I am going to have to drive this car through the harsh Canadian winter. Any tips on rotary care when driving in -30, -35 degree weather? As it is I let it warm up everytime before driving, until the choke goes in, and I don't drive like mad when its real fridged, also I keep it plugged in whenever its sitting for long periods of time. I noticed today (-29) that the clutch was pretty stiff, and took awhile to come back up when I depressed it. Is that just because of it being a hydrolic clutch, or is there possibly water in there?

 

EVERY PEICE THAT IS LUBED IS GOING TO HELL
just be easy on it let the berings get a tad warm

 

I drove mine no problem in some below 0 Minnesota winter months.

 

I race a mazda rx-7 on ice at -40 - 0 and it sometimes gets push started cause at -40 most things don't want to start, just let it warm up and it should be just fine. Have only blown up 1 12a while racing and it pukked 2 apex seals, 2 racing seasons, then it sat for 8 years before being pull started with atf through the carb, BUT it kicked the crap out of a couple of hondas before it died!!!!!!

 

Any Ideas on the clutch?

 

Yeah the fluid in the clutch gets kinda sluggish at -40 weather. When it gets really cold the tranny oil will become so thick that the car will lurch forward when you start it, even when it's out of gear. I guess the brakes would act up, but they're vaccum boosted so you don't notice.

I recommend an oil of at least 5w30 weight for our winters, last year I used 0w30. The lighter the oil the easier it moves in sub-zero temps. Also upon startup, keep the revs below 2k. I know that the choke wants to rev the car into the 3k range, but that's too high, IMHO. You may want to place some cardboard over a portion of the radiator to help the car retain heat. My '79 cools too well and will not maintain temperature during idle or light throttle.

Good luck.

 

one night last year it was incredibly cold and when i started me car the clutch was really hard to press, i couldnt move the shifter, and the tach didnt work untill it warmed up!

that really freaked me out!

 

in denver winters i had a rear disc lock up(gsl) when i would park and set the e brake it would freese up and wouldnt let go untill i got the stuff warm.... meaning slide a tire for 20 feet and then the brake would release a little and then the rotor would slide and drag and get hot and then it would pop free... 1/2 mile most of the time and she was warm... funny part is the brakes would smoke just after this was done dam i loved carbon kevlar street pads

 

I was kinda worried this mornig when I started my car. It lurched forward, like the clutch was going, and I just changed that about a month and a half ago...... whew...... is there some kind of clutch fuild anti freeze stuff, or something that removes moisture?