Winterizing

[Skeeter]

So, I have lived in Texas for the last 12 years and haven't been through much of a winter. I moved to Philly in April and just missed that freak blizzard, so I was wondering what a lot of you guys do to winterize your S12s (different fluids, mods, snow tires, etc.) Winter is drift season! My 87 was originally a CA20E/Auto now KA24DE/5spd (so 4.11 open diff).

I am from Indiana originally and have driven an S13 w/ open diff and RT-615 tires in the snow<--a little dangerous but very fun.

Looking for input.

[iceageg]

I have lived in snow country almost my entire life.  What I do is park it.  Drive the rwd car a couple times a month when the roads are clear and drive the subaru daily until the cars switch again next spring.  I have never intentionally changed fluids specifically for winter weather other than running 10w40 or 20w50 in the warm months and switching to 5w30 in the cold months at normal interval.  Just run both regularly and I have never run into issues.

If I know I am going to store one or take it down for extended maintenance I toss in some Sta-Bil and try to make sure the tank is under 1/4.  If possible find fuel with no ethanol added for the last couple tanks.  That shit does not age well in your fuel system.

[rednucleus]

These cars suck on snow, ice or frost with or w/o snow tires! Here in W WA where winters are 20-40 degrees, I will change from a 10-40 to 10-30 oil for my high mileage CA and check antifreeze protection level.  I am fortunate to have a garage to park in. On the occasional snow & ice days I change over to my 93 Suburban that goes everywhere!

[deucekazoo]

Gets some good snow tires and you will be good to go. I drove my original 86 200sx in high school and college through everything. It did good as long as I had good tires. All my fluids stayed the same between winter and summer. My new 86 200sx gets parked in the winter because I don't want it to rot from the salt. I don't have a garage for it so I cocoon it up using tarps and a car cover. This works pretty good keeping it out of the elements.

[Skeeter]

A little more info from me, I have to drive it this winter and I'm very aware of the hazards of salt. Once spring hits, I'll be pulling the fender liners out and prepping the underbody for a new coating and the rest will be painted hopefully by summer (my car still has original paint but it's rough).

I run 10w30 since that's what KA's call for and I don't have any startup issues right now. The block has about 160k on it and the oil pressure is a little low (usually 30-40psi at idle when warm), but no ticks or any concerns there. I put a rebuilt head on it so good seals up top and no oil burning issues. I might switch to 5w30 once it gets near freezing temps.

I'm really wondering how the open diff will do with the hills around here with snow tires. Any experience with the difference in wheel weight in the snow? I've got really light Z31 turbo 15x6.5 wheels that I plan to put snow tires on, but I'm wondering if my Crown Vic 16x7 will do better.

[weitrhino]

I daily drove my first S12 for 19 years in Indiana and Baltimore winters. Yes, the salt on the east coast eventually ate that car up but I never did anything special to prep for winter and never had an issue with it. For several  years I had a big steel manhole cover I used to toss in the back for extra traction. Always loved running the 5-speed RWD in the snow.

[ndd]

I drove my notch for years in Michigan winters. Even with snow tires on all four corner and weight in trunk was not great in the snow. Bought a 92 bonneville and it was head and shoulders better in the snow. The notch did not like salt and some rust appeared even with weekly middle of ass freezing winter visits to car wash. Our cars special and rare.  PARK IT !  Get a front wheel drive beater get snow tires.  The salt will wreck the car.  I park mine in the winter. I do normal maintenance such as oil change a good wash clean interior etc and park it. Salt will destroy it. Park it!!

[weitrhino]

Skeeter, I think he wants you to park it. 

[Skeeter]

Maybe just a little bit lol. No can do ndd. I bought this car to drive and as I said earlier, it will be cleaned and repainted next year.

[JonB]

These cars can kick ass in the winter. Literally my modded 200s will run rings around fwd cars in the snow. It's not worth it though, as salt will eat through that vintage Japanese tin like fire through a paper bag.

Want to make it go in the snow? First thing is weight in the trunk and a full tank of gas - a front wheel drive can't do this. I've had as much as 200lbs in the trunk, and a full tank of gas - went through 50+inches of unplowed snow with that, a locker, and good tires. Second is tires; you'll need atleast directionals - they'll dig their way down to bite, and no other all season tire will do that. I've never used a snow or ice tire, but they'd probably be far better. Third is a locker; most can't afford them here, but it's really the difference between getting there and a pathetic turd that has 1/4 of available grip working.

That being said, I advise that you don't drive it in the salt. Not only do they rust, it's the way they rust. American cars are generally just so much farther ahead with rust planning. S12s will rust away at the seams, as the Japanese didn't think out the water flow real well. Also, they didn't galvanise the inside rocker, as Americans were doing for atleast a decade before the S12.

Here's what I've been doing; corrosionX and AC50 with a cavity wax radial nossle. And I hit the crap outta the thing. Pull up everything you can; rocker seals, carpet, trunk carpet - everywhere. And spray like mad.. Just coat that crap in there and on there. Literally my car is the slimiest filthy car on the block every year, and I leave it that way all winter. Wash it in the late fall, coat the crap out of it, and don't wash it till spring. Try not to drive it more than to charge the battery and to keep the rotors from excessive pitting.

Don't forget antifreeze. Water will best will push out a freeze plug, and worst it'll crack the block, and those say it can't crack a block; let them use their cars for their experiment.

[Skeeter]

My car has a pretty decent undercoating on it. All the main unibody rails, wheel wells, and pinch welds still have coating on them. I'm working on fixing this stupid filler hose so I can fill my tank up. I usually travel with some stuff in the back, but I'm going to grab a big, cheap bag of kitty litter, a spare shovel and rope soon. My antifreeze mix is 50/50 right now (I mix it myself, premix is a waste of money), so I'll probably up it to 70/30ish when it's gets cooler. Always have a spare jug of it in the car anyway.

I was inspired by Roadkill's Ford Raunchero that they drove to Alaska. Next on my list to figure out, fog lights!

[weitrhino]

Next on my list to figure out, fog lights!

Bosch Pilot 150

[ndd]

Hey I do understand !  No worries.  I just know from experience on notch of daily winter driving with good maintenence it started to rust.  But if the 200sx was a dime a dozen I'd drive mine in winter as well.  It hasn't snowed yet in sw Michigan but when it does mine will be inside... wash flush wax repeat best regards!

[Cajun1guy]

You poor bastids up North! I am blessed to be down in Louisiana with mosquitos year round and hurricanes possible for 6 months! But no salt unless I drive along the beaches of Mississippi. 1984 Turbo Hatch with no rust, yeah baby!