Daily Driving an S2k All Year in Colorado?
07-29-2018, 07:58 AM
#1
Daily Driving an S2k All Year in Colorado?
Hello! I'm thinking about moving to Colorado, but my only car is my S2000. Since I currently live in CA, it's easy to drive the car year round, however, I'm wondering if I can do the same in Colorado, considering the snowy winters.
Is anyone daily driving their S2000?
Is anyone daily driving their S2000?
07-29-2018, 01:41 PM
#2
Mine is a weekend toy so I don't have firsthand experience with it in snow. But as someone who moved to Colorado from California, the amount of snow you will see and its impact on driving varies significantly depending on where you live. I ran a lowered E36 BMW for the first winter and did ok. Putting a set of snow tires on makes a huge difference for any car and, except for ice, gives surprising amounts of grip. The more likely problem you will have is ground clearance if you drive on roads before they are plowed. But in general, in the Denver metro area, most people think we get a lot more snow than we actually do.
08-19-2018, 05:44 PM
#3
Depends on where in Colorado, if you are in the Denver metro area it won’t be an issue as long as you have snow tires and drive cautiously.
There are a few people in the local crew that use their s2000 as daily’s and plow through the snow in lowered cars.
There are a few people in the local crew that use their s2000 as daily’s and plow through the snow in lowered cars.
12-07-2018, 10:50 AM
#4
Registered User
I came to Colorado 5 years ago with my S2000 as my only vehicle. I purchased a winter beater, which proved unreliable, then a new Subaru (and an extra set of wheels with snow tires). I mostly drive the Subaru because I need to haul stuff from Home Depot. I do not commute for work.
The thing that was outside of my comprehension was just how hard Colorado is on vehicles. A large percentage of vehicles have cracked windshields. Cars are frequently broken down along the interstate. The mag chloride put down on the roads will greatly accelerate underbody rust. It's not impossible to keep a vehicle in good shape, but it's far more difficult than in more moderate climates. The weaker ones are claimed quickly.
The S2000 is at a disadvantage when it comes to snow-worthiness. It is light. The tires are wide. It has minimal ground clearance. The low height of the windshield makes it more susceptible to rocks, and rocks there are - there's a reason it's called the "Rockies". On a Craigslist buy once the guy had a Corvette in his garage. Said he *could* drive it in the winter, but didn't. He showed me what happened when he did - rock chips all over the front bumper. A lifetime's worth if it were in Florida.
My new Subaru has just over 19000 miles on it now. The front lights and bumper are sandblasted. The rims have rock chips. The windshield is chipped but not cracked (I bought crack protection, probably why). I have the snow tires on it 7 months out of the year (I'm at 7400 feet in the foothills, not far out though).
I have Bridgestone RE-11A's on the S, the older style with more sipes so I can drive it in the rain. The "sand" that is put down for snow traction at some intersections is more like small gravel. The light S and wide tires make it glide right over it, I've slid many times driving over it. In other vehicles with All-Season tires you never notice. Also the sticky tires pick up ever speck of sand and fling it into the wheel well, it sounds like I'm driving through a hail storm.
If you were to drive it in the show, I'd suggest a separate, dedicated set of wheels and snow tires. The tire shops jam up quickly upon news of the first winter storm. I can put the set on and take them off whenever I please. I would suggest much narrower tires all around, nothing over 205 width, 195 would be even better. Depending upon what aspect ratio that works out to be, there may be limited manufacturers that make the size. On our Subarus, my wife and I have the non-studded Michelin X-Ice Xi3 snow tires. Everybody loves the Blizzaks, but the consensus is they work great for one season and then are toast (plenty of tread left too).
Another thing to consider is damage due to accidents (in the winter it is like bumper cars, amazing a Florida guy can outdrive native Coloradans in the snow) and other natural disasters - namely hail. A hail storm took out my wife's Outback and our roof in May 2017. Ironically it's worse farther south in Colorado Springs - they get softball sized hail nearly once a year now.
Another thing to consider is a soft top in the cold. It is a poor insulator. If you have a plastic rear window, well, it is doomed. I have a hardtop that rarely comes off.
Personally I just don't drive it that much. The Fall is when they are first putting down gravel and mag choride, and in the Spring it's still lingering. So it sits in the third garage on a battery tender most of the time. S2000's are pretty rare around here, I have never seen another one with a hard top but apparently there is at least on other one according to a forum post I read once.
In the Southern part of the Denver metro area there are all the exotic car dealerships - Ferrari included. If I had the money, I wouldn't have one here. It would get torn up in no time at all. This is not a place where you can keep a vehicle mint, unless you never drive it.
The thing that was outside of my comprehension was just how hard Colorado is on vehicles. A large percentage of vehicles have cracked windshields. Cars are frequently broken down along the interstate. The mag chloride put down on the roads will greatly accelerate underbody rust. It's not impossible to keep a vehicle in good shape, but it's far more difficult than in more moderate climates. The weaker ones are claimed quickly.
The S2000 is at a disadvantage when it comes to snow-worthiness. It is light. The tires are wide. It has minimal ground clearance. The low height of the windshield makes it more susceptible to rocks, and rocks there are - there's a reason it's called the "Rockies". On a Craigslist buy once the guy had a Corvette in his garage. Said he *could* drive it in the winter, but didn't. He showed me what happened when he did - rock chips all over the front bumper. A lifetime's worth if it were in Florida.
My new Subaru has just over 19000 miles on it now. The front lights and bumper are sandblasted. The rims have rock chips. The windshield is chipped but not cracked (I bought crack protection, probably why). I have the snow tires on it 7 months out of the year (I'm at 7400 feet in the foothills, not far out though).
I have Bridgestone RE-11A's on the S, the older style with more sipes so I can drive it in the rain. The "sand" that is put down for snow traction at some intersections is more like small gravel. The light S and wide tires make it glide right over it, I've slid many times driving over it. In other vehicles with All-Season tires you never notice. Also the sticky tires pick up ever speck of sand and fling it into the wheel well, it sounds like I'm driving through a hail storm.
If you were to drive it in the show, I'd suggest a separate, dedicated set of wheels and snow tires. The tire shops jam up quickly upon news of the first winter storm. I can put the set on and take them off whenever I please. I would suggest much narrower tires all around, nothing over 205 width, 195 would be even better. Depending upon what aspect ratio that works out to be, there may be limited manufacturers that make the size. On our Subarus, my wife and I have the non-studded Michelin X-Ice Xi3 snow tires. Everybody loves the Blizzaks, but the consensus is they work great for one season and then are toast (plenty of tread left too).
Another thing to consider is damage due to accidents (in the winter it is like bumper cars, amazing a Florida guy can outdrive native Coloradans in the snow) and other natural disasters - namely hail. A hail storm took out my wife's Outback and our roof in May 2017. Ironically it's worse farther south in Colorado Springs - they get softball sized hail nearly once a year now.
Another thing to consider is a soft top in the cold. It is a poor insulator. If you have a plastic rear window, well, it is doomed. I have a hardtop that rarely comes off.
Personally I just don't drive it that much. The Fall is when they are first putting down gravel and mag choride, and in the Spring it's still lingering. So it sits in the third garage on a battery tender most of the time. S2000's are pretty rare around here, I have never seen another one with a hard top but apparently there is at least on other one according to a forum post I read once.
In the Southern part of the Denver metro area there are all the exotic car dealerships - Ferrari included. If I had the money, I wouldn't have one here. It would get torn up in no time at all. This is not a place where you can keep a vehicle mint, unless you never drive it.
03-08-2019, 12:47 PM
#5
Late reply, but I drove mine all winter the first year I lived in Denver (up to the mountains every weekend for snow too!) and the rock chips were insane! My fresh front bumper looked like it had been peppered by birdshot after only a couple of months. A few years back, they weren't super heavy on the mag-chloride but now, with all the people coming in from non-snow states they are very liberal with application. The stuff will crystallize all over your car once it dries!
04-18-2019, 09:37 AM
#6
If you think the mag chloride is bad... Go to the Midwest where the salt will rust through a new car in a couple of years. My 168k mile Jeep looks new to a Midwesterner.
Where are you at? I am in the foothills of Golden as well.
I came to Colorado 5 years ago with my S2000 as my only vehicle. I purchased a winter beater, which proved unreliable, then a new Subaru (and an extra set of wheels with snow tires). I mostly drive the Subaru because I need to haul stuff from Home Depot. I do not commute for work.
My new Subaru has just over 19000 miles on it now. The front lights and bumper are sandblasted. The rims have rock chips. The windshield is chipped but not cracked (I bought crack protection, probably why). I have the snow tires on it 7 months out of the year (I'm at 7400 feet in the foothills, not far out though).
My new Subaru has just over 19000 miles on it now. The front lights and bumper are sandblasted. The rims have rock chips. The windshield is chipped but not cracked (I bought crack protection, probably why). I have the snow tires on it 7 months out of the year (I'm at 7400 feet in the foothills, not far out though).
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