okay....

as much as I don't like it, my 914 is my daily driver.

If someone gave me a beater car, i'd be forever grateful and i'd tuck the 914 away for the winter. But I must drive it....

actually, I could get a free Nissan Maxima....auto V6, needs work on the front right--$3100 in damage...bent A-arm and such....

so lets talk about winter things.....In Jefferson County, KY...salt is used. Winter driving should be done when absolutely needed, and being that I live 500 feet from a car-wash means that the car will be recieving water rinses frequently. I also plan to get OsPho too, just to hopefullly slow down rust degredation.

braking....slamming on the brakes and uncontrollably sliding into a stopped car wasnt the best plan....so apart from driving much slower, what tips do you all have about braking in a light car...(besides pumping the brakes)

thats all i think
b

Snow tires. Blizzaks or the such. I use them on all of my vehicles.

My 325IS goes like a tank in the snow, I pass 4x4's and all FWD cars with no problems.

Tom

Driving tips for winter:

1) Go slow. An accident of say, running into the car in front or sliding off the road in a turn occurs long before you touch the brakes or enter the turn. Caused mainly by too much speed.

2) Avoid hills. If not avoidable, don't stop at the bottom or during the hill. Driving a car with about 1% to 5% of its normal traction is an art.

3) Buy a 4-wheel drive car. Subarus are excellent, low $$ cars, capable of high miles, plus if you do wreck your Subaru, you can put the engine in your 914 . I have a Subaru Legacy (car is a blast to drive in the snow) and an Audi A6 Quattro. Both cars go like crazy in the snow.

4) Go out to the liquor store the night before the snow and stock up, then call work the next day and claim a cold or work from home and have a party. Just remember to turn the music down or the snowblower off when the boss calls.

Spoke

Seriously, get a good set of snows. You will probably be able to get just about anywhere with them. However, the salt will kill your car.

Just as seriously, buy a $0-$500 FWD beater. Sell it in the spring for the same or a little more. Beater car values are generally stable.

Also, driving in the snow is not as much driving slow, as much as it is driving consitantly. Meaning, everyhting is planned for far in advance. Brakes are applied gradually. Turns are eased into. The trick is to not try to force a rapid change in direction, as your momentum will carry you forward (and not where you want to go). I learned that from a buddy that lived in Buffalo NY. After I figured out what e meant, I nver had a problem driving in snow again.

Zach

Discover the joys of public transportation or walking. Save the environment, gas money and insurance. Learn valuable time management skills. Plus, you will really appreciate your teener come next spring (especially when it's still in one piece due to no accidents or corrosion).

Hi Britt

Take it from a guy that lives in salt heaven...

You need to get your car undercoated, not with the rubber stuff but brands like Kleen flow and Rustcheck.
You need to do the underside, inside the doors (don't punch holes) and of course the rockers and hell hole. These are a yearly treatment the cleans up very well.

Do Not Wash your car, it is the worst thing to do. When you add water the salt falls into every crack in the car.
Do Not bring it inside the garage, this melts the snow that holds the salt. After the freeze leave it outside, keep it frozen.

Hey man, we all gotta do what we gotta do....this makes you a real 914 purest

I would really sugest trying to find 195/75/15 tires, these will give you more clearence for the snow.

Heat....heat....heat uuhmmm...no immediate solution, but I am working on a idea but it won't be ready this year. Try to find a ceramic heater ??? Can be done, and its better then the bus

Later
+Karma

Winter driving tips.....Hmmmmm

Drive just like you do in the summer only watch out for clueless winter visitors in very large Buicks.

QUOTE (Spoke @ Dec 9 2005, 08:18 AM)

Driving tips for winter: snip

Subarus do rock out -- but please do not forget your laws of Motion. 4WD might be good for getting moving, but it is totally useless for stopping. On I-65 this morning, some asshole in his very new looking Range Rover pinballed off a couple of smaller cars, smashing them up. Amazingly, the Rover didn't look too bad. He was going way to fast for the conditions...

Plan your routes, try to avoid big hills, or at least try not to stop on them. Winter tires are really nice (love the Blizzaks) _if_ you deal with lots of snow - cable chains work great too if you have snow infrequently, though some states might not allow them so check it out. But those are only good for larger amounts of snow. Once you get to clear pavement you need to remove them b/c then they have the opposite effect WRT traction.

Mainly just be calm and patient and think ahead. We had 7" of the white stuff yesterday afternoon. Most of the problems I saw were due to stupid people acting stupid. It continued onto this morning. Slow the f*ck down. It will be slippery. Slow down to a speed you think is reasonable, and then slow down another 5mph at least. Mind the inertia. Get an AAA membership if you're worried about getting stuck.

Or if the weather is shyte, crack open that bottle of Jagermeister you've been saving for a special occasion and get good and sloppy drunk. If it is really bad, you don't really want to be outside anyways. It also saves your teener from possible troubles from salt, or all the dumbasses with whom we have to share the roads.

My 914 was a daily driver in PA for the first 4 years that i owned it. It went out in the snow and was a blast to drive. If the snow isn't so deep that the car acts like a plow I doubt you'll get stuck if you have good tires. I only tricky part is the car will spin very easily compared with cars with the engine in the front or back. Its fun at low speeds sliding around but once the speeds increase its a little scary.

That's what I did If I were to do it again I would have bought a $500 wreck to drive through the winter. I had rust repairs paint etc that added up to that amount each year. Even with that work the car rusted badly and in the end I ended up buying a new roller and transferring parts.

If you are not using snow tire make sure your tires are not any kind of High performance tire or you will be in big trouble, if u must drive in the snow get snow tires Blizzaks will do the trick, wifes BMW will go through anything with those mounted

Your 914 isn't going to last being a daily driver in the salt belt. My suggestion is to procure the free Maxima and then put it together with some cheap junkyard parts.

I was going to mention that when you add up preparing your car for winter, it will be cheaper to just get a winter beater.

I bought an Acclaim for a song with a bad head gasket. Changed the gasket and drove it for 1.5 years. Cost of the car with the gasket and parts was $800. I sold it for $1400.



Tom

QUOTE (Tom Perso @ Dec 9 2005, 05:55 AM)

Snow tires. Blizzaks or the such. I use them on all of my vehicles.

good snow tires are the key ...

drive slower and even more important, drive SMOOTH ...

by that, i mean all your input should be smooth. steering, gas, braking. no abrupt movements. modulate the brakes and gas. keep your distance to cars in front of you. use your headlights, even during the day.

check for snow chuncks in your wheel wells from time to time if you drive longer distances as that can prevent you from turning when you need it ...

make sure the heater and fresh air blower works. if you have moisture inside the car, roll down the window about 1/4" when you drive. it'll help clear up the windshield faster ...

or, take the top off and turn up the music!
Andy

I agree, snow tires. they help you start and clear out the tracks.
Take your time. People get in a hurry and will hit you.
if you usually follow 3 seconds behind the car in front of you. triple it.
Watch the cars in front of you. if they start to slip you can head for the side of the road
Watch the road. If it looks like it is slippery. it is. Black ice is my favorite.
No matter how great our 914's corner in the summer, corners are your new enemy. go slow!

Find a parking lot and practice your start, stop and turning skills on the ice. My wife had a lot of fun doing this and it helps hone your driving skills. Go out late and spend some time spinning your car, slamming on the brakes and so on. The officer will understand if you explain it to him.
Keep a full set of dry clothes (warm socks, pants, thermals and an extra jacket and gloves) in your car as well as some kitty litter or sand and a small shovel. Some rock candy or other long term eats is a good idea as well. If you have to dig out your car, you may be there for a while. Same if you get hit. extra clothes/food will help you cope until you can get home. I had several friends that spent the weekend in their car trying to drive to Colorado Springs. They were not happy when they got home, but they were all alive.
Have fun!

No one has mentioned one obvious trick to help a light car drive better in the winter = make it heavier!


50-80 lb sand bag in the front and rear trunks should do the trick. Don't use just anything - a bag a readymix + moisture = concrete clump stuck to the trunk.


Seriously, when I lived for a winter in Tahoe (not with the 914) lots of buddies with pickup trucks had 2-6 bags in the rear to give the light back end drive wheels lots more traction.

QUOTE (ChrisNPDrider @ Dec 9 2005, 12:08 PM)

No one has mentioned one obvious trick to help a light car drive better in the winter = make it heavier! 50-80 lb sand bag in the front and rear trunks should do the trick. Don't use just anything - a bag a readymix + moisture = concrete clump stuck to the trunk. Seriously, when I lived for a winter in Tahoe (not with the 914) lots of buddies with pickup trucks had 2-6 bags in the rear to give the light back end drive wheels lots more traction.

Thats how you get traction in trucks around here without 4wd. A few sand bags, or some barbells tied together over the drive wheels works wonders.

And as Andy said, if its over 32degrees the top should always be off. In any case the positive cabin pressure will cause heat to come out faster. Also . . . get some SSI heat exchangers

cool....

I dont have extra $$, so buying anything is out.

914s in the 70s didn't rust out like this though? Any rust that develops will get fixed, cause i'm getting a welder, well at least i dreamed of gettign a welder.

No washing the car, check.

ospho, check.

Undercoating? Who does that?

b

QUOTE (riverman @ Dec 9 2005, 05:34 AM)

Discover the joys of public transportation or walking. Save the environment, gas money and insurance. Learn valuable time management skills. Plus, you will really appreciate your teener come next spring (especially when it's still in one piece due to no accidents or corrosion).

I only drive my car into work once or twice a month if that. Take the bus if you can. Let someone else do the driving.

I recommend buying an AWD car, installing snow tires and then studding the crap out of them. I have 130 studs per tire on my Audi and driving during winter isn't any different than summer driving unless I'm driving WAY too fast. We do solo ice racing up here on a frozen lake and I regularly take fastest time of the day with this car.
If you have to drive the 914 get studded winter tires if they are legal down there. I have seen many AWD cars on regular winter tires get beaten bad by FWD cars with studs... they make a huge difference. Some extra weight in the trunks would probably help also.
Good luck!

QUOTE (bd1308 @ Dec 9 2005, 12:20 PM)

cool.... I dont have extra $$, so buying anything is out. 914s in the 70s didn't rust out like this though? Any rust that develops will get fixed, cause i'm getting a welder, well at least i dreamed of gettign a welder. No washing the car, check. ospho, check. Undercoating? Who does that? b

Britt,
Get snow tires...period, no question..find the money.

If you need cheap tires...go to a junk yard and buy two rears that match and two fronts that match.

Make sure all the tires are the same size...but they do not need to match...its a myth...

If you had a newer car, yes they would need to match.

If you can get studded rear tires...do it.

With the sand in the car thing...here is the trick.

Get four of the plastic boxes with lids, about 16 inches by 12 inches...most of the walmart type stores carry something like this...it has to be short enough to close the rear lid, rood and all...

So, get these boxes, get a garbage bag for each one.
Go to the town highway dept. They have FREE, sand/salt mixture for residents..

Put the sand/salt mixture in the bag, in the box...

Close the bag and seal it.
Put on the lid.
Position the boxes so they cannot shift at all, over the rear and front axles.

I also bring a shovel and a small scoop.
If you need sand , like if you get stuck...you have it with you, and you have a scoop to get it out of the box...

The plastic bag is not only insurance to keep the material inside, it also prevents moisture from getting in there and freexing it, or melting the salt.

Good luck, drive slow, keep your distance..and like Andy said,,,be smooth...

You should be able to have a cup of coffee not spill while you drive...that is smooth.

Rich