Winter driving tips

[Will_Ringrose]

Any one have any tips for winter driving? I have about a 24 mile round trip to take every day with my GT6.

I just orders some snow and winter tires (we had our first snow in this area and i made it just fine to work and back). I did just pick up a small shovel to keep in the back in-case I get stuck somewhere.

Also... the rear window defrost is really badly messed up. I am only getting 1 or 2 lines working. Anyone have any experience repairing them? Any tips to share?


:edit: Photo of me warming up the GT6 in the light snow

 

[Darwin]

Easy on the gas and brakes. My spitfire wants to spin out if I get on either too quickly. Avoid ice and glazed packed snow if at all possible 'cause they get squiggly without grip. Other than that they are a hoot to drive in the snow. You might want to put a couple hundred pounds of sand in the back also.
Dress warm. The heater in my spit seems to be there more to blow air for defrost rather than heat for the driver.

 

[Andrew Mace]

Did you get four winter tires? And if so, hopefully they're no wider than 155R13?

I think the idea of adding some extra weight over the rear wheels has merit, based on what I remember in driving my GT6+ through several winters back in the 190s and early 1980s. I did have good 155 snows on it, but only on the back. It helped, but one still needs to be very careful in applying power. In retrospect, I do wish I'd had the same snows on the front as well. If so, maybe I wouldn't have bent the RF suspension and lost a good pseudo-Rostyle wheel cover!

 

[Will_Ringrose]

thanks for the tips so far, the the tires i just picked up are (4) 175 17R13 no one around me carried a set of 155s that were any good in the snow. I know i could have gotten them online. But i was afraid of another snow fall before they could have shown up. They had predicted another 2 to 3 inches before they would have shown up.

 

[Andrew Mace]

You'll probably be ok with those if they're a decent, modern winter tire (good tread compound as well as tread design). I generally prefer to "go narrower" with snows, but at least you're going no wider than what most everyone now uses for "stock" summer tire size (175/70 as opposed to the original 155)!

Just don't forget to thoroughly wash the car over and under and often (especially if they use anything like the amount of salt we get here in upstate NY)!

 

[mallard]

The best tip I have is to take the Ford 4X4 parked next to the Triumph. They don't make GT6's anymore.

 

[Will_Ringrose]

I would, but its my older brother's and he needs that for is job. He is a diesel mechanic that works on pumps and generators.

 

[tdskip]

And if you can't take Keith's advice leave lots of distance between cars, make sure you have SilverStar or better headlights and bright brake lights....

 

[70herald]

:edit: Photo of me warming up the GT6 in the light snow

Where's the snow? I grew up in Michigan and I can't find any snow in that picture. Snow only happens when there is enough for it to pile up into small mountain on both sides of the road!

 

[Will_Ringrose]

Where's the snow? I grew up in Michigan and I can't find any snow in that picture. Snow only happens when there is enough for it to pile up into small mountain on both sides of the road!

I hear ya, I am originally from Washington state, but here in MD we got 1.5 inches and people act like the sky is falling.

last year we did have 2 bad storms the poor GT6 was completely buried, the snow was up the middle of windows.

But I was in Argentina in 90 degree heat visiting my girl friend... this year I am not so lucky.

 

[TR3driver]

Haven't tried on a GT6, but I had good luck repairing the defrost grid on a Murrican hatchback. I used the kind of conductive paint they sell for repairing circuit boards, but there is probably something similar available for defrost grids.

Turn the grid on, then use a voltmeter to gently probe the traces. If a particular trace is working, you will see a gradual change from 0 to 12v across the length of the trace. If not, find the point where it goes from 12v to 0 (or nearly 0 sometimes). Turn off the grid, clean the area with a Scotchbrite pad, then some solvent, then paint over the trace with the conductive paint. Wait for the paint to dry before you try again. My grid had been pretty badly abused (was a junkyard hatch), so some of the grids had 5 or 6 bad spots. But I eventually got them all working.

 

[MadMarx]

Diving tips:

on corner entry.....off throttle and steering into the corner

on corner middle and exit.....enough throttle to spin the wheels and drift the car clean out. To maintain the drift, pump on the throttle. Off the throttle when the rear comes out too far, pump again when the rear wants stop sliding.

It's not that difficult:

Cheers
Chris

 

[toysrrus]

Howdy Will,

My best "Driving Tip" would be "DON`T DRIVE THE GT6 IN SNOW"! I`m Orig. from NE PA & "Been There and Done It" as they say (Years ago when I had a MG Midget - My "Daily Driver) then. The "Deeper" the snow typ. the better "Traction" as opposed to the "Skim Coat" that is usually "Slicker than Sh_t"!

I / We have to presume the GT6 is your "Daily Driver"; Correct?

Be Careful & Have Fun over the Holidays,

Russ

 

[booley]

hi Will,
i used to carry a small squee-gee to use on the Inside of the windshield when my gt6 was a year round daily driver, cuz we both know how good the defroster is...
i used to be strong enough(not anymore) to almost lift the rear of the car if i got stuck(just put it in neutral, get out and push) the idea of carrying bags of sand is good, but not more than 100lbs, too much might weight in the back might give you a pendulum effect. put one bag over each wheel, and it can also be used if stuck.

Can't stress enough, to maintain a safe following distance. allow yourself plenty of room to stop. it bothers me to no end when roads are bad, and traffic slows to a crawl, but everyone is TWO FEET off each others bumper!!!

avoid hard braking in turns, the car will just go straight(don't ask how i know this)
they are fun cars to drive in the snow, but remember, no matter how careful you are, you can't stop some BOZO from running into YOU...

 

[swift6]

Keep your revs low too. Selecting the next higher gear than you would normally use is an old fashinoned form of traction control. Momentum can be your friend too, a slow and steady but constantly moving works well. Warm tires, and they can still warm up even driving in cold weather, sitting stationary on packed snow can make little ice patches that cause wheel spin when trying to pull away.

 

[Will_Ringrose]

Thank you all for the advice and tips, and yes right now the GT6 is my only car.

I did just add a headlight relay system to help make the headlights as bright as they can be. I did just replace the rear tail lights and lenses. So with the new winter tires on it I think I will be fine following all of the advice you guys have given.

Thanks for helping this young 20 something have more confidence behind the wheel in bad weather.

 

[mikecyc72usa]

I had a 69 and a 70 GT6 in the 90's in Indianapolis. Just drove carefully with stock 155 radials on. Accelerate gently, no sudden movements, you'll be fine. Release brake pedal as soon as you feel slip, then hit it again. Do this really fast on really slippery surfaces, it's a primitive ABS. Like racing in the rain, use a gear higher than normal in turns, etc. Also, put a hotter thermostat in, as hot as possible. Flush the cooling system, too. Makes a massive difference. I fought my way from Indianapolis to Kingston, NY in late January via Canada, Lake Placid, etc. I was very comfy in the car and needed only a sweater when it was really cold. Of course my trip coincided with a great storm front, so it snowed the entire 3 days I drove. But I loved it.

 

[TexasKnucklehead]

I once drove my MGB to Pa in the winter. I blocked the radiator with cardboard to get some heat out, almost warm enough to remove my gloves on the 26 hour drive. At one point my car was blocking another in my folks driveway and my little brother offered to move it. An hour later he came back and asked if I knew how tiny the donuts were that the MG would make.

You need to go to a parking lot or free space covered with snow and slide around. Nothing teaches you handling better than practice. Stop, start and slide, but be careful. It is great fun, and I never held it against my brother for learning how the car might react. I miss driving in the snow.

 

[vagt6]

Russ hit it right on the head (we speak from experience). I drove a GT6 daily for several years, including VA winters, so I can speak with confidence: sorry to say that the GT6 is one of the <span style="text-decoration: underline">worst</span> snow driving cars, ever.

That light GT6 rear end offers awful traction in snow, and that heavy front end will fly away from you like a bird if ice is encountered (especially in a turn). And, when you lose the front end suddenly on an icy patch, the rear end (throttle) won't help because of the poor traction! This, or course, is a recipe for disaster. That exact thing happened to me on an icy road once, resulting in a mashed bonnet (cost $500+ to fix, the car only cost me $1,800)! The torquey six and low gearing doesn't help traction on ice/snow, either.

My humble advice is to park the GT6 in a nice, warm garage and drive something else in snow/ice conditions. It's a literal hazard, downright dangerous if the roads are really bad.

Absolutely <span style="font-weight: bold">awful</span> car in the snow!

 

[tomshobby]

I completely agree with Russ. Had a GT6 and tried it on snow and ice. Like stated earlier it has to be the worst winter car ever.

For the rear window; find a hobby shop that carries 1/4" and/or 1/2" scale doll house buildings and kits. They will have electrical contact tape. It appears much like pin striping tape but has copper instead of paint.