Miata as a winter beater?

So when the weather turns really cold and I can't ride my bike as much, I'm going to have to drive to work. The Elky is likely going to be down being rebuilt for a while (and has never been drivable anyway since I've had it), and the DeLorean isn't a car I want to drive in snow and salt. So, I need a winter beater- but I'd prefer something more interesting than just another FWD appliance. Is a cheap Miata (like this: http://lexington.craigslist.org/cto/5171261764.html) a viable option?

Snow + snow tires + Miata =

Yep. They're really not bad with snow tires

What's wrong with the DeLorean? They're all stainless, right?

The body of the Delorian is stainless. The frame is made out of the same sort of steel they built swing set out of once upon a time. The ones which lost the structural integrity to hold up a child after three years.

I'd offer $900 for the beater miata. A friend dailies his year round and with studded snow tires he gets in to Lexington all winter.

Any car with the right tires can be a winter beater.

That said, a miata on the right tires will not be as good as many, many other "beater" type cars out there with the same tires. I know, I know, "the answer" and all. Whatvever....

My main thing, especially in snow driving, is that I don't WANT a very tiny car. NOt because it won't do OK in the snow, but because everyone ELSE in their 4WD soccer-mom SUVs with bad tires thinks they can go 10 over the speed limit in snow. And when that soccer mom is behind me and can't stop because 4WD isn't helping with the brakes.....well, I'd rather be in a larger vehicle. Something where I'm not sitting 4 feet from the rear bumper. On that same note, I like to have a car that can quickly get moving and out of the way of idiots in the snow. Which is why my e30 (which has excellent snow tires) usually sits at home in the snow and I take the Subaru.

That said, do you guys get much snow there? Or are you just looking for something that is not open-air like a bike?

So I ran a Miata every day for every winter from 1997 to 2014. Great winter car.

It will get through snow that scrapes against the bottom- did that a few times. Once for about an hour in Ohio.

Seriously great winter car.

And yes, we do get snow and ice here in Michigan.

...ahem...

https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/build-projects-and-project-cars/miata-wintercrosser/97775/page1/

irish44j wrote: My main thing, especially in snow driving, is that I don't WANT a very tiny car. NOt because it won't do OK in the snow, but because everyone ELSE in their 4WD soccer-mom SUVs with bad tires thinks they can go 10 over the speed limit in snow. And when that soccer mom is behind me and can't stop because 4WD isn't helping with the brakes.....

Strange, where I live in Upstate NY the SUVs all crawl in the snow, especially on unplowed roads and I either have to put up with it or pass them in my Mustang. I have yet to have an SUV keep up with me and I have no problems getting out of their way when they try to hit me.

For the OP. I will probably be replacing my Mustang with a Miata for winter driving. The biggest problem I see is lack of ground clearance for deep snow. I plan to install a full belly pan. In the Mustang I only have one up to the firewall.

The studded snows will have to be bigger than stock. I run 300 pounds of weight in the Mustang, but I am not sure I can or want to have that much weight in the Miata. The Mustang has airbags in the springs to keep the rear clearance high. Might have to find stiffer springs for the Miata.

Don't forget to spray the under-body down with used oil to prevent rusting. I used to use a paint sprayer but now I use a cleaner wand. to get up into tight spots.

Do it.

That's adorable. It looks super happy to have a bit of snow in it's mouth.

Yeah but if you have a rollbar, make sure you have it padded somehow. Your chances of getting rear ended are much higher in the snow. Otherwise, yeah these things are awesome in the snow. Exhibit A: https://youtu.be/r8A6FvCbU0M

pjbgravely wrote:

irish44j wrote: My main thing, especially in snow driving, is that I don't WANT a very tiny car. NOt because it won't do OK in the snow, but because everyone ELSE in their 4WD soccer-mom SUVs with bad tires thinks they can go 10 over the speed limit in snow. And when that soccer mom is behind me and can't stop because 4WD isn't helping with the brakes.....

Strange, where I live in Upstate NY the SUVs all crawl in the snow, especially on unplowed roads and I either have to put up with it or pass them in my Mustang. I have yet to have an SUV keep up with me and I have no problems getting out of their way when they try to hit me. For the OP. I will probably be replacing my Mustang with a Miata for winter driving. The biggest problem I see is lack of ground clearance for deep snow. I plan to install a full belly pan. In the Mustang I only have one up to the firewall. The studded snows will have to be bigger than stock. I run 300 pounds of weight in the Mustang, but I am not sure I can or want to have that much weight in the Miata. The Mustang has airbags in the springs to keep the rear clearance high. Might have to find stiffer springs for the Miata. Don't forget to spray the under-body down with used oil to prevent rusting. I used to use a paint sprayer but now I use a cleaner wand. to get up into tight spots.

As someone whose family is from Rochester (and whose father drove a Triumph GT6 through many a Rochester winter), I agree with you. That's not how it is here. At all. Between the soccer moms in Suburbans and all the bro's in their lifted mall-crawlers (every Jeep with Mud Terrains seems intent on proving they can do the speed limit on even the iciest roads), I've had many, many close calls at getting nailed by people who were going too fast and slid off a corner or couldn't stop in time. But we only get 5-10 days of snow on the road around here, so people don't have the experience to know better. And this area is full of transplants from the South and all over, who have no idea what they're doing (in general) In upstate NY, people (in theory) are much more experienced in snowy conditions. So that's probably the difference.

It's all academic though......I could probably say a Snowmobile is the best vehicle to tackle 6' snowdrifts out in the woods, and someone here would tell all about how a Miata is a better car for those conditions - either because a Miata has some kind of magic that defies actual physics, or because everyone here is God's Gift to winter driving (though of course those people also use R-comps in the snow, because snow tires are for wusses)

But maybe I'm just someone who wants a daily driver that, when I drive it to work on snowy days, is not "interesting" but is safe, highly competent, can go up the steepest snow-covered hill from the stoplight at a reasonable speed no problem. I have other cars for when I want to go fool around and have fun in the snow. For daily driving, I prefer the minimal possible drama. YMMV.

Much of it depends on the locals in your area. Like irish44j mentions, are people getting in high speed wrecks, or low speed wrecks? If they are low speed wrecks, get the answer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFIsQO7DF6A

I remember when people who got Miata's use to get winter cars. .. Times have changed.

I had a 4x4 F150 and a NB Miata and drove the Miata more then the truck in the winter. Last winter I drove my new Mustang GT with snows ( one of the snowiest winters on record in Cleveland). This winter I plan to drive the wife's NC with snow tires. The only issue I see you having with the white Miata listed is the auto transfer sucks. Hold out for a beater with a clutch and enjoy the winter drifting.

Pretty much anything fitted with General Altimax Artics will at minimum go through snow up to the floors.

The danger of idiots who think four wheel drive makes them a god is somewhat reduced by your much better maneuverability.

How is it that I never had a problem driving in 5 years of winters in my 2wd 5spd Ranger yet "everyone needs" AWD or 4wd? (Says the guy who just bought an AWD Yukon Denali)

Thanks for all the responses!

Lexington winters are typically not THAT snow-heavy- for most of my time here, ice storms have been the bigger concern. Of course, last year was NOT typical and we had two separate occasions where we got over 10 inches of snow. I’d say that the average driver here is of the ‘OMGWTF IS THIS WHITE STUFF IS THE WORLD ENDING?!?!’ type of driver who plods along at a snails pace. I’ve blown past them for 10 winters in either my old SL2 or the Prius (last winter, neither of which we have any more) since I long ago learned to be comfortable driving in snow. So, more common would be slow-speed concerns, not people trying to drive way too fast.

As to the stick/auto- I’d prefer a stick shift, but SWMBO can’t drive one- and having a second car she could drive if slmethkng happens to her Mariner would be a definite bonus. Also, the only really cheap Miata nearby is that auto- there’s this one (http://lexington.craigslist.org/cto/5171120549.html) in theory, but it smells a lot like a scam to me (too cheap, conflicting description, non-local phone, picture looks like it’s from the desert and not here in town).

Another question that SWMBO brought up- she was concerned about the soft top getting snowed on a lot. Would it be worth the extra of getting one with a hard top, like this one (though it’s a long haul to get there…) http://dayton.craigslist.org/cto/5173631445.html ?

I would risk the high mileage to get one with a hardtop for $2000.

Mine survived our 3 straight weeks of blizzards with just the soft top, but a hard top would certainly be nice.

Consider, for instance, that there's no defroster in a soft top.

My 2000 has a glass rear window with a defroster, but I'm always worried about tearing the top when I'm clearing ice and snow.

Soft tops survive the weight of the snow fine, but the plastic rear windows get brittle in the cold so you won't want to scrape one. Glass rear windows, no problem.

The small interior volume of the car means they warm up really quick, which is nice.

But they're a bit twitchy in the snow. I ran one for years on snow tires in Ontario, and the biggest problem was crossing the slush piles between the lanes. They'll snap sideways pretty quickly on one. They'll snap back into line as well if you're quick, but nothing happens gradually. Otherwise, they're a decent little snow machine and I never had any real worries with real tires. It wouldn't be my first choice if snow ability was the first priority, but you'll have fun with it and you'll have a Miata for the summer.

If snow ability is the first priority, a Subaru with snow tires is a wonderful thing. I bought one when I moved to Colorado for use in the mountains.

dean1484 wrote: I remember when people who got Miata's use to get winter cars.

I did that...Although, it just ended up being another Miata.

.

Ashyukun wrote: Another question that SWMBO brought up- she was concerned about the soft top getting snowed on a lot. Would it be worth the extra of getting one with a hard top, like this one?

In my experience daily driving a soft top Miata through a few Green Bay WI winters, as long as it's got the glass rear window the hard top is not very important. The rear defroster doesn't even need to be functional (mine wasn't) because the heater did just as well with that. It's just so that you can scrape it...But still don't push down too hard. In fact, I found clearing any type of iced accumulation off the soft top to be easier and more care free than a tin-top, as it was more likely to break up and just fall of thanks to the slight flexing of the material.

I don't recall the exact size, although I'm sure I could find it somewhere if you really wanted to know, but my snow tires were noticeably taller than stock. No rubbing still though. They actually gave it a kind of neat rally-Miata look too, with reduced fender gap yet higher ground clearance and knobby tires.

Admittedly Green Bay is relatively flat. Especially if you live in a hilly area that you would need to drive on ice, there are probably better options.

Edit: To Keith's point, while it was nothing but fun at around town speeds, as speeds increased so too did the snappiness. Learned that the hard way on one occasion.

For the 17 winters I drove one- the hard top I had (just sold) did not have a defroster. The easy button is to point the center vents backward to the rear window. Done.

I thought about getting a tape in defroster a few times- since the later ones had factory defrost, so it was a matter of connecting it up. But I never did, and barely suffered for it.

The most nerve wracking drives were when the road was totally iced over. Which generally happened only once a year. But that's a pain no matter what I dive- I hit a patch in an MKC last year, lost a lot of stability on that, too.