[blitzwing]

I'm going to start getting the car ready for the long cold winter months, and the odd snowstorm which comes with it. I bought the car almost two months ago now, so I've still yet to do some of the routine maintenance. It's a 96 LS, manual, and the engine has close to 110,000 miles on it. I've got a few questions.

- What oil should I be running? Weight, brand, organic/synth? I figure brand doesn't matter much.

- How does the MX6 handle in snow? I figure I was going to replace the fronts with some all weather rubber. The rears might not be all weather, but they've got a good amount of tread left. Will that be adequate?

- I was waxing the car this past weekend and noticed that the clear coat is starting to peel on the hood and a few other places. Is there a way to slow it down or protect the problem areas for the winter, or even longer term?

Thanks guys.

 

[Running Wild]

Alot of people on this site like the synthetic but it comes down to what you can afford and what you like. I would change your oil to a 5w30 and a good set of all season or winter tires. I have a 93ls and it handles fine in snow, I own my own business so I have to go to work no mater what, and I have gone through almost all conditions and the car handles great, just dont drive like an a$$. Your paint, I would put a few extra coats of wax or you could spray bomb some more clearcoat on but I dont know if I would trust that stuff. As a small tip this winter, make sure you wash under your car, try to keep the salt and crap off of the frame, exaust ect.

 

[yamaha_rider28]

What's a good kind of wax to use to protect the car during winter? And how often do you think I should wash the undercarriage, once a week? Today is the first snow, good for snowboarding, bad for car.

 

[Nivram]

FYI- It's coming into summer here in NZ, I'll be thinking of you all freezing your [email protected] off this winter

 

[skiingman]

What's a good kind of wax to use to protect the car during winter? And how often do you think I should wash the undercarriage, once a week? Today is the first snow, good for snowboarding, bad for car.

Same kind of wax, wash and wax the car whenever you get a good thaw. Washing/waxing cars is a PITA in the winter, unless you have a real nice place to work inside with drains in the floor.

Wash the undercarriage once a week, with high pressure water. If you just get the salty crap wet, rather than wash it all off, you are doing more harm then good.
-Garrett

Also, blitz, you might want to even go with a 0w30 synthetic.

As far as tires, whatever you can afford. I wouldn't drive my own car in the winter without four snows. It makes THAT much of a difference. The overall cost is 200-250 bucks a winter....money well spent IMHO.

The MX6 is an easy car to drive....the ABS is not the best, but it helps for sure. Driving with summer rubber on the rear will make it much easier to get into trouble though.....increasing front lateral grip without increasing rear reduces understeer.....understeer is what you want in the winter. Trust me on that
-Garrett