Winter drive or store?
 

Anyone storing their FR-S for the winter or are you going to drive it all year round?

I'm considering taking the $$ I would spend on tires and just buying a winter beater. But I have lots of time to make a final decision since it's only the beginning of June.

Rob

I'm still not sure.. the winter here on the east coast is quite a mess. I'm considering a winter beater as well.

DRIVE IT LIKE A *****.

If you want the car to stay looking good and/or plan to keep it for a long time, keep it out of the salt. If you can swing it, get a beater. Civics make great beaters...cheap and reliable.
In my case, I bought this car as a daily driver, so that is what it will be all year 'round.

Not driving it in winter misses half the fun.

Seems like it would be a lot of fun in the snow! I just don't like the idea of all the salt and dirt. Maybe I'm just being over-protective cause it's my first car?

My philosophy about cars is they are meant to be driven, not babied! Not that you shouldn't take care of it, but especially with the quality of today's galvanized automotive steel, as long as you keep up with washing and waxing, your car should still look good 10 years on.

So we're clear, not slagging anyone who chooses to winter store their car. To each their own, but I'm not buying an FR-S, or any car for that matter as an investment, I buying it to drive and have fun with it!

just make sure you apply undercoat if you see that the factory undercoat is coming off due to the stones & sand that gets flicked up from the tire onto the wheel wells.

i have undercoated my 95 celica the first season i bought it and drove it every winter. never had a problem with rust, just wash & dry it regularly (5 days or so), not once a month or two like most winter drivers.

i have been driving my is300 last winter on new winter tires and it is so much fun! but definitely not recommended for bad drivers (who drive like they're always in a rush) because RWD + bad driver + winter = crash.

How long do you expect to keep the car? The longer you want it to last, the more you should avoid winter salt. It's always a treat to bring out the summer toy after a long winter and see that it's still in such good condition after many years.

On the other hand... 1) Your beater is going to need decent tires to be safe in winter too. 2) Two cars = higher insurance costs, even if you take off collision on the winter-stored car.

Not driving it after the floor has rotted out and you had to crush it is even less fun. I already have a beater.

Winter on the east coast is a lot different then even Quebec on. Sure, there's lots of places that get as much or more snow, but the salt on our roads is ridiculous. Salt doesn't work below a certain temperature, and we spend most of winter in the working temperature range.

Our last winter was extremely mild, not a lot of snow. However the 2 years before that we had a TONNE of snow which eventually turned into huge ruts in the back lane where I park. I'll admit that is one thing that I will miss about my 4Runner (and an FJ before that) is that I almost never worried about getting stuck in the snow or a rut.

Hopefully snow doesn't pack into the plated areas under the car

Rob

I had a 95 Trans Am before and i would drive it year round. FUN FUN FUN. No rust 10 years on when i sold it.

ill be parking mine, I still hae my 90 prelude with H22 swap ill be slapping stock suspension on there for winter, main reasons for parking are for me are the rock chips on the body, I will have 3M on the car but it doesnt protect everywhere, second is ill be lowering the FRS, and in calgary winter here has been pretty shitty and it will be the hell outta the car being lowered, my prelude in only lowered 1inch from stock and still its bad in winter.

Bringing this thread back to life, I plan to store my car for the majority of the winter. I have never stored a vehicle for that long before. What should be done before parking it for months at a time? Do you take the battery out or do anything with the fluids? My car will be parked in a heated garage as well.