Will I survive this winter?

[Jertronic]

I opted to go without TPMS sensors on the winter set. I'll live with the indicator light being on all winter long. I'm shocked that the price of a set of TPMS is so high. Tirerack even charges $215 for a set of 4.

[Jaywest717]

Two questions:

1. I just broke the engine in, should I get an oil change? I read people talking about it here, but the dealership refused to do so, so I'm tempted to go have it done somewhere else.

2. I found a set of Michelin Pilot Sport All-Season 3 tires. I'm going cross-country and will be driving up north in Minnesota, but will mostly be on the interstate and major highways.

Safety is my number one concern, as I will have my younger teenage sister and her best friend riding with me to Mall of America and I want the okay from you guys for a little piece of mind (you guys sound like you really know what you're talking about...compared to those people at the dealership who looked like they never seen seen an FR-S before...)

[humfrz]

Originally Posted by Jaywest717

Two questions:

1. I just broke the engine in, should I get an oil change? I read people talking about it here, but the dealership refused to do so, so I'm tempted to go have it done somewhere else.

2. I found a set of Michelin Pilot Sport All-Season 3 tires. I'm going cross-country and will be driving up north in Minnesota, but will mostly be on the interstate and major highways.

Safety is my number one concern, as I will have my younger teenage sister and her best friend riding with me to Mall of America and I want the okay from you guys for a little piece of mind (you guys sound like you really know what you're talking about...compared to those people at the dealership who looked like they never seen seen an FR-S before...)

Personally, I don't feel it is necessary to change the oil before the 7,500 mile mark. The newer engines are made quite a bit tighter than the old stove bolt 6s and flathead V-8s (where you had to scrape the shavings out of the oil pan after the first 1,000 miles .... ).

Those tires you speak of (Michelin Pilot Sport All-Season) should be just fine for your trip, if you stick to the main roads. If the snow gets too deep on the freeways for them to handle it, you might consider pulling off and getting a motel till it blows over.

Have a safe trip!

humfrz

[bcj]

I noticed that my mileage was getting near and happened to be passing close to the dealer.
7,494 miles on the first oil change. They slotted me in within an hour on a Saturday.
No difficulties to report re: oil after a second free dealer boutique oilage update as of now.

[lorip713]

Chick here, so need some advice. I'm a nurse in NJ, and, yeah, we get snow. I don't have the option to call out when we do. This'll be my first winter with my FR-S and I've already been sliding around in the 4 little snows we've had in the past 2 weeks. Change tires? Weigh down the trunk? Be serious guys. My husband died a few years ago and I've no other guys to ask "car questions" to. Thanks.

[Jaywest717]

Originally Posted by lorip713

Change tires? Weigh down the trunk?

Yes and yes. As soon as humanly possible.

[chulooz]

Cheap plain steel rims and snow tires. Skip the TPMS for that set and just maintain pressure the normal way, change em back in the thaw. Some heavy sand/litter bags in the trunk will help.

[humfrz]

Originally Posted by lorip713

Chick here, so need some advice. I'm a nurse in NJ, and, yeah, we get snow. I don't have the option to call out when we do. This'll be my first winter with my FR-S and I've already been sliding around in the 4 little snows we've had in the past 2 weeks. Change tires? Weigh down the trunk? Be serious guys. My husband died a few years ago and I've no other guys to ask "car questions" to. Thanks.

Hello lorip713 and welcome to our forum ....

Sorry to hear of your husband passing.

Yep, I would recommend that you get a good set of all-season tires for winter use. Snow tires may not be necessary in NJ.

Personally, I have a set of Goodyear Eagle All-Season Sports, but most tire manufactures make good all-season tires.

I recommend that you go to a reputable tire shop and they can fix you up.

A bag of sand and a short handle shovel in the trunk might come in handy for emergencies.

Most important of all, ......drive slow......real slow.

humfrz

[Suberman]

Originally Posted by lorip713

Chick here, so need some advice. I'm a nurse in NJ, and, yeah, we get snow. I don't have the option to call out when we do. This'll be my first winter with my FR-S and I've already been sliding around in the 4 little snows we've had in the past 2 weeks. Change tires? Weigh down the trunk? Be serious guys. My husband died a few years ago and I've no other guys to ask "car questions" to. Thanks.

If you already have a set of summer or all season tires then get yourself a second set of proper snow tires. All seasons won't be enough if you have to drive regardless of conditions. Ask your tire supplier for a set of studless winter tires.

I'd just fit them to the stock factory rims for now. There's no reason to go down to 16 in wheels anymore. Then you can get your second set of rims later, complete with their own set of TPMS valve stems.

[chulooz]

Also, chose your advice wisely. Pennies saved arent always dollars earned. You need these tires for the snow season, not all seasons. If you have to be on the roads, and you have a choice of rubber, then do not compromise.

[lorip713]

Thanks everyone. I'm going in soon for my first oil change and will speak to the service guys about what winter tires are appropriate. Thanks for sharing all your good advice.

[bcj]

Not familiar with NJ snow events other than what makes the national news.
Up here in Seattle we don't usually get long periods of frozen roads. A day or two of slush, then it melts.
I got a set of all season tires put on the stock rims a couple weeks ago and put the stock tires in the bassement.

I wouldn't recommend the Michelin Low Rolling Resistance (LRR) tires that came with my car for driving in freezing conditions.
Take a look at your sidewalls. Some places, the 86 came stock with Bridgestone All Season tires.
Those may be slightly better for slippery driving.
If you have those and are still having problems, you might want to consider real snow tires.

[amram]

Originally Posted by bcj

Take a look at your sidewalls. Some places, the 86 came stock with Bridgestone All Season tires.
Those may be slightly better for slippery driving.
If you have those and are still having problems, you might want to consider real snow tires.

correct, mine came stock with the bridgestone all seasons, which are actually pretty decent in the cold dry and wet too (which is 95% of our winter here in central/south NJ) but it's the 5% time when the roads are still snowed/partially cleared that concerned me. For e.g. this Tue evening, when the snow was just winding up and they hadn't started clearing up the roads, even with the bridgestones I had a really bad experience driving just 2-3 miles on local roads because there was still snow on the roads. I figured once I got onto the highway I would have been fine, it's on the local roads before you get to the major roads that are the worst. You could also just drive at 5-10 mph like I did and limp by, but even taking a left merging onto a busy road was scary on the bridgestones.

Now if I had the option to simply not drive or could use another car during these 5% times, I would just keep the Bridgestones and call it a day. But I don't so it's like insurance, even for the maaaaybe 5% time I figured I need to have dedicated winter tires. Lorip713 since you don't have that luxury either, I'd go with dedicated winter tires.

Good luck with your decision.

[Suberman]

This car is tricky to drive in snow even with snow tires.

The rear axle moves around a lot on the slippery stuff and in snow deep enough to drag on the underbody you can get stuck quite easily, even with snow tires.

The ground clearance is just under 6 inches which is pretty normal for any car, let alone a "low slung" sportscar (which this car isn't in reality, it only looks low and you sit low, the car is normal height off the ground).

Still, I just put 90 lbs of "sand" in the trunk and a collapsible mini snow shovel. Never done that before in over 40 years of winter driving.