Yeah I read the faq... What I'm wondering is how reliable are FC's in the winter not how driveable they are. It can get pretty cold here, minus 30 celsius cold. I've heard some horror stories from the head mechanic where I worked. Now I don't know how much he understands about rotaries but I've still been wondering since the rotary engine is composed of multiple metals. We all know different expension rates work both ways.

 

Yes </thread>

 

^

You'll want to make sure you're running 10W-30 oil (try pouring a bottle of 20W-50 in the middle of the winter - it's amusing).

Beyond that, make sure you've got a good battery, no water in the brake lines (it'll freeze & screw with the brakes if there's enough), and you should be fine.

You'll definitely want to let it warm up before going anywhere, though it will most likely enforce this on it's own. When I drove my FC around in 0F (-10C or so) weather, until the transmission oil warmed up a bit, it wouldn't go in gear, would move in neutral, and if I did get it in gear, shifting was next to impossible. Letting it warm up (transmission in neutral, foot off clutch) for a few minutes got the tranny oil fluid enough to work.

-=Russ=-

 

i have succesfully driven my fc quite a few times in the winter. one day going to work i decided to check the weather and the temp for where i live was -4f (-20c) it took my car almost ten minutes to warm up but after that it was fine. but like Syonyk said it is a little hard to get in and out of gear but once warmed upit runs like a champ. hope this helps..

 

Most production engines are "composed of multiple metals" so the rotary ain't unique in that aspect.
You'd winterize your RX just like you would a Focus or a Civic.

During last winter's record breaking cold spell in Denver, mine started and ran just fine and I gained a real appreciation for the excellent heater.

 

only if you have a LSD. without one your going no where

 

Pas de trouble, normalement, si ta RX est bien entretenue, elle devrait partir au quart de tour. C'est meme plus fiable qu'un moteur a piston, t'as juste 3 morceaux qui bouge.....donc just 3 morceaux qui peuvent etre gelés.,,,,a part le TB biensure.

 

uh huh.......?

 

I'd say its more of a question, are you reliable in the winter?

 

uh huh.......?

 

The RX-7 is fine in the winter. Like any car, if it is in poor tune or has mechanical problems, they are going to be more evident in the cold weather and more likely to leave you at the side of the road.

Open diff, LSD, doesn't matter. Either one is totally drivable if you actually know how to drive. Unlike the summer, you can't do things like just dumping the clutch and hogging on the gas pedal.

A good set of snow tires on all 4 wheels make winter driving much safer in any car.

I drove RX-7s all year around until I bought the Honda daily driver in '03. My previous winter beater was a '78 SA and it did fine as well (Nikki carb, manual choke).

 

Well, I used to drive my 87 na all year until recently. There were a few -36 days (not including windchill) where almost all cars on the block froze solid except for the plug in cars. Mine was not plugged in and started right up, but that's me because I maintain my cars and had 25k on a new engine. I have never had a problem.

 

Yeah, I also drove 2 Rx-7's over a couple of winters when it was getting down to -40C and they would start and run like a champ. Neither of them had any sort of block heater, but they were using the same engine that was rebuilt within the last couple of years. Both had open diffs and they were fine. You just gotta take it easy. I also had 215/70R14's on them for the winter to give it a little lift. I never got stuck once which was amazing when you see how bad they are here at clearing the roads.

 

starting and running is all good - my car would do that too

but driving in the winter is another story
(maybe its because i didn't put snow tires on or any sandbags in the trunk) - with only like 2 inches of snow fallen in Denver while i was at work one night, i couldnt make it up the smallest grade hill
(i was aimed forward but rolling backward slowly) and also my traction would just slip totally out and i would almost lose complete control and at one point i did and gave my wheel major curb rash

so moral of the story is be prepared if you want to drive your rwd coupe all winter lol

 

I live in Ohio, & we get some severe weather during the winter... no problems w/ mine!

 

If you really want to drive the fc in the winter, you will need a lsd of some sort. It will make it oh so easier to get out of the snow.
Driving with only one wheel spinning is going to **** you off, or make you crash if you drive hard.
Anytime you drive on slippery surfaces, you will need both wheels to help accelerate, espicially if you are stuck in the snow.

My fc was very reliable in the snow.....except for the part where my exhaust fell off because the Y pipe was touching the snow in the middle of the road since my car is pretty low, which brings up another point. Put on bigger profile tires, and if you can raise the suspensions up. Hearing snow hitting the underside of your car is not very reassuring. Also a good set of snow tires will do wonder with traction.

 

Alright guys, I'm happy to know the car will be fine. I'm used to driving a crappy sonoma with no lsd and which weights just a tad more than the fc so I should be fine in the snow.

Merci de l'info. Tu habite dans le coin de Montréal je crois alors peut-être qu'on se croisera un jour.

 

turbos LOVE cold air.... It's like a drug addict who's broken into a dentist's office and found three bottles of nitrous!!!!

 

+1 10w30, snow tires, warming up before driving, snow tires, etc. Also undercoating (according to FAQ).

You can also get an electric block warmer (to keep the block warm overnight), I hear.

 

damn french canadians!!!!!!!!!!! j/k lol

 

+1

If you don't have a lsd it doesn't matter how good of a driver you are when the roads are covered in snow. I couldn't drive my SE when it snowed more then about 1 " One wheel would spin and the car would try to slide sideways. Its not safe.

 

+1
Do some chassis oil spray too! And tire chains = Awesome. 10W30FTW.

 

I drove my '91 NA in some of the worst NE weather you could imagine. It may not get as bad as -30C (-22F) But i've gone in some extreme cold. My car worked perfect. I remember driving up a steep slushy hill at 300RPM with my idiot lights on. I made it!

 

I got alot of rust spots just for driving my rx7 last winter. Buy some real good winter tires, you'll be sliding all over the place. Snow drifting is quite fun.