[SMYLGR8]

ANYBODY WORRIED ABOUT TAKING THIS THING OUT IN THE SNOW? A BUDDY OF MINE IN RI IS CONSIDERING GETTING ONE FOR A DAILY DRIVER.

 

[Nathan111]

Mine will be my daily driver for 8 out of 12 months. I wouldn't have any safety concerns driving it in snow with proper tires. However, as I'm in a state that uses salt on the roads I don't want to subject the car to unnecessary abuse.

I reserve the right to change my mind next winter if I can't live without my elise though.

P.S. Currently my only car is a Porsche 968.

 

[MattG]

I think if one is spending $40k on a toy, it'd be wise to buy a $3k Subaru for those snowy days and leave the Elise in the garage. It totally was NOT designed for snowy conditions. Even if you could find correct-size replacement wheels & snow tires for it, it's a very low car, meaning your nice fiberglass airdam will act as a snowplow for others behind you. I wonder if it'd even be possible for the front to act as a sort of ramp in deeper snow, elevating the nose ever so slightly so that the flat bottom of the car begins to pack the snow underneath, carrying more and more weight as you progress, until you're piloting a British toboggan?

 

[zvezdah1]

Arno,
Think he lives in the Netherlands, drives all year round as do a great many of the SELOCers.

Chris

 

[ex-M3]

I live in CT and will not be driving my car in the winter. I currently have an M3 and that will be my winter car. Not great, but with 4 Hakkapeliittas I get to work. Note the M3 has a very good traction control system and limited slip (I would not have gotten home around a week ago without the LSD after a snow squall that turned the roads into pure ice)

In the Netherlands one can expect small amounts of snow, and I do not know about the use of salt on the roads.

I would not take my car out if:
1) salt on roads - which they use liberally in the NE, even when there is a small amount of snow. Al+salt is not good.
or
2) deep snow - not sure for the Elise, but I expect anything over 3" will be a problem.

Light car, mid-engine, low ground clearance = TROUBLE.

 

[zvezdah1]

Yep,
I personally wouldn't take it out in the snow, not a problem down here in GA>
CHris

 

[CAErven]

It's 3:45 on a Sunday afternoon in hilly Kentucky and we're in the middle of getting about 4" of snow right now. I can assure you I would not be taking my Elise out in this if I had it (but it WOULD be fun).

 

[Imp]

And thusly there'll be some available in the used market come next winter when they realize that this car cannot be a daily driver. ... and barring an announcement by Mazda for a new RX-7, when I'll be picking up mine.

I was originally #4 on the A-M list. Had to give it up because of plans changing for this year.

Maybe Russ will let me run his car once or twice? {please?}

--kC

 

[zvezdah1]

Imp,
After what they've done with the Rx-8 you'd trust em to do a decent job on an rx7??

Rx8 owners, please ignore the following:

The Rx8 is one Butt ugly car, I thought it can't be as bad as it's pictures, I was wrong.

CHris

 

[Need4Speed]

Imp,

The Rx8 is one Butt ugly car, I thought it can't be as bad as it's pictures, I was wrong.

CHris

As the proud owner of a stock '93 3rd gen., with beautiful styling, I completely agree...Mazda F'd up - this thing is a retinal abortion.

Nor did the n/a successor engine generate equivalent power to the twin turbo as promised.

Sadly, I will be selling the RX for the Elise. Decided immediate throttle response in a lightweight demon is the only way to go...

 

[Imp]

Imp,
After what they've done with the Rx-8 you'd trust em to do a decent job on an rx7??

Yep.

Beauty is in the eye of the 'beer-holder'. I've talked to people that think the elise is a butt-ugly car too.

Heck, I drive a bug-eye WRX wagon, the car that turned off many fans of the car around the world... so much so they re-designed the front fascia in two years... 2 YEARS!

Can you tell I don't care about looks? That's not why I would buy a car. I like the performance aspect of them. From the inside of the car, I'm not looking at the grille, the side profile, or the rear of the car.... I'm looking at the road. A car is what you make it. If you want to stand in your garage and admire it as a work of art, go right ahead. While you do that, I'll be out driving in it and I could give 2-shits if someone thinks it's sexy or hideous.

After putting an RX-8 through some paces (in an autox environment), I actually throughly enjoyed it's handling characteristics. It had 'adequate' power to sling the car around cones and it did very well. Now put out a real two door, bump the HP up through some kind of forced induction, beef up the tranny a bit more, keep the handling the same... and you have a new RX-7.