Allright, I'd like the guys who've driven their cars through cold winters to chime in here. I dont have a beater but I dont plan on driving in anything other then nice weather either. What are you thoughts on the following:

Oil - 20w50 all year for a TII?
Coolant - 50/50 mix with distilled?
Transmission - my shifter is sticky in the cold! is there a fluid better suited for cold weather that would help that?

Any other winter ideas would be much appreciated. Maybe this could be a sticky if it was informative enough.

 

Curious to why you are using 20W-50 for cold weather? I know when it started getting cold and I still had 20W-50 in mine it was difficult starting and the oil was very, very thick. I changed to 10W-30 and it seems to like that a lot better.

 

You should be using 10W-30 in the winter. As for the coolant, follow Mazda's recommendations. I believe that is a 60/40 mixture.

Transmissions are stiffer in the winter because the oil thickens up.

 

Listen to Aaron Cake, he lives in miserable London Ontario and people in not-as-miserable Edmonton use the same thing as he has suggested

REFLUX who went to UWO and almost killed himself :P

 

hi, love winter driving but hate the road salt..anyone know where i can get my car undercoated?..and how much would it generally cost?..im from jersey...thanks

 

I was under the impression that TIIs used 20w50 year round. Thanks for the tips though.

 

no the weight of oil can vary it is generally better to run 10W30 in the winter and 20W40 20W50 if you are running where it is hot. think of it this way try running through honey when it is cold it is hard but when it is warm it flows better. this would mean a lighter weight of oil is recomended just for those who dont get my analogy

 

undercoating does help some, but unless your prepared to de-salt and fix rust spots every year you really you should buy a beater for winter driving. Note mazda has some undercoating already.

 

Yeah, what he said. Undercoating is only a limited "solution". There's nothing you can do to keep the salt from eating your car. Even if you don't end up body rust, you're still going to rust every bolt and screw underneath the car, which makes it very annoying when it comes time to fix something. Plus, with all the stupid drivers out there, it's a much more likely scenario that your RX-7 will be hit...

 

Put "normal" (10W30) oil in it, maybe some dry gas, and get to driving. That is what I did in the winter months, and she worked fine. Little cold for half the ride, but after that it's all good.

 

Redline oil in the trans makes it shift easier on cold days.

 

Thats why I drive a saturn right now. Plastic panels are great

 

Well unfortunately not all of us can afford another car, it's all we can do to afford our dream car and pay insurance on it so we have to do the best that we can. I would recommend just buying several cans of rust resistant paint puttint the car on a lift and spraying it yourself. Then every week just wash out the bottom of the car the best you can. That is what I'm doing. Hope it helps.

- Steiner

 

redline synthetic in the tranny and rear...solved my winter tranny stiffness

 

I drove my na '90 FC through seven fairly miserable Pittsburgh, PA winters. My suggestions for your consideration:

1) Get four real snow tires. With "all seasons" you will be seriously limping if there is snow or slush. I experimented with adding weights (20 lb. per side) in the storage bins since this is down low and more or less over the rear wheels. I think it may have helped a little.

2) I always used a 50/50 coolant/distilled water mix as suggested above.

3) Make sure you have a healthy battery and/or verify that it is full of distilled water (assuming it isn't maintenance free).

4) Clean and lubricate the door locks with a good graphite lubricant and carry a pocket-sized lock de-icer with you at all times; mine froze every time the temperature went above freezing in the afternoon then below freezing at night.

5) Undercoating panels on an old car is more likely to trap moisture and dirt and accelerate rust. I had my (then 3 year old) GLC undercoated by Ziebart in '88 and it seemd to rust faster than GLCs on the road. Take your 7 to the do-it-yourself spray wash whenever temperatures go above freezing for a while and blast the salt off.

6) Join AAA just in case.