S2Crazy,

I will give you point number 2. The tranny is balky till it warms up. But then it is totally happy.

On the tire point, just read some of the threads on this subject as Cedric has mentioned.

I live in Brookline and with LM-22s all around, the car is great during the winter.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by S2Krazy
[B]...1.

 

don't drive it in the winter...usually takes care of all of the above

 

2 words. SNOW TIRES!

 

Thanks for all of the above replies. It's just that I almost feel like I'm hurting the synchros when it shifts real notchy. As far as the tires, would snow tires give me a descent ride?

 

If you are planning to drive in Mass this winter, go immediately to tirerack.com and purchase 4 bilzzak LM-22's. I had them last year and drove up to ski areas without any problems at all. In fact, I liked them as all weather tires so much that I left them on until June! LM-22's can be driven fast in wet and dry. Get them!!

 

I am now on snow tires. They do not handle as crisply as the S-02's. The widest snow tires I could find for the 16 inch wheels were 215. The originals are as you know 245. That is 3cm per tire or total 6cm less contact patch on the rears alone . I can tell you spinnning the tires is much easier, and the oversteer is significantly increased. In addition, the rubber compound is softer than S-02s, and the sidewalls are very soft. The crisp handling is transformed to a very imprecise, numb feel in terms of steering response.

But traction on snow and ice is greatly improved, as well as straight-ahead stability. Braking distances on snow and ice are greatly reduced.

In summary, snow tires will never have near the performance of the S-02s, nor vice-versa. Each tire is designed to be good on only one aspect, fair weather or bad weather. Since we have a bit of both here, I change tires to suit the season.

In addition, this change tires with the season is dictated by LAW in Sweden From dec 1 to April 1 You must have Winter tires on if the conditions warrant it. If caught cheating, the police will ask you to park the car right then and there and ask you to walk home.

Jonas

 

C'mon guys, don't give him grief about moving somewhere else....

The poor handling is indeed due to your S-02s in cold weather. The rubber compound isn't designed to do well when the temperature drops... Also, you'll start to get cold condensation/ice and stuff, which if course the tires also aren't designed to be able to handle.

So... Yes, you'll need separate tires for winter time, if you plan on driving your car a lot. I don't offer that as a suggestion, either; for the safety of others AND yourself, have the proper sneakers on your car. You don't jog in snow boots, or trudge through snow in running shoes, right? Same thing.

I know that there are some wider sizes available for winter tires, but you might have to go to a newer/more expensive new model of performance winter tire to achieve that (which you should want, anyway). I also could suggest the Nokian NRW, which is actually an all-season, but since it's made by Nokian--who produce the best snow tires in the land--I would think they'll handle VERY well in winter.
www.nokiantyre.com I think is their website... check for sizes.

Usually the best option is to purchase a second set of wheels to mount your snow tires on, so you save money in the long run with mount/remount costs. You can just remount the other set yourself, too. It's also best to go for a smaller wheel and narrower tire, that is if a 15" will even fit on the S2k. One might, but it's have to have the right offset, too, to clear the calipers. TireRack can help you.

 

My wife's I30t has 16" Nokian NRW 4-seasons with alloys on it. We use them as November - March tires. Though they are not as sticky or quiet as the stock RE92s in warm-dry, they are better in rain and *MUCH* better on snow/ice. They are very predictable in all conditions. The tread pattern and compound appears to be very similar to LM22s. At her present rate of wear (and an unusually warm, dry winter here!) we should get about 20 months of wear out of them (ie 4yrs).

 

I use my second car on cold days, it takes some concentration to drive this car smoothly and safely in cold conditions.