So who drives their Mustang in the winter?

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One thing I have been wondering though. You know how our windows rol down like 1/4 inch to allow the door to open? What happens when the windows freeze?

Good Question because I drive mine year round and the window does freeze a few times a year and usually ,If you don't notice that it is frozen,the door just bounces back open and you have to get the window unstuck. But one time last year I opened the door not really noticing that it was frozen, jumped in and closed the door and broke the black trim just above where the top of the mirror is. It was close to -40 Deg F though so you guys probably have nothing to worry about if you don't slam the door too hard. Lots of stuff breaks here when its that cold...

:canada:
 
Do what i did...I waited for my little brother to join the Border Patrol and get shipped to Arizon for 15 months, Now i make Half of his monthly payments on his Grand Cherokee for teh winter months. And when summer comes i give it back to him and stop the payments.

Or...if you don't have a ffamily member willing to join the military life...

you could get a credit card and buy yourself a $1500 winter beater and that way you can make payments over winter for way lower interest that a bank loan (you will never get a loan for less than $5000 these days), and you won't have to deal with a bank. you can just put the cheapest insurance on it, Get a honda or something that is easy to work on if it breaks, a nice new battery so it starts...and e-brake the hell out of it all winter.
 
I will never drive any one of my mustangs in the winter ever again!! But I don't live in sunny Florida anymore either. My wife was driving during the first snow we got.. she ended up doing 360's done the middle of the road. So, I took over and I have got to say that thing drove like total crap. The backend would slide out barely touching the throttle and if you had to stop even on the slightest incline for a light, forget going forward. Towards the end of that first year, even got rear ended.

Now, once the first snow hits and the roads get all messy, the stangs are put away until spring. I picked up an old beat up 85 F150 that i drive and it only cost me $800....

my .02, park it.

LB
 
I agree that $0.5K isn't going to get you much of a beater...however, there are plenty of $3-4K beaters out there that are very dependable and will not cost much to maintain. It's a much better alternative then having some jerk run into your baby on an icy day...definitely peace of mind getting a decent "daily driver."
 
Remember it Isn't your driving you always have to worry about, It is the other drivers loosing control...My first accident was a 16 yr old girl rearended me in my baby during the first snow storm of the year. If that happened to my new stang i would cry...
 
I will never drive any one of my mustangs in the winter ever again!! But I don't live in sunny Florida anymore either. My wife was driving during the first snow we got.. she ended up doing 360's done the middle of the road. So, I took over and I have got to say that thing drove like total crap. The backend would slide out barely touching the throttle and if you had to stop even on the slightest incline for a light, forget going forward. Towards the end of that first year, even got rear ended.

Now, once the first snow hits and the roads get all messy, the stangs are put away until spring. I picked up an old beat up 85 F150 that i drive and it only cost me $800....

my .02, park it.

LB

Already have the 69 Mach sitting in the garage. The 'other half' would kill me if I bought yet another car as my DD and let the GT sit in there too. :rlaugh:
 
I agree that $0.5K isn't going to get you much of a beater...however, there are plenty of $3-4K beaters out there that are very dependable and will not cost much to maintain. It's a much better alternative then having some jerk run into your baby on an icy day...definitely peace of mind getting a decent "daily driver."



Man, if I had 3-4k right now I'd be happier than a pig in ****.
 
Winter

I drive my '06 GT 'vert all year round - that includes snow, ice - whatever. I did decide to improve my odds this year - I bought 4 Dunlop winter tires, although my Michelin Pilot Sport A/S tires did very well last winter. It's all in the tires.
 
Sledding

I drive mine a 100 miles per weekday year round. I live in NJ, we don't get frequent snow but it happens. I use a set of take-off rims with stud less snow tires.

I will be replacing the radiator support and swaybar before it gets too nasty.

update
1.6 60' 12.6 ET
27mpg on 87octane
 
I drove my 95 GT through 2 years of Michigan winters on the stock 245 Gatorback tires. White knuckles for sure.

Rule #1. Don't stop moving.

I've used snow tires when I had my 99 Civic Si. Transformed that car into a 4x4 crushing rice rocket.

I drove my 07 GT last year on stock Pirellis. If there is an inch or 3 on the ground, it's "do-able." With 7+ inches of snow..it's impossible.

This year....next week, actually...I'm going to order some Dunlop WinterSport M3s or some Michelin X-Ice Xi2 snow tires. If it's anything like my old Civic was, I'll be a much happier camper this winter.

I would spend $500-700 on good snow tires (wheels too, if you need 'em)...rather than a beater car. Don't put a beater car on a credit card either, that's plain stupid. The money you save in having insurance for 2 cars, payments for 2 cars, plates for 2 cars, fixing the beater car....sigh....just get some tires. Not sure where you live, but even in Michigan, the snow gets plowed after a few days from a big storm.

Good luck.
 
I would never put a beater car on a credit card, I never put anything on a credit card that I can't pay off that month.

I live in Chicago, so our winters are probably almost the same as yours. The way I figure it is, during a snowstorm it shouldn't be ad because the road is hot since all my driving is in traffic. Once snow is plowed, it doesn't matter, that's just like rain then. The only problem would be after a big snow storm before the roads are plowed, in which case I just take the wife's truck. Other issue would be getting out of my garage since alleys aren't plowed, but I can just take the time to snow-blow the area in front of my garage and far enough down the alley to get momentum. I figure that if it becomes an issue once snow starts, I'll buy a set of snow tires and put them on my drag radial rims.
 
I drive mine a 100 miles per weekday year round. I live in NJ, we don't get frequent snow but it happens. I use a set of take-off rims with stud less snow tires.

I will be replacing the radiator support and swaybar before it gets too nasty.

update
1.6 60' 12.6 ET
27mpg on 87octane

I have had E-brake freeze ups and drained water out when I dropped the cables during LCA install.
 
I drive mine during the winter with the stock tires. In summer I have a set of 18" tires and rims I put on. If it gets wrecked (God Forbid) thats what full coverage insurance, and good credit is for in case I have to replace it. IMHO Mustangs were made to be driven.
 
I live in the DC/Baltimore area and I've been driving F-bodies and Mustangs since I was 16, all year round. Granted, we normally have moderate winters and if we do get a big snow storm, it shuts everything down. My parents are from upstate NY and taught me how to drive in the snow at a young age...their major complaint is that up North, you get a snowplow every hour. They are lucky to get one per day, just outside of Annapolis, MD.

I had my last Mustang for three winters. It was lowered, had summer 275s, and about 370 RWHP. I could drive in anything that wasn't too deep for me to get over. Yes, the rear-end wants to jump out...but it is avoidable most of the time, and managable at others. Respect ice at all times, even in a Hummer, though.

One of my main complaints is that I'd (safely) be doing highway speeds down Interstates, but the people in their 4WD/AWD SUVs would be doing 35 with their flashers on...but they'd fail to move over to the right. People freak out when it snows down here.

My other main complaint is that the other 50% of the people don't change their driving habits for snow at all. They try to do 85 mph on people's bumpers, weaving in and out...and it just ends up badly. I've driven in much of this country, and others...drivers in the NoVA, DC, central MD area are absolutely insane. And I'm referring to a majority of them; no exaggeration. I wouldn't attempt most of the stuff I see on a daily basis at a race-track, for money. So, on a day with 1/2" of snow...I'll see honestly 6-12 wrecks in a 30 mile span of highway. So I definitely second what someone else said...it's not just you that you have to worry about.

However, if I was in a position to have a beater, I probably would since I bought this car brand new. But you honestly don't need one where I live. If the snow gets too bad to drive a Mustang, everything closes down because people freak out.