Who drives their Z in the winter?
 

First winter with the Z in Toronto...
Get winters and drive it, or find a beater...??

My previous 2 cars were RWD as well, and held up well.
07 Miata & 09 MB C300

IMO get a beater! But I guess it really depends on how much u care about the car and how long u plan on keeping the car! Plus a set of winters will probably cost around the same as a beater!

I had no problems with stock rims and LM60 blizzaks. The Z is amazing in snow

It drives fine with winter tires.... But the salt....

that's right...look at the underside of a car that's been driven in winter for a couple of years...:eek:

Especially with all that exposed aluminum.

Mine has some rust spots from last winter :S

Beater. No rust protection underneath the car.

That also makes it harder to do work on(rusted underbody)! How many winters u owned urs Sergei?

OP don't drive it if u can! If u can get another vehicle I would strongly suggest it! Save your Z! You will love driving it that much more come summer!

Just one winter, this year will be second.

Nice. I bet those new shoes will be coming off in a couple months!!...I am hoping your keeping the stocks with a winter setup! Wouldn't want to see those getting all scratched up.

I was debating on on driving mine on only those super cold, dry street days, but I don't think I'll even do that.

So I'll be missing her for a good 4 months :(

:iagree:
I have a winter beater to drive around, I just can't put her away for 4 - 5 months. I was able to get a good deal on some snows, so we're going to bring her out on a sunny non-salty days once in a while. Maybe just once or twice a month.
I did get the dealer rust proofing as well.'

There will still be salt on the road on those "nice" dry roads in the winter. U just kick up the dry dust to cake to ur under body.

That's for sure!

Aluminum doesn't corrode like steel. But back to the topic, I've driven my roadster last winter with Michelin X-ice 2 with no problems.

mine was fine in the winter, although the VDC was pissing me off so i disconnected the harness and had no issues. The car even started in -59*C with no issues...sounded like a bloody tank for 5mins but other then that...no issues.

It might not be as bad as steel. But aluminum does corrode!

And once its corroded... Replace it with CF :D

I've driven through 2 Montreal winters with my car, i enjoy driving it in the winter its easy to drive and with proper tires safer than any beater you buy. just drive responsibly and there is no reason to miss your car for a few months, cars are meant to be driven IMO.

You can't tell me a rear wheel drive car thats 2-3" off the ground is ment for winter/snow driving:shakes head: not only that but there's no way your Z with a winter setup would even come close to my beater (97 pathfinder 4x4) in bad weather! IMO leave the Z stored all winter.

Unless you are in BC they don't get much in the way of snow or even cold like the rest of Canada.

I'm with you Mike. The amount of snow we can potentially get around here wouldn't even give me ground clearance. I don't particularily feel like plowing the roads with my front bumper. which is exactly what I'd be doing.

Road salt, it's not just the underside of the car I'd worry about. Mix it in on a wet day with road slush and it's now creeping into every single nook and cranny of your car. Sure, you can wash it off, but do you detail your car and get it out of those nook and cranny hiding places on a regular basis in the winter? Definitely not something I care to do in January or February.

I appreciate some can't afford a beater, or may not even want one, but I'll never believe "The Z is a great winter car". Like Mike, I'll shell out a few K for a beater and let my baby sleep through the salt and slush season.

Again, I appreciate that some may not want to store it for the winter, but there's little arguement that it is the better approach for the longevity of your car and that there a ton of vehicles better suited to Canadian winter driving than the Z.

In total I've spent <$2000 on buying and fixing the pathfinder and this will be it's 3rd winter. Seems cheaper then 19" winters.

It took me 12 inches of show to get stuck. I was driving in 6-8" with no effort.

I had snow up to my hood at one point that day

That can't help the paint job at all!

Really it comes down the condition you want to keep your car! If you don't give a sh!t ya drive it!

Still on the fence, don't want to spend too much for a beater, I mean I still want something decent to drive around in.

I drive an 97 honda civic in the winter. It's old, doesn't have any toys and doesn't turn heads that is for sure. But, I slap on a pair of snows and away she goes. I don't care what happens to it or how it looks. It's not my driving I worry about, it's others. Last year some guy couldn't stop in the snow and hit me from behind. if it was my Z, I would have lost it. Also, driving the honda all winter makes getting into the Z again that much nicer.
If you can find a car that is well taken care of, in good shape and relatively inexpensive go for it.

Major structual components are not made from carbon fiber. And even if they were, they would be unrealistically expensive to manufacture.

Take a look under your car. Remove the engine cover. Just look at all that aluminum (not to mention the body panels). And yes, aluminum does corrode when salt and moisture is added.

My winter beater is a 2010 Murano. The Z stays in the garage with a car cover in the winter. They used to not plow the side streets at all in Calgary. Now they clear them eventually.

:iagree:I would be pisses if my Z got hit! Winter driving is easy 4x as driving! Lol that's why use 4x4!!!

That's no beater that's a good ride!

:rolleyes:


:gtfo2:

It's an awesome ride. It's almost as much fun to drive as the Z and the AWD is great in winter. But compared to the Z it's a beater.