Winter driving

danthemanjayhawk · Sep 27, 2005

Now that I have taken the plung and purchased a 355 spider, I really do not want to park it all winter. I would like to see Fall last another 3 months.(See post below) Unfortunately, I live in the midwest, which means cold weather and snow.

Of course, I will not drive the car in rain or snow.
However, how about dry pavement cold weather driving?
Do members tend to park them all winter or drive them in cold weather?
Any tips or thoughts on cold weather driving?

Boxer · Sep 27, 2005

I drive mine all winter. Ideally you pick a time/day when it is dry and clear and go for a spin. Key is to warm the engine up properly but there is absolutely no reason why you can't drive a F355 in the winter. IMHO, it is much better for the car to be driven, then to sit and have all the rubber fittings dry out all winter.

One thing that I do tend to do is not drive as aggressively given the higher likelyhood of unpleasant surprises on the road in the winter.

stile - alpine · Sep 27, 2005

Pete04222 · Sep 27, 2005

European winters are a lot different than winters in the midwest and northeast US.

In my opinion, the Ferrari is NOT a winter car and would not handle the snow well. I once had a Mustang GT as a daily driver and that thing would get stuck in a parking lot in 4" of snow. (Plus I once hit a patch of ice and anti-lock braked right into a tree.) I park my Ferrari for the winter (usually in December before the first snow). I put fuel stabilizer in the gas tank, run that through, treat the cylinders with some fogging oil and pull the battery out and store that in the basement. When I put the car up, it is ready to sit for the winter and endure temperature extremes. The main problem with "taking it out on a nice clear day" is that when you put it back in the garage and shut it off, condensation will form inside the engine. Plus in Maine we use salt to help keep the roads clear. I really don't want salt on the underside of my car.

If you are going to drive the car in the winter, you really need to drive it regularly to boil off the condensation, keep it clean and get some decent snow tires. The Bridgestone Blizzak is a good performance snow tire. If you are only going to take the car out once a month "on good days", you are probably doing more harm than good and would be better off properly storing it and leaving it alone.

Just my opinion, but summer is the realm of the Ferrari and winter is the realm of the 4x4.

jungathart · Sep 28, 2005

Would have to agree with Pete. I don't know if road salts are used in Europe but here in eastern PA you can get up to 6 months of winter; once the salt is put down, the corrosion process begins on cars which are exposed to it. I suspect that if one has a Ferrari then one would likely have something less exotic to kick around in winter [a Porsche would be a candidate: German steel is hard to rust!] 8)

stile - alpine · Sep 28, 2005

move to Brazil, then...

here you´ll be able to drive your Ferrari all year

no snow, no salt, no cold, nothing

the problem is that the roads are not good...

and the taxes are very high

danthemanjayhawk · Sep 28, 2005

winter driving

Well, I would never drive it when there is snow or any moisture on the road. The road salt does concern me a bit. Fortunately, we only get about 90 days of that stuff Kansas, depending on the year.

I do have 2 other cars including a Boxter 6 S 6 Speed.
However, I am afraid that I will need to sell it to keep the peace in my household.

Magnum6464 · Sep 28, 2005

Here in Canada we have salt and when its too cold sand or small rocks the size of cat litter on the road. Salt is really, really bad for a car, after the first year you WILL HAVE RUST. Now I dont think Ferrari's are treated with winter undercoating (sticky rubber sludge).

If maintenance needs to be done from the bottom of the car, you will get hit hard with a bill, because this crap (undercoating) is almost like liquid tar. I would not even consider it as well as the condensation/humidity to the rest of your car because it would have to dry completely and they never do once driven in the winter.

Now a 355 is a lot lower than a Toyota MR2 (my previous car) I drove it in the winter a few times because of an emergency and what a disaster, sliding all around on 2 inches of snow. It was nice clear day when I left for a quick drive, 5 miles out..........snow storm....weather man was wrong.

If you plan on driving it in the winter, good luck and order a few front spoilers because they will catch everything including a block of ice from a rear fender of another car !
~My 2 cents~

Boxer · Sep 29, 2005

To clarify my earlier comments, I am basing it on a location where snow is very uncommon, the roads are not salted, and your only major concerns might be lingering overnight ice on the road (pretty rare).

danthemanjayhawk · Sep 29, 2005

I have two follow up questions.

First, I am unclear as to what the issue is on condensation or moisture. Is this moisture based upon simply running the engine in cold temperature? Sorry but I'm just not following the posts on this issue.

Second, it sounds as if the car(s) are not built with very good anti- corrosive measures in place. Is this correct? While I would NEVER drive the car when there is moisture on the ground, there is sometimes lingering salt on the dry pavement. That said, the entire underbody of the 355 is of course covered and hence my confusion.

Thanks!

308ROB · Sep 29, 2005

I agree with Boxer,
When its cold and the road is clean and dry no problem.
But first slowly warm your engine and take time to warm up your tires.
And when you reach home again, wash your car very good.

Dantheman,
Boiling condensation, I think Peter is referring to make your exhaust very good warm so that there is no water inside the exhaust and your engine anymore.

Magnum6464 · Sep 30, 2005

danthemanjayhawk,

First question answer: Not by just running the engine, driving, your breath inside the car (condensation, remember bringing a girl somewhere to park the windows get all foggy :lol: :lol: ) and you will use the heater to warm the inside of the car, defrost the windsheild if need be etc... Now, when you turn off your car, there is a high amount of humidity inside the cabin area. To understand with a visual example, you would need to have a heated garage, and you would know what I mean. when you would leave the heated garage, and park it outside for an hours or so, the entire windsheild will frost up from the inside. Not good !!!!! that means all other components would have that kind of reaction (sensors, computer, interior panels etc) If you use the car regularly then its not too much of a problem but not good. And dont park it in a heated garage if you use your Ferrari in the winter, turn the heat off in your garage.

Second question: the tires will kick the salt up everywhere...front tires turn inside/outside, it gets into everything, and rear gets kicked up because of wheel spin

I did a full inspection that one year I drove my MR2 a few times in the winter and I had salt and sand everywhere.

Winter driving

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