Trbulnt Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 (edited) Ok before I get yelled at for even contemplating this, it is only a temporary plan. I already have a Z31 that is in the middle of a SBC swap, and am in the market for a new daily driver. It is my goal to own a Z from each generation and this would help me accomplish that. I came across an 81 280ZX turbo that I am going to look at tomorrow morning. The downside is that I would need to drive this car through the rest of winter in Wisconsin. Now I have snow tires I can put on plus some sand bags in the trunk. I have driven all kinds of vehicles in all kinds of weather and am not afraid to actually drive this car in snow. I am just looking for some real world feedback if anyone does or has driven their Z in the snow and how it actually handled. I don't expect it to be the best vehicle due to its lack of weight but figure with the right tire setup it would be manageable for a few more cold/snow months. Thanks for any insight! Edited January 26, 2011 by Trbulnt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roger.svoboda Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 think about this. For many years up until the 80's rear wheel drive autos were the norm. people drove them. they learned to handle them. you could block open the waste gate to cut down the HP and help control rear wheel spin. my z32 in the wet gets beat by acuras because i can't keep the rear wheels on the ground. I need an S30 plus a 350 and a 370 to complete my collection keep on trying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trbulnt Posted January 27, 2011 Author Share Posted January 27, 2011 (edited) Thats exactly my thoughts. Heck my first car was a 72 cutlass with a 15x10 rear rim/tire combo that were useless in the snow and I still managed to get where I needed to be. I probably will never buy a 350 or 370 as I am more a G35 fan. I recently sold my 05 G35X which I regret but it allowed me to get the wife her SUV she wanted so it was worth it. Thanks for the input. Edited January 27, 2011 by Trbulnt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daemione Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 I've been driving mine all winter, I'm up in NH. It's got snow tires, but they're not good ones. It's not a hard car to drive in the snow, for a lot of the same reasons it's not a hard car to drive in the dry. Predictable handling, responsive, communicative, etc. Once traction issues are handled with the right tires, the only thing holding it back are problems inherent with the body style. e.g. low clearance means you snowplow, the sugarscoop headlights collect snow & make any night blizzard driving a non-option, and the rear wiper isn't burly enough to clear much snow. And just bear in mind the obvious lack of ABS and the open diff rwd. For tires, go as skinny as possible. Mine are far too wide @ 205mm. A light car like a Z needs 175's (or skinnier, if you can find them) to cut through the junk. fwiw, I don't recommend sandbags in the rear unless it understeers HEAVILY because of a severe frontward weight bias (i.e. an old 2wd pickup or something). Adding weight in the back might give you a little more traction off the line, but is going to be dangerous at every corner since it'll oversteer & not want to recover because of the increased pendulum effect. I just looked up & saw that you're looking at an '81 turbo . . . that's gonna be tougher. More power to try and put down, and the automatic tranny isn't going to be of much help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phil280zxt Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 My first Z was an 80 280zx and was my daily driver for three Connecticut winters. It was fun to drive in the snow, as all rear wheel cars are. Having grown up in Northern Maine, I was used to winter driving. The only issue was the depth of the snow. A Z sits pretty low and has a built in snow plow mounted under the bumper! My previous car was a 77 350 4-speed Camaro with limited slip diff. We didn't think anything of driving these cars through the salt laden winter back then. These were the current generation of cars being sold and all were rear wheel drive. Of course, the front edge of the hood was already rusting when I sold it in 1984.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trbulnt Posted January 27, 2011 Author Share Posted January 27, 2011 All great information and very appreciated. I just sold a 95 BMW 325i that is of course RWD. I installed a limited slip and had Blizzak snow tires on all 4 corners. ABS and traction control were deleted since I like to be in charge of the vehicle. That car was a beast in the snow and my biggest worry about the datsun was the fact that it is so light. The snow tires I have for the car are 175 series and I beleive the car has a limited slip rear end in it already. We will just have to wait and see if I am posting pics of my new datsun tomorrow or if the search continues. Thanks again everyone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AKZX Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 I have a daily driver here in Fairbanks, Alaska. '80 ZX NA, and it only starts to misbehave when its gets under -20F. Which is most of January and February. My only tip would be keep a close eye on everything. Running a 30 year old car through a cold winter requires much more upkeep. I'm not sure about a turbo, but my NA 5-speed is perfectly fine on ice, but we aren't as humid up here, so ice isn't as slick as it is Wisconsin. However, I did buy my car from someone who drove it as a daily driver for 8 years in Anchorage and Kenai, which is VERY humid and VERY slick, and he said it wasn't too bad. If you get below 0 degrees, buy an oil pan heater, block heater, transmission heater, and if you really care about the life of your car then a battery heater and circulating heater would help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trbulnt Posted January 27, 2011 Author Share Posted January 27, 2011 Well the car was not meant to be as it was far to rough than what I expected...I couldn't even hear the car run due to the bad starter which was new information to me. Would have been nice to know before making the 1.5 hour drive. Soo the search continues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
(goldfish) Posted January 28, 2011 Share Posted January 28, 2011 How much were they asking? And where may I ask. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trbulnt Posted January 28, 2011 Author Share Posted January 28, 2011 Asking pice was $2500.00. Location was Fall River, WI. It's on Madison, WI craigslist. If I were looking for a project car I may have contemplated dragging it home. I did locate a clean 87 N/A Z31 afterwards closer to home that I plopped some money down on since the car is receiving a new steering rack and I refuse to buy a car without driving it. I should be able to test drive that car this saturday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluto Posted January 28, 2011 Share Posted January 28, 2011 +1 for ZX's driving well in the winter, mine is on winter duty now. I havent run with snow tires, I keep telling myself I wont drive my datsuns in the winter heh. I bet they would be great tho. I have an awd soob that has snow tires so I have an idea of what traction can be. What are you looking for in a ZX? Mine will be for sale soon.. Sam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluDestiny Posted January 28, 2011 Share Posted January 28, 2011 I like the look of that frosted zx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trbulnt Posted January 28, 2011 Author Share Posted January 28, 2011 +1 for ZX's driving well in the winter, mine is on winter duty now. I havent run with snow tires, I keep telling myself I wont drive my datsuns in the winter heh. I bet they would be great tho. I have an awd soob that has snow tires so I have an idea of what traction can be. What are you looking for in a ZX? Mine will be for sale soon.. Sam PM sent! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WreZ Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 been driving mine in the winter for 2 years now and its fine, the only problem i had with it was one particularly bad snowstorm this last monday i got stuck in traffic that decided that stopping on a hill was a great idea. But even then i just spun my wheels a bit and cursed at the car behind me for stopping so close Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trbulnt Posted February 4, 2011 Author Share Posted February 4, 2011 For those of you that drive these cars in the winter, what rear end are you running. I didn't think they were a Posi/Limited Slip from the factory? I just remember driving my old rwd cars with the one wheel drive rwd in the snow and it was manageable but still troublesome. Sorry I am new to these older models but are there many aftermarket rear ends available for these cars if they don't have a "proper" rear differential in them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calvin280zxt Posted February 5, 2011 Share Posted February 5, 2011 the only problem that you might have is the sound of the rust keeping you awake at night Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AKZX Posted February 6, 2011 Share Posted February 6, 2011 For those of you that drive these cars in the winter, what rear end are you running. I didn't think they were a Posi/Limited Slip from the factory? I just remember driving my old rwd cars with the one wheel drive rwd in the snow and it was manageable but still troublesome. Sorry I am new to these older models but are there many aftermarket rear ends available for these cars if they don't have a "proper" rear differential in them? My rear end is all stock except for suspension. Works just fine for me. I've got a manual though, so it's easy to gently ease into first gear without spinning my tires. Also, Blizzaks ftw. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delasangre4231 Posted February 14, 2011 Share Posted February 14, 2011 I had an 83 280zx, NA 5-speed, lowered with semi racing tires and somehow never got stuck except when I parked on a patch of ice, then the wheels just spun till I got a push, otherwise in the snow it was great and when you floor it in the parking lots at night you get sweet drifts! I got up to 3rd gear going sideways at about 5 MPH, haha! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trbulnt Posted February 17, 2011 Author Share Posted February 17, 2011 Thanks for all the replies! I ended up buying a '97 Subaru Legacy GT. I would have liked to pick up a classic Datsun to drive daily but this Subaru fits my needs better at this time. Once my Z31 is complete I will be picking up an older Z to build. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delasangre4231 Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 I have to say, good choice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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