Whats the mx5 like in winter?

[richcorsavxr]

So on the list of new cars to buy is a mk2 mx5.

Living out in the sticks, and not having gritted roads etc ect, can make driving interesting. So is it just a case of sticking winter tyres on and hoping?
Also how are the heaters, i plan to maybe get a hardtop but if i don't, will i die of hypothermia? Does it heat up quickly enough to help de-frost the windows (it won't be kept in a garage)?


I plan to look at this, a quick call, said most of the service history is there (which may be a concern but negotiating tool), and will come with 3 months warrenty. This ones seems to be the cheapest local car i can find.
http://www.mxheaven.co.uk/showroom/mx5/1/566/index...

This will be my first rwd and soft top. so excuse the ignorant questions

[hornetrider]

The heaters are rivalled only by the fires of Hades so you'll be alright on that score. My Mk3 on 17s is less than useless in the snow on summer Bridgestones - I've never tried winters, you should be okay. Bung a bag o' sand in the boot.

[Munter]

It always got me where I needed to go in the winters. I did splash out on some winter tyres for the Mrs as it became her daily driver and we wanted to guarantee she'd get up an incline out of the work carpark in the snow.

Heater starts to get warm pretty quick. And as said once warm you'll lose the hairs off your legs.

[richcorsavxr]

so heaters are fine, cool

i'm going to sound lazy here, but does anyone know the size of the wheels in the above link? just to get any idea of winter and summer tyre prices.

[Munter]

richcorsavxr said:

so heaters are fine, cool

i'm going to sound lazy here, but does anyone know the size of the wheels in the above link? just to get any idea of winter and summer tyre prices.

Those are the 15" by the look of it. 195/50/15.

Now I just happen to have a set of MK2 14" wheels and winter tyres (with 7mm of tread) I need to sell.... (£200 to you sir)

[mybrainhurts]

If Mazda made sledges...

They'd call them MX5...

[richcorsavxr]

Munter said:

richcorsavxr said:

so heaters are fine, cool

i'm going to sound lazy here, but does anyone know the size of the wheels in the above link? just to get any idea of winter and summer tyre prices.

Those are the 15" by the look of it. 195/50/15.

Now I just happen to have a set of MK2 14" wheels and winter tyres (with 7mm of tread) I need to sell.... (£200 to you sir)

That is very kind of you, if i buy the car i will definitely take you up on that offer
thankyou.

[Andy1983Andy]

Whats the Mx5 like in the winter ?

If you like things sideways its great

Proper

[Pints]

My driveway has the slightest of inclines. If there's any snow on it, there is no way I can get it out the garage.

Regarding the heaters, if I had hair it would dry quicker in the MX-5 than it would if I was using a hairdryer.

[Eighteeteewhy]

I did my first winter last year and it was fine. No winter tyres either because I'm crazy.

This was as bad as it got though tbh so I don't know what they're like in deeper snow. I think ground clearance would be the first major issue mine would have.


Just be smooth and careful. It can also be fun.

[MX-5 Lazza]

My old Mk1 was hard to move if there was any snow. My Mk2.5 has no problem at all. The difference? The Mk2.5 is a Sport with LSD whereas the Mk1 was a 1.8i with an open dif.

[iantek]

I had my first winter in my Mk1 this/last year and it was fine. This was mainly because it was a mild winter. I did lose grip on a slight incline when it was icy but that was more down to my ineptitude than anything else.

As for getting into a cold frozen car, i've found it no different to any other car i've had that have had metal roofs and as others have said, the heater gets hotter than the centre of the sun, quickly. Plus, after a while, I could fry eggs on my transmission tunnel (which sounds like a vile euphamism). Snug is the word.

[hornetrider]

MX-5 Lazza said:

My old Mk1 was hard to move if there was any snow. My Mk2.5 has no problem at all. The difference? The Mk2.5 is a Sport with LSD whereas the Mk1 was a 1.8i with an open dif.

Probably tyres? My Sport Tech is hopeless on the OE 'stones.

[seany87]

My mk2.5 came with a fuji torsen diff which has a bit of spring preload so theres plenty of traction for what it is, didnt get stuck once and minimal wheelspin provided you were gentle. However they are made of butter and mine joined the many others which have blown up. Ive put a type one torsen in now which arent supposed to be great in snow. As my car is my daily drive I should be in for an entertaining winter

[NeoVR]

With the right tyres the cars are just as good/bad as any other in snow.
I had the winter-tyre revelation for my SC'ed mk2 the winter just gone - was driving past BMW X5s etc who were stuck on hills.

[MX-5 Lazza]

hornetrider said:

Probably tyres? My Sport Tech is hopeless on the OE 'stones.

Both cars had GY F1 GSD3 so not tyres. In fact the Mk2.5 has 205/40/17 compared to the 195/50/15 on the Mk1 so should be worse but it doesn't have any traction problems.
It's a 2001 so I don't know what model of Torsen it is but traction is never a problem and it's been supercharged since 2004 without any complaint so not made of butter.

[anonymous-user]

The winter before last my MX-5 went from being my second car to my primary car as the barge was abandoned in the drive.

Bag of sand in the boot for some extra weight over the driven wheels, off you go - if you get stuck it's easy to push as it's so light! In the snow it's a great way to learn some car control as it can be predictably thrown about at very low speeds.

If you don't have a garage you may need a scraper for the INSIDE of the windscreen

[Riknos]

yellowbentines said:

If you don't have a garage you may need a scraper for the INSIDE of the windscreen

This. I've had several cars with ice on the inside before in the deepest of winters, but pretty sure in my mk1 I had MORE ice on the inside, than the outside during most of winter.

Hardtops are really not needed.

For the 2 or 3 days a year we get bad snow, I just work from home

[designforlife]

Had mine for 3 winters now.

Plenty warm enough with the heaters on, small cabin so demists quickly.

No need for a hardtop TBH, soft top does a perfectly good job of keeping the weather out.

Good fun for empty carpark adventures, but perfectly capable in snow if driven carefully...i don;t have winter tyres but imagine these would help further.

[MX-5 Lazza]

If you are getting that much ice on the inside of the windows then you need to sort out the damp that's getting into the car. It really shouldn't be any worse than any other car.