Great Falls, Montana--- and black Diamond is 45 minutes south-west of Calgary).

This was a freak late-spring snow storm, dumping anywhere from 6 to 10 inches of the heavy wet stuff overnight and Thursday morning. The temp was a couple of degrees above freezing, but of course the snow forms at altitude, where it's below freezing.

Anyhoo, today (Friday) it was warm and balmy T-shirt weather, and all of the above snow has melted.

As for RX7s being bad in snow "because they're so light weight" I beg to differ: My old (rear-wheel-drive) 1974 Toyota Celica was also very light weight and excellent in snow. This might have had more to do with the tires (skinny winter treads vs. wider 185 70R 13 "all season" tires on the 7). In snow, skinny tires are your friend.

The fact that the 7 has more power on tap in the mid to upper rev range doesn't help either, but that's easy to remedy in snow: simply keep your right foot out of the equation.

Chiron

Mine does great in the snow. Studded tires are pretty nice (I took them when my dad's 81 got hit by a Yukon.....RIP you wonderful car).

I usually get quite a bit of snow, but the main streets are sanded when it gets bad.....so I go out early in the morning to practice going into and out of skids.

Surprisingly, my 85 does better than my friend's new outback! I don't understand
why..


At any rate, you'll be fine as long as you take it easy.

speedracer_not

with a near perfect 50 :50 front : back weight ratio with a full gas tank, you cannot go wrong

185 70 r 13 tires help, tall skinny tires help too

just undercoat the under carriage before winter.

PercentSevenC

+1 for downshifting in the snow. If you do it properly you can avoid any wheel lock-up or fishtailing, and anyway oversteer is easier to compensate for than understeer (i.e. locking up the fronts with the brakes).

While it doesn't snow often where I live, when it does it's extremely dangerous to drive, because it usually ices over and becomes ungodly slick (all the hills don't help). I dove my old GSL exactly one day in the snow, and even with LSD and decent all-weathers in the back it was sliding all over the place. I decided I'd rather take the bus to school after that, especially given Seattle drivers.

nopistons3

iTrader: (1)

my 1st gen handled sweet in the snow, better than any of my vans or proteges. Just have a good set of tires on the rear if need be put a bag of salt in it. 2ft of snow was no problem for me. My friends subaru was having trouble following me. keep gas in it, keep it washed from the salt, and let it warm up in the morning especially if its 20deg or below.

rx-7 obsessed

make sure you clean it every other day or it will end up like mine and the bins rusting through costing you 600 bux to get fixed and now running a Datsun 280 rear inner fender. i had mine out once in the snow i had a blast but don't drive to deep cuz u will never get out being Canadian too..the weather changes way to much i see snow i pull out the 89 Mazda mpv and put the rx in the garage...would recommend getting a winter car. keep yours in better shape anyways the interior takes a beating from all the salt trust me my floor mat turned white. i only have one floor mat that says rx-7 now

Paradox

iTrader: (1)

i had a blast driving in the snow with my GS, i really think a LSD makes cars much more difficult to drive in the snow/ice, but with the open diff you usually just end up spinning the drive tire instead of kicking the entire *** end out... out of all the car's ive owned including a FWD Cavalier i'd say my GS was the easiest and most fun to drive in the snow. you just have to expect it to slide around a bit and have some fun while doing it!

Aviator 902S

Actually the LSD was made for winter driving. If you don't have it, and one rear wheel spins on a patch of ice while stationary or moving very slowly, you're stuck--- because all the energy will be transferred to the spinning wheel while the one with traction remains stationary. But with LSD the other wheel will rotate, pulling you out.

1G Junkie

Down shifting in the snow or other conditions is essential to safely driving any manual vehicle. It is the only way to maintain control of your vehicle while slowing down. Too many inexperience drivers coast their vehicle in neutral; what if traffic starts to move and you engage to low a gear, now that would be dangerous.

I think the goal should be to drive the manual just like an automatic transmission would shift; I don't think anyone slowing down in an automatic shifts to neutral every time.

As far as winter dring your '7, it has been the best handling RWD vehicle I have ever driven (pre-traction control era); and that is with good tread all season tires. The best tip I can give you is when parking in the snow make sure you move the car back and forth several feet so that the snow get packed and you will not get stuck; this is with a non-LSD rear end.

I would agree with the members that say to get a disposable Tercel, that is exactly what I did too after my 1st '7 rusted out.

Good-Luck