Denver owners?

[driftguy]

Anybody here drive their FRS throughout the year? Would I be better off in a WRX?

[hattrickey]

Originally Posted by driftguy

Anybody here drive their FRS throughout the year? Would I be better off in a WRX?

I do. As long as you have a good set of winter tires and put some weight in the trunk, you'll be fine!

[AllDayJonRay]

That's good to hear. I've gotten through every NJ winter I've had the honor of driving in without a problem, albeit a majority of them were in FWD cars. But I've had my share of winter driving in the mr2, so I'm confident I'll be able to get by in the 86 with some weight in the rear.

[driftguy]

Originally Posted by hattrickey

I do. As long as you have a good set of winter tires and put some weight in the trunk, you'll be fine!

Any tire you would personally recommend? Are winter steelies worth the money? I'm considering the full TRD bodykit. Would you recommend against it if I'm only driving in the city?

[hattrickey]

Originally Posted by driftguy

Any tire you would personally recommend? Are winter steelies worth the money? I'm considering the full TRD bodykit. Would you recommend against it if I'm only driving in the city?

Personally, I use Hankook Icept Evos on the stock rims. They did the job well. Although, if you can afford Blizzak's then I'm sure those would be better. How much closer does the TRD kit get to the ground? On the really snowy days, you might be snowplowing, but I honestly have no experience with this car lowered in the snow since I'm still at stock height. I will say that the snow crews do a pretty decent job at getting the snow cleared/removed.

[wheelhaus]

The snows here are typically mild and gone in a day, but occasionally a storm will stick around longer than normal or dump a ton of snow. Maybe 5-10 times a year well have snap freezes where it's warm enough to rain, but overnight the roads will freeze over with a snowy top. There will also be patches of snow/ice in shades areas that may stick around for a week or two.

You can go with studded snow/ice tires which are best for ice, but they're on the extreme end of the scale and will tear up the roads and really suck when it's only wet or dry. Then there's studless, which is what most people use (the popular Blizzaks are in this category). Then performance snow which sacrifice a small bit of snow grip for dry grip (Dunlop Wintersport 3D, what I'm using). You can also get away with good all seasons, but I wouldn't recommend it (edit- for this car, unless you're a seasoned snow driver).

I do recommend a second wheel set for your snow tires so you can throw hem on whenever you need to. Even cheap 16" steelies work great, a lot of people use the stockers for snow tires and aftermarket wheels for the dry season.

For anyone moving to the area who is uneasy about driving on snow/ice, I'd be happy to meet up and help you get the hang of it.

[driftguy]

Thanks for all the info guys. I really appreciate it.

[wheelhaus]

BTW we now have a Tire Rack here in Denver so we can get local pickup, I think it's in Commerce City just northeast of the downtown area... Also, my wife and @Pat have had very positive experiences dealing locally with Les Schwab for tires.

[Chupacabra]

Originally Posted by wheelhaus

BTW we now have a Tire Rack here in Denver so we can get local pickup, I think it's in Commerce City just northeast of the downtown area...

REALLY?! That's awesome news.

[Chupacabra]

Has anyone looked into Extreme Autoworks for window tinting on their twin? I'm debating about getting tint as my car has been a sauna for nearly a month now and saw some reviews on Huper Optik. They're one of the few that do it here, just looking for any opinions on tint in CO.

[Ametatsu]

Originally Posted by Chupacabra

Has anyone looked into Extreme Autoworks for window tinting on their twin? I'm debating about getting tint as my car has been a sauna for nearly a month now and saw some reviews on Huper Optik. They're one of the few that do it here, just looking for any opinions on tint in CO.

I just got my car tinted there a few months ago. I actually wouldn't recommend Huper Optik on this car. The back windshield is very curved and it causes it to look wrinkled in the sun because of how thick the HO film is.

Although, Extreme Autoworks was great. We thought the wrinkling was a weird defect the first time around, and he replaced it for free, but when the issue came back we figured out what the issue was.

I'm going to be going with Pinnacle F1 tint next time around. Seems like they have just as good heat rejection, but looks better and is much thinner and easier to work with.

[Thunderleg]

Originally Posted by driftguy

Anybody here drive their FRS throughout the year? Would I be better off in a WRX?

I do, it's not bad at all. I think it's crazy some of the people who say it's better to buy a 2nd car for the winter. This car is a sub 30K car, it's not a super car! I have blizzacks on for the winter and never had a problem. To each his own on various aspects of owning a car, but for me, if I am spending 30k on something, I want to be able to use all 30k. Scratches and small dings are like scars, and chicks dig scars... right?

[stugray]

FYI - Rocky Mountain Vintage Racing is having a race this weekend at HPR.

I m going out for the test & tune tomorrow (Fri) with the 914 & the BRZ.

Sat & Sun will be racing all day. It is open & free to the public!

Come out watch the races and wander the paddock and look at almost 200 vintage race cars!

If you see my GBS come by and say hello.

rmvr.com

[marcoaferrer]

Anyone from denver going to warped tour on sunday???