The Official MX-5 Miata Thread

[CaminoRacer]

Snow storm might be coming Monday/Tuesday. I still have summer tires on the car. I just ordered some all-seasons (BFG Comp 2 A/S) but won't get them installed until Wednesday.

Dorifto fun time on Tuesday?

[SJ_GTI]

Snow storm might be coming Monday/Tuesday. I still have summer tires on the car. I just ordered some all-seasons (BFG Comp 2 A/S) but won't get them installed until Wednesday.

Dorifto fun time on Tuesday?

I got caught in the snow on summer tires a couple times. Its horrifying, not fun at all (IMHO). The first time was on the first Z3 I owned. I was trying to get home, but couldn't even go up a slight incline in the road, so had to pull off the road (going backwards) until it stopped snowing. It was out of season so I was able to drive again after an hour or so. The second time was on my GTI. It was doing OK getting going, but on the first stop light I came to just letting off the throttle had me go into a slide. I slid right through a red light. Luckily there was no traffic and my apartment was right around the corner.

If you are going to get snow I would highly recommend not going out in it with summer tires.

[MrH]

I got caught in the snow on summer tires a couple times. Its horrifying, not fun at all (IMHO). The first time was on the first Z3 I owned. I was trying to get home, but couldn't even go up a slight incline in the road, so had to pull off the road (going backwards) until it stopped snowing. It was out of season so I was able to drive again after an hour or so. The second time was on my GTI. It was doing OK getting going, but on the first stop light I came to just letting off the throttle had me go into a slide. I slid right through a red light. Luckily there was no traffic and my apartment was right around the corner.

If you are going to get snow I would highly recommend not going out in it with summer tires.

+1

Snow with summer tires isn't fun drifting.  It's terrifying.  I lightly scuffed a wheel in the miata trying to get it to my parent's place from my apartment to swap to snow tires in the first snow.  There's literally no grip.  It's not a matter of power oversteer and catching it.  You can't turn, brake, start moving, nothing.

Snow with snow tires is what you're imagining

[CaminoRacer]

The 1st storm of this week didn't pan out. But the 2nd storm is coming Thursday, right after I get the new tires.

If it snowed today or tomorrow I probably would have just worked from home.

[r0tor]

Nothing fun about getting stuck

[RomanChariot]

Nothing fun about getting stuck

You're not doing it right 

[CaminoRacer]

+1

Snow with summer tires isn't fun drifting.  It's terrifying.  I lightly scuffed a wheel in the miata trying to get it to my parent's place from my apartment to swap to snow tires in the first snow.  There's literally no grip.  It's not a matter of power oversteer and catching it.  You can't turn, brake, start moving, nothing.

Snow with snow tires is what you're imagining

I think these stock Miata tires do better than some other more hardcore summer tires. They do just fine under 32F and even cold rain (35F)

But obviously I'm not gonna risk it and be "that guy" stuck spinning his tires in an inch of snow, thus I ordered all-seasons.

[MX793]

I got caught in the snow on summer tires a couple times. Its horrifying, not fun at all (IMHO). The first time was on the first Z3 I owned. I was trying to get home, but couldn't even go up a slight incline in the road, so had to pull off the road (going backwards) until it stopped snowing. It was out of season so I was able to drive again after an hour or so. The second time was on my GTI. It was doing OK getting going, but on the first stop light I came to just letting off the throttle had me go into a slide. I slid right through a red light. Luckily there was no traffic and my apartment was right around the corner.

If you are going to get snow I would highly recommend not going out in it with summer tires.

Oof, yeah, summer tires on even the slightest snow is terrible.  I got caught with my last Mustang a few years ago.  Tires were pretty new and not hyper aggressive, decent cold traction, and tread more akin to a sporty A/S, so I figured there'd at least be OK traction to handle 1/4 or so of snow.  Nope.  I knew it was going to be bad when simply easing the clutch out in reverse with no throttle to back out of my driveway resulted in more wheel spin than motion.  My driveway is basically flat, maybe very slightly sloped towards the street.

[CaminoRacer]

Oof, yeah, summer tires on even the slightest snow is terrible.  I got caught with my last Mustang a few years ago.  Tires were pretty new and not hyper aggressive, decent cold traction, and tread more akin to a sporty A/S, so I figured there'd at least be OK traction to handle 1/4 or so of snow.  Nope.  I knew it was going to be bad when simply easing the clutch out in reverse with no throttle to back out of my driveway resulted in more wheel spin than motion.  My driveway is basically flat, maybe very slightly sloped towards the street.

I think it helps that these tires are on a Miata - skinny tires, low weight, great balance, not much torque. Plus traction control and ABS. It's not as hard on tires as most other cars.

Apparently the 205/45/17 BFGs are backordered with no ETA in sight. Tire shop suggested Conti DWS06+, which I've had and like, but I ended up switching to a 215/45/17 BFG Comp 2 A/S Plus which are still in stock. I like the tread pattern of the BFG's better - the DWS's tend to wiggle around when driving on the grooved concrete freeways around here.

[AutobahnSHO]

I've never owned anything but all seasons so I'll take y'all's word for it Not that we get snow....

[CaminoRacer]

The 215 BFGs are nice and meaty. Fills out the fenders a little better, and there's a lot more protection against curb rash. The BFGs have a wider tread than the stock Bridgestone S001s so even a 205 would have looked wider.

[Laconian]

Your car is so purty

[CaminoRacer]

Even purtier now?

[AutobahnSHO]

Even purtier now?

YASS!

[Rich]

I made the mistake of driving a Miata in winter.  Though it was very fun on winter tires, almost a snowmobile, it unfortunately has resulted in rust which Will will have to deal with after a body shop half-assed it for me.

[CaminoRacer]

Luckily Utah uses a lot less salt than back east. I typically only see it in store parking lots.

[Rich]

Luckily Utah uses a lot less salt than back east. I typically only see it in store parking lots.

I thought Idaho was the same, yet that's where I drove it in winter

[CaminoRacer]

I thought Idaho was the same, yet that's where I drove it in winter

Interesting. There's definitely a lot less rusty cars out here compared to the typical rust belt states.

[Submariner]

Luckily Utah uses a lot less salt than back east. I typically only see it in store parking lots.

Do they use something else or are people just expected to have AWD and snow tires?

[CaminoRacer]

Do they use something else or are people just expected to have AWD and snow tires?

Apparently they just expect people to get through it. There are a lot less snow plows driving around than I see in other states. There's a lot less ice on the roads than back east, which is helpful - snow covered roads seem grippier here.

The first year I lived here (2012) there was an ice storm and literally everyone crashed. It was an "I told you so" moment for everyone who would make fun of eastern/southern drivers for crashing, even when I told them that icy roads are different from snowy roads.

[AutobahnSHO]

I made the mistake of driving a Miata in winter.  Though it was very fun on winter tires, almost a snowmobile, it unfortunately has resulted in rust which Will will have to deal with after a body shop half-assed it for me.

Granted a ton of Miatas rust out in that same spot anyway.

Still planning for next year, debating soul red, 30th anniversary orange, or original color. Maybe I should ask Celeste to ask around for a good shop and do it now??...

[CaminoRacer]

sacrificial gopro

https://youtu.be/6tA5vuz-C7g

[CaminoRacer]

I ordered a new axle-back exhaust last night.

https://www.good-win-racing.com/Mazda-Performance-Part/61-1733.html

[AutobahnSHO]

sacrificial gopro

https://youtu.be/6tA5vuz-C7g

Lol

Man I really miss the open ness

[RomanChariot]

sacrificial gopro

https://youtu.be/6tA5vuz-C7g

I gave my 16 year old daughter a lesson in snow driving when our first snowstorm hit. Toward the end of the lesson she decided to break out a nice series of donuts in the parking lot in an F-250:)

[Eye of the Tiger]

I gave my 16 year old daughter a lesson in snow driving when our first snowstorm hit. Toward the end of the lesson she decided to break out a nice series of donuts in the parking lot in an F-250:)

Nice. Most people don't seem to understand how important it is to learn skid control in a controlled environment.

[CaminoRacer]

I gave my 16 year old daughter a lesson in snow driving when our first snowstorm hit. Toward the end of the lesson she decided to break out a nice series of donuts in the parking lot in an F-250:)

My E46 BMW and this Miata are both great for tidy donuts in parking lots. Precision + great weight balance make for easy control.

[AutobahnSHO]

Nice. Most people don't seem to understand how important it is to learn skid control in a controlled environment.

+20

One of those "I can't believe I didn't get in super lots of trouble" moments in the Army was in Germany after we got some light rain which froze then about 3 inches of light snow on top of it. SOOOOOOOOOOO slippery that morning, they cancelled a lot of training. I went out to move a big 2.5ton truck (the flatbed ones with covers like Vietnam or WW2 movies LOL) and even with the 6x6 turned on, it was sliding like crazy. We had a big big area of our motor pool so I grabbed the guys who had never driven in snow and we drove around in 4x6 mode (front wheels not driven) in big squares practicing drifting the corners then braking hard to see what sliding feels like.

[shp4man]

+20

One of those "I can't believe I didn't get in super lots of trouble" moments in the Army was in Germany after we got some light rain which froze then about 3 inches of light snow on top of it. SOOOOOOOOOOO slippery that morning, they cancelled a lot of training. I went out to move a big 2.5ton truck (the flatbed ones with covers like Vietnam or WW2 movies LOL) and even with the 6x6 turned on, it was sliding like crazy. We had a big big area of our motor pool so I grabbed the guys who had never driven in snow and we drove around in 4x6 mode (front wheels not driven) in big squares practicing drifting the corners then braking hard to see what sliding feels like.

Donuts in a Deuce and a half.  Nice! 

[CaminoRacer]

Sounds like a bucket list item for sure