I’m looking for technical help or recommendations on: Winter driving.
Hi all, new to the club and MX-5 ownership in general! Bought my first MX-5 in the spring and have had an absolute blast with it over the summer. Due to the tyres that it came with being very very old I was quick to whack some summer tyres on it (Toyo Proxes TR1 to be exact). Now I don’t plan to drive it in the winter when it gets icy, salty and beyond freezing temperatures but I’d like to drive it when I can. I envisioned that it would be alright when the temps were something like 5-10 degrees but yesterday I oversteered quite a bit coming off a roundabout and if there was other traffic there definitely could’ve been an accident!
Didn’t feel like I was going all too fast and have done that roundabout much quicker than that in the summer and been perfectly fine! For reference it was about 11 degrees. Am I just worrying myself too much? I have another car so theoretically can just retire the car over the winter but I’d like to keep getting use of it because I love driving the thing. Sorry if this sort of thing sounds stupid to you guys, this is only my second car coming from a 60hp VW Up! So am still learning the thing!
Long story short, with the tyres that I have, is ok to be driving my MX-5 in the less cold and dryer winter days or are summer tyres just a flat no during these months?
TR1’s aren’t some supersport semi-slick, they’ll be roughly as good in the cold and dank as those Kumhos, of Goodyears, or Michelins.
The way forward is to train your right foot to be less digital with your throttle. As you say, you’ve jumped from a 60hp front-dragger to a lightweight rear-drive machine with twice the go.
First damp afternoon I took my MX-5 out, I also found myself pointing the wrong way, but that was my fault from thinking I could treat it like a Clio 172.
What tyre pressure are you running at?
Overinflated tyres would reduce your grip.
Consensus is that MX-5s work best at 29 PSI all round which is lower than you may be used to seeing.
(Also a shout out for Uniroyal Rainsport 5 tyres which are a good choice, especially in the drizzly weather we’ve got at the moment.)
I’ve got Toyo Proxes on my NC and was amazed how good they were when we had a really cold snap and icy roads. My road doesn’t get salted as it’s a side road but the car didn’t slip once, obviously at low speed!
Not sure about the tyres you have, but I’ve certainly seen a number of summer tyres not recommend for use below 7c as their performance really drops off. Beggars belief then, why manufacturers are allows to fit them as standard in the UK …
Decent matching rubber as suggested. 25/26 PSI all round, perhaps a lazer alingnment if funds allow.
Then make friends with your right foot, gear ratio ( highest possible without labouring) and super sensitive steering. Your car is just waiting for the right inputs as Hiroshma designed.
I drove both mine all seasons for 15 years…but then…Im Old School.
Some of the above comments ring true. You may have been getting away with accelerating too early off a roundabout, FWD style, while the grip has been good during to he summer. Greasy Autumn road surfaces will find you out if so.
I find the gear ratios between 2nd and 3rd on the wife’s Up! too far apart compared with my NC3.5. I have to get near the red line in 2nd to get near to any useable power band in 3rd. If you haven’t got out of that habit in your current car it’s probably more at risk of spinning up on the limit of grip and it’s revvy nature will add to that.
