i know that i'll need winter tires, a hard top is preferable(but not likely ill be able to afford one) so thats out. what about a block heater and a deep cycle battery?
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i know that i'll need winter tires, a hard top is preferable(but not likely ill be able to afford one) so thats out. what about a block heater and a deep cycle battery?
why are you moving?
stick-on block-heaters, or the dipstick version are awesome for fast warm-ups... yes, tires, also think about getting it undercoated up there(where they know how to do it)
Sell the Miata here where you'll get the most for it and buy a front wheel drive hatchback up there.
The Miata will rust out in a very short time. Get a winter beater and garage the Miata for 6 months out of the year. I've had a few "northern" cars here at the shop and the road salt really does a number on the cars.
JD, i'm moving to be with my GF.
+1 Subaru FTW! My grandmother in Western PA. would get a Subaru every 4-5 years depending on how fast they rusted out. But the 4 wheel drive was awesome in the snow!Quote:
Originally Posted by Nails
Change the Antifreeze now since winter is just weeks away in Minnesota!
http://www.arcticchat.com/forum/atta...tion_chart.gif
selling the miata is not really an option. i think if i can get the undercoat and clean it well after winter i should be alright.
You're going to be going six months of freezing winter temps. Six months of daily assault of snow, ice and salt. The chemical reaction of rust happens quickly. An accumulation of salt, slush and road crud over several years will take its toll, and vehicles in the Snow Belt are bound to pick up at least a little rust over time. However, keeping a vehicle in a garage, getting the salt and road crud washed off promptly (Fun to do when it is below freezing!) and keeping a car’s finish protected with wax can deter rust. I believe snow belt states have year round car washes that clean the chassis and under carriage. You will need to wax the car more often than you would in Texas.Quote:
Originally Posted by Foreverzero89
I seriously would consider garaging the Miata and buying a $1000 beater to drive in the winters. Make sure you stock the trunk with nonperishable food, water, blankets, a folding shovel, kitty litter and what ever else those folks up there recommend.
You don't want to hear this, but you are going to kill your miata in a year or two up there, and its going to be a pretty miserable driving experience in the winter while you do have it. The low clearance, rwd and softop aren't well-suited to MN roads and climate. Because of the snow, salt and plows, potholes and rough roads are ubiquitous.
You can actually get a pretty penny for a southern Miata up there, as it will be the only rust-free miata in the state that isn't a garage queen. A Subie is the best possible car you can buy for MN, but a Mazda3 would also make a terrific snow car.
A good firsthand source for advice and maybe some car help is a fellow on the forum who goes by slates.
He is in MN, but lived down here for a few years, and is a big miata guy. PM him and he won't steer you wrong.
Good luck!
BTW, if you do want to sell your miata before you go, I'm buying.
The wife and I lived in Chicago for most of our lives before the transfer to Texas in 1999. The advice about storing the Miata over Winter is very good. We stored our 1990 NA each October and retrieved it in late March. Illinois and Minnesota use road salt to keep the streets clear. It's great for driving but is terrible for the cars. Put some Sta-bil in the gas tank, check the anti-freeze level and yank the battery each Fall. Use a beater to drive around in Winter (and you will definately need a block heater for that car) if you really wish to keep the Miata. While Winters have been getting "milder" over the past 20 years, MN is still subject to short-term temperatures around -15°F or colder. Winter percipitation is usually snow rather than ice, so multi-season tires are okay for whatever you drive in the Winter. Good luck!
i really want to keep the car, but i will have to survive this winter with it. can prob get a beater for next year, but this year i will have to make do.
+1... the Miata is NOT compatible with winter weather like they have up there, and the weather will turn it to red dust unless you get creamed by a snowplow first. No sense sacrificing a perfectly nice TX Miata to the salt gods in the Great White North.Quote:
Originally Posted by Nails
Moving to MN to be with a chick? She doesn't have a cell phone? No email?Quote:
Originally Posted by Foreverzero89
We do silly things for women...
i have no choice, no money to get rid of one car and get something else. i have to rough it this winter.Quote:
Originally Posted by trickyrix
she does and we skype everyday, but it's time to be with her.Quote:
Originally Posted by trickyrix
that we do.Quote:
Originally Posted by jdcanadian
Good luck.
thank you, good sir.Quote:
Originally Posted by trickyrix
Very good comments/warnings above. I had a convertible during college in Illinois, and it wasn't the best choice. Do you have a plastic or glass rear window? One time I went to scrape the ice off the plastic window (with my student ID, nothing hard) and when I touched it the window shattered.
You need to rethink this move!!Quote:
Originally Posted by Foreverzero89
If you decide to rust-proof your Miata, give Z-Bart a look (might be Zbarth). We used them on my wife's last car in Chicago and it seemed to do well. Annual inspections and not cheap (maybe $500 for her 1994 Oldsmobile SUV), but they've been in business since the 1970's and her car was clean when we brought it here to TX. They also offer warranties on clean used-cars (as in, you don't have to have it undercoated from the showroom floor). Stay warm, my friend.
Why did you ask for advice?
I am surprised gabkwong hasn't chimed in. He froze his ass off up there while in school.
I don't know the whole story, but it sounds like you barely have enough money to move, much less take care of your car up there. Lots of good, sound advice that you don't want to hear, but it's reality. If you go through with the move you need to budget for a new car. You will kill that car up there. Salt, cold, slick roads, RWD, aggressive driving - that's a tried and true recipe for disaster. Just be sure to send us pics of the carnage...
+1
Note: I was the first to tell you in this thread to get a different car and I'll be the first to tell you to get a different girl. Don't move for a girlfriend up to Minnesota. Vegas, Los Angeles, even Indiana...maybe. If she's your wife then move to hell if you have to.
i'll have a job when i get up there so i can do the things i need to before winter hits and i can borrow some money from my dad to get up there. i do have a plan and it's not without a lot of thinking.Quote:
Originally Posted by trickyrix
Better idea-- have her move here.
PROBLEM SOLVED!!!!!!!
Do I get a piece of cheese?
Why do you have to move *now*? Why not wait until spring, which would give you almost a full year before you had to worry about locating a winter beater. Added bonus of your financial situation might be better
I had a soft-top TJ Wrangler when I lived in Syracuse, NY. It had a solid sheet of ice on the floor from about late September to late April. I got used to it, but it certainly sucked. A lot. I don't recommend it, but having a soft top in below zero temps for months on end isn't the end of the world. I sure as hell wouldn't do it in a Miata though.
I moved to Texas for a girl I was dating. I had a very cushy job that i just up and left for her. Granted I moved from Florida, and I knew the girl since 1996, but she is now my wife of one year this past May. So unlike the others here, some times you have to take that chance. You clearly don't have a great job here, so there's no real risk in packing up and moving on.
That said, you said you're moving the end of summer. That is plenty of time to sell the Miata and buy a beater, and get some extra pocket money at the same time.
I for one was just thrilled to see that one of you Miata driving yahoos actually like girls!
Liking a female over Skype is easy enough. Liking a female you're forced to live with after moving a far distance for is a whole other ball game. The "you're so sweet you left your life for me" bit only lasts so long.
Wow.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rob®
Haha! I was going to make an exit strategy joke, but figured that contradicts the whole love thing.
OP does need one though. Marriage, no strategy needed. Making a major life change for a girlfriend, he needs a plan B and C for sure.
LMAO at POS and Titus!:clap:
Sorry.. I had just finished reading about the guy from Monster Miata that had killed his first 2 wives, so that was what my brain read when I saw your post. ;-)
cause i can get a job easier up there and haven't had much luck down here since getting my degree and i already have a simple job i can slip into when get there.Quote:
Originally Posted by sxk122
haha, yep.Quote:
Originally Posted by POS Racing
we have met and spent a good amount of time together. leaving to come back here was prob the hardest thing i've had to do.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rob®
ok now that that is out of the way, if you don't have any tips or advice to help me make the miata survive this ONE winter, please don't hit the reply button. thanks!
How about that weather this week?
You are not the boss of me!! ::Banana::Quote:
Originally Posted by Foreverzero89
I'll do what I want! Obviously you will too regardless of the advice. I've been where you are. Moved to L.A. for two years but that's L.A. not the frigid great white north. My advice, get her to move here. The job market is better in Texas anyways.
I'm on your side, man. Probably the only one too.Quote:
Originally Posted by Foreverzero89
From living in an area that has more subzero days and snow than nice warm days, my best advice: get a beater. If you're too stubborn to listen, the next best advice I have: wash the underside of the car every weekend. It is a MUST. And fill the trunk with sand bags.
To what part of MN are you moving? Any public transit options? Any interest in cross country skiing?