Seven's in the Winter
 

Alright here is my dilemma guys and I need a pretty good answer to this one cause I am crying my way through it.

Ok I lost my winter car this past week. It was a 92 626 which I liked a lot and had plans for a turbo 4wd transfer but it pretty much got it's ass totaled.

Now I know I am not going to get loads of cash for the car so I need to decide.......

Sell my 89 GXL and combine my money to get an older subaru 2.5RS or an Audi Quattro 90 you know the ones with 4wd, bbs wheels, 4 doors, spoiler, and 5 cylinders.

Or get an older 7 and keep my newer, nicer one for the summer and run the older one in the winter as a beet along car. Now I am favorable towards the S4 and 5 but how would a 1st gen handle in the winter. I also know one of my friends used to drive his in the winter. Maybe like a s4 gxl for heaviness or something

Just some ideas but I could use some good answers guys. Thanks for the help, you have never let me down and I can't believe you are going to now. Thanks and later.

Id get the 2.5RS for winter and the 7 for summer.

Suck it up. It doesnt snow much in North Carolina.

Keep the 7 and invest the $ gotten from insurance. Now is not really the time to be selling and buying cars. Ecconomy sux.

The problem being I drive when I am in maine which is either in the winter or in the summer....don't drive in NC

I have an 86 GXL and it's so fun in the snow. You just need to get some good winter tires and it will by prety good in almost everything. Keep your 7 and put a sand bag right up against the back in the center.

Just think about how much fun you RX-7 will be when the snow melts, it should be enough to make you keep the 7.

get a GVR4 like me and add an 18G, FMIC, 660cc's, and S-AFC and 22 psi :) my winter car is faster than the summer FC...does that seem backwards to anyone?

How much does is snow in NC?

If it snows rarely, then I would say just drive the RX-7

Is buying a beater (as opposed to a first gen) an option? I have a T2 and a beater car that I got for under $1000. It works well for me, and its nice to not worry about where I park, if its wet out blah blah blah

Maine and the rest of your eastern seaboard seems to be taking a beating this winter.

I drive my 7 year-round, but the thing is the weather here in southwestern Ontario is moderate and our snow-removal crews seldom have trouble keeping up with what the sky dumps on us. So 90% of the time I'm driving on clear, dry roads.

When slush n' ice start to build up, my 7 has gone sliding where other cars have seemed to do okay. And that's with new all-season tires.

Choosing a 7 down there with the kind of season you seem to having... I'd urge you to reconsider.

Does the beater have to be a 7? Aren't there other cars that are more capable (capable of staying on the road in shitty conditions)?

I drive my TII in the winter! ha.. even tho it only snowed.. twice.. and now no snow... but it was fun as shit when there was snow!!!!

Oh, it's way fun! I love it!

But I'm not going to encourage the man to commit suicide. :)

I say get an 88' celica GT-4;) . 4 wheel drive turbo for as little as $1100! it'd be great for winter:)

or just some FWD beater for $200.;) if you like your rx7 don't sell it.

S4 or S5. If money is a concern, it certainly helps if one part fits both cars. And get some 195 series snow tires. The best all season tires are ok, but not in Maine. And put the ballast weight (sand bag) in the storage compartments. Within the wheelbase and as low as possible is the rule. If you put the sandbag at the back, it makes the car even more tail happy and if someone hits you from behind, you get 80lbs in the back of the head at 40mph. It doesn't feel to good!:(

buy a beater rx-7 and put some GOOD winter tires on it. All seasons can really suck in snow. I've been on both sides. GOOD winter tires. NO substitute regardless of 4WD, FWD or RWD. They ALL have got to stop sometime. They ALL use 4 wheels when stopping. You want a car that has good balance and is easy to control (sounds like an Rx-7) MY Rx has been through lots of snow. Unless the snow is rubbing on the bottom of the car it does as good as anything else (actually better than some).

i wanted to get a gt-4 before, but they are so hard to find and when u do, they are a lot more than $1100.

Park the 7 in the garage.

Take the cash from the wrecked car and make a pile. Now, take $500 from the pile, and go buy a Corolla/ Civic / Camry / Accord (anything FWD and Japanese), and put some winter tires on it. Put minimal insurance on it, and drive it all winter. Don't change the oil, don't wash it, don't do anything but drive it. Play with the handbreak and left foot braking - all the time not caring about the car. Then, in the spring, sell the car for $400, and put that money back on the pile that you had made in January. Take the whole pile, and invest what ever amount you see fit into the 7.

It's amazing how much fun you can have when you don't care about the car. Your 7 is still in perfect shape, it costed way less to insure a beater over the winter, and you'll have a new apreciation for the 7 come spring.

just buy a cheap front-drive car. They're easier to drive in the snow.
I have my 7 as a summer car, and a 1984 VW Rabbit GTi for winter. It's easier to keep control, it has crappy rims (so curb hits aren't a problem), and its bumpers make it almost invincible to low impact collisions. Plus it's got much less power, so it on't spin the tires as easily.

You guys don't get snow.... WE CANADIANS GET SNOW! :)

No one has mentioned the problem of salt. It will EAT YOUR CAR ALIVE. I don't drive my good RX-7 in the winter for this reason. A few years ago, I bought a POS '79 1st gen that was already long past "rusted", which is what I drive when it starts to snow. I suggest you get a beater as well, something that you don't care about and will not be a loss to the world when it has turned to swiss cheese in a few years.

I've seen several go for around that price, good condition too. maybe I'm just better at looking:D

i lost my winter car recently too, so i was forced to drive my car this winter. I havent driven it that much actually, not when there is snow on the roads at least. I wait till they are clear to take it out. I threw my stock wheels back on and some shitty all season tires, and yes the car is fun, but dangerous as hell. It goes basically nowhere in the snow. If youre driving down the road and happen to hit a spot where the snow has drifted, youre going byebye. My car almost flew off the road the other day cause i hit an 8 foot patch of snow at 60 mph. I wouldn't reccomend driving in the winter unless you have no other option. Just clean it every other day like i do. I pressure wash the underbody and wash the entire car 4 times a week, even if i dont take it anywhere. salt is the devil.

keep the 7 dude! i just drove my s4 around in 5 inches of snow today.... it goes... get good tires and u can go no problem. plus a 7 is fun as hell in snowy parking lots, wide spots, neighbors yards, etc.

if u are real worried about it do as someone said and buy a fwd beater.

-Pat

Exactly Poor tires are dangerous.

I had some new Dunlop all seasons put on my Rx-7 when I was in Kansas (little snow). Moved to MI, and the next day took it back to the tire shop and told them to get the crappy tires off my car and put something that could actually drive in snow. They put on a new set of tires that could drive in snow at no charge. Matter a fact when I initially called the MI store about it they said "yah, that all season tire doesn't work well in snow".

Tires make a HUGE difference. Try a couple sets you'll see.