Show Us Your Motors!

Acme said:
:D



Slightly more interesting replacement for the Skoda. Always wanted one, now have one. It will be less pink soon, on the to do list. :)

I'm in love to be perfectly honest. It was my favourite car after the first mile, and despite being 26 years old it is the most refined, comfortable car I've ever owned. It goes really well, stops really well, corners fairly well, and makes no weird noises at all. The engine note though, sounds like it was engineered by God. :eek:

Minimal rust, fresh MOT. Few little "old car" issues but nothing major, most of them I don't mind because they add to its charm and character. Like the wipers sometimes stopping in random positions instead of at the bottom, and the fuel gauge occasionally needing a tap to wake it up. :D
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I knew there was something behind that beenie man thread!

Awesome purchase, turn it into a drift pig!
 
[TW]Fox;30444264 said:
It's a Mazda not a Lotus, it's absolutely fine for daily use.
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Not ideal for winter when the roads are icy. Its about as appropriate as a Lotus. lightweight and RWD.
 
You don't have to be silly and inept to think that a lightweight RWD car isn't ideal for icy roads.

I have only hit ice in a RWD car (the MX5) once, at about 10MPH on a right hand turn, and the back swang out to almost 90 degrees and I corrected it.

I just assumed hitting ice on a sweeping bend for example, would be somewhat worse than understeering into a verge in a FWD car?
 
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Acme said:
You don't have to be silly and inept to think that a lightweight RWD car isn't ideal for icy roads.

I have only hit ice in a RWD car (the MX5) once, at about 10MPH on a right hand turn, and the back swang out to almost 90 degrees and I corrected it.

I just assumed hitting ice on a sweeping bend for example, would be somewhat worse than understeering into a verge in a FWD car?
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The thing is, you will very rarely hit sheet ice when on the roads, unless you're doing a lot of proper countryside driving. If you do hit sheet ice it doesn't matter what you're in, whether it be a Land Rover or a Porsche 911 - you will go straight on. What happens most of the time in a UK winter is that the road is cold and greasy as hell from the salt which has been put down.

In a FWD car, generally you've only got to look out for understeer, which in low grip conditions is still pretty controllable provided you're not driving like an absolute loon (which you shouldn't be if it's potentially icy outside).

The issue with RWD cars in cold conditions is that you've got to look out for understeer and oversteer. When you come up to the bend, you've got to make sure you don't understeer off the road, and when you come out of the bend and give it a bit of throttle, you've got to make sure you don't oversteer. This can show itself as a bit of a shimmy from the back end, or more dramatically when you spin the car.

If you're getting understeer into a bend - you're going too fast. If you're getting oversteer out of a bend, you're using too much throttle. Traction control is normally very good at catching both of these before they happen and can usually save your backside, but if you don't have it, you just have to be extra careful because you won't get a second chance. I still can't believe there are morons out there who turn off the traction control in very cold/greasy conditions, even in powerful RWD cars.
 
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Nice summary, thanks.

Neither car has traction control, but I do drive cautiously in wet/icy conditions anyway.

Both have ABS though thankfully. :)
 
Siliconslave said:
first week commuting with my first MX5 it snowed - went sideways around a roundabout with the topdown right in front of a police car :eek:

MTFU ;)
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I've accidentally done that on purpose before........ :D

By which I mean, I didn't see the police car.

Thankfully nothing came of it.

I'm generally not too worried, its just the windy little deep country lanes which I sometimes take to avoid traffic which are a concern... I could avoid using them, but it would almost double my journey time on a bad day.

Anyway, I'm not sure how this discussion started, I just said "dailying the MX5 :eek:"

Anyone want a skoda?? One careful owner, low miles...
 
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Acme said:
You don't have to be silly and inept to think that a lightweight RWD car isn't ideal for icy roads.

I have only hit ice in a RWD car (the MX5) once, at about 10MPH on a right hand turn, and the back swang out to almost 90 degrees and I corrected it.

I just assumed hitting ice on a sweeping bend for example, would be somewhat worse than understeering into a verge in a FWD car?
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You hit ice in any car on a sweeping bend and you are going to have trouble. Fortunately the conditions that lead to sheet ice forming on roads are reasonably rare and make themselves fairly obvious if they might occur so if you ever are unlucky enough to encounter them hopefully it won't be a complete surprise.
 
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