Winter Hibernation - Does EVERYONE do it?

[wigginz]

This will be my first winter with the ACR and I'm starting to see a few winter storage topics pop up. Does everyone do this, or is it just an east coast thing? California winters aren't that cold and rainy (usually). Am I missing other reasons not to drive in the winter?

 

[XXX BLK]

Kyle, I drive all year round as long as there no snow or rain. The car runs great in the cold.......Adrian

 

[Wild Bill]

I never store mine! But I do admit that the summers can get so freakin hot I don't drive her much.

YMMV

Bill

 

[Fast Too]

What *** BLK said. I think winter is an excuse for the garage queens...If the snow has been plowed off the road or isn't fallening from the sky I'll be driving mine.

 

[kcobean]

Yep...roads clear = driving time. I'm picky about what 'roads clear' means, as I won't drive the car if there is sand and salt on the road, otherwise, I'll drive it.

At least you never have to worry about being cold in your Viper.

 

[InjectTheVenom]

I never store mine! But I do admit that the summers can get so freakin hot I don't drive her much.

YMMV

Bill

Sweet avatar ya got

 

[Steve 00RT/10]

What *** BLK said. I think winter is an excuse for the garage queens...If the snow has been plowed off the road or isn't fallening from the sky I'll be driving mine.

It's easy to drive your car in an area where snow doesn't fall. I'd do the same. Instead, I content myself with 10,000 miles during the summer months.

Steve

 

[Mccarlin]

Kyle, I drive all year round as long as there no snow or rain. The car runs great in the cold.......Adrian

Same here! I drive ALL year round as long as there is no salt on the roads and its nice out. 20 degrees. who cares

 

[wigginz]

I kinda figured as much... now that I think about it, it's a bit of a dumb question . I don't think I could take not driving mine for months at a time... a couple days is hard enough.

 

[Mccarlin]

I kinda figured as much... now that I think about it, it's a bit of a dumb question . I don't think I could take not driving mine for months at a time... a couple days is hard enough.

The longest i went last year was just over 3 weeks when we had a span of lots of snow and no rain to wash the salt away, it was BRUTAL not driving it.

 

[Steve-Indy]

I avoid Sleet, Snow, Sand, and Salt...but on a cold, dry Indiana day without any of the 4 dreaded S 's previously mentioned, I will often exercise a Snake or two as long as I have time to get the Viper up to full operating/equilibration temp (usually about an hour's worth of driving with ambient temps in the 30's)...noting that it takes over 30 minutes of highway driving to get the OIL temp to register above the miminum mark of 180 degrees in an SRT-10 in spite of the water temp of 190's.

In my opinion, letting them sit through the winter (with proper attention to the fluids beforehand) is FAR BETTER than an occasional warmup or short drive cycle.

 

[Catwood]

This will be my first winter with the ACR and I'm starting to see a few winter storage topics pop up. Does everyone do this, or is it just an east coast thing? California winters aren't that cold and rainy (usually). Am I missing other reasons not to drive in the winter?

Being from Concord which is close to Berkley I suggest you winterize the Viper and drive the Prius around. That in turn will hopefully provide me a little more resources to drive my Viper down in San Diego.

 

[Limit]

I live in Wisconsin... I was planning on storing it, although I just may drive it some... Make sure your insurance is set up for it. As long as their isn't snow, salt, sand, etc... The cold air will be a nice change for the Viper.

 

[WOT!]

Will someone kill this post. It's too early to be discussing this. You all are making me depressed. I need to go now...

for a drive...

 

[wigginz]

Being from Concord which is close to Berkley I suggest you winterize the Viper and drive the Prius around. That in turn will hopefully provide me a little more resources to drive my Viper down in San Diego.

Wait... are you insinuating that Berkley is full of wacko environmentalist hippies?? Driving around here you'd think all they sell in Nor Cal is the Prius.

You know what they say about guys with large carbon footprints...

 

[Catwood]

I'm fearing that some of the wacko Berkeley stuff may have rubbed off on my Viper brethren.

Winter Hibernation.....HA!

I'm calling it race season! finally getting cool enough to go to the track.

 

[mike & juli]

Will someone kill this post. It's too early to be discussing this. You all are making me depressed. I need to go now...
for a drive...

I AGREE!!! WAYYYY too early for this!! Winter is LONGGGGGGG enough already, let's not think of it just yet!! 80's today anyway, HOT for us in October! Let's DRIVE!
~juli

 

[Fast Too]

It's easy to drive your car in an area where snow doesn't fall. I'd do the same. Instead, I content myself with 10,000 miles during the summer months.

Steve

I live in the mountains of Virginia, and I guess that grader (not a plow) the Virginia Department of Transportation keeps parked about an 1/8th of a mile from my house in the winter to remove snow drifts is for looks. There is also a ski lift on the next ridge over. 10K miles in the summer is a bunch of driving though. Glad to hear you drive your car. I have had mine new since March and already have close to that many miles (was down a month for mods) and by this time next year I should be about at 30K..........Guess I'll be buying an 08 in the next year or two. In the interim I'm in the market for chains or snow tires Drive em if you got em and can. Weather permitting of course.......

 

[propsail]

Will someone kill this post. It's too early to be discussing this. You all are making me depressed. I need to go now...

for a drive...

Didn't winter start for you New Hampshire guys in august???

 

[dodgefever]

We get a lot of good driving days in the winter here on the coast. You just have to be careful though. 35 degree tires on top of 35 degree roads can easily spell trouble.

 

[Steve 00RT/10]

I live in the mountains of Virginia, and I guess that grader (not a plow) the Virginia Department of Transportation keeps parked about an 1/8th of a mile from my house in the winter to remove snow drifts is for looks. There is also a ski lift on the next ridge over. 10K miles in the summer is a bunch of driving though. Glad to hear you drive your car. I have had mine new since March and already have close to that many miles (was down a month for mods) and by this time next year I should be about at 30K..........Guess I'll be buying an 08 in the next year or two. In the interim I'm in the market for chains or snow tires Drive em if you got em and can. Weather permitting of course.......

Fair enough.........I'm not sure how much snow that translates into for your area, but we have hit 350" or 360" here before (about 10 yrs ago). This past April we got 5 feet of snow over a week's time. That was a record. Once the salt comes out here in November (sometimes October), that's it till spring. Almost all roads here, with the exception of the highways remain snow covered till spring. They use graders here too, but they're way too slow too move the amount we get. Graders are typically used here to peel things down and widen snow narrowed roads every now and again. They are a poor tool, and not very effective, at cleaning up after a storm. Our plows are actually bigger than the graders and can move many times the snow a grader can....much faster. Our county at one time used to say we had the machinery to keep all main and secondary roads clear at a snow rate of one inch per hour. In other words we could take care of a 2 foot storm in 24 hours.

The only possible positive thing winter does for us is keep the miles down. If we lived in year round sunny weather our 2000 car would be pushing 150K miles instead of 'just' half that much

Steve

 

[RoadiJeff]

I average around 2,000 miles/yr but I still drive it at least once every month. Never, ever in the rain, snow, sleet or hail. I would not make a good mailman.

I get a laugh from some owners who chastise those of us who don't drive our cars into the ground but some of them are the same ones who park it 4-5 months over the winter.

 

[ViperTony]

In CT we've been having warm winters the last few years it seems. I don't bother putting the cover on it and I've been able to drive in between snow falls as long as the roads a clear of sand/salt. I'll keep a battery tend on it from time to time but I've been fortunate to drive it regularly through the winter. IF I had to put it away for the winter, I would definitely buy one of the car bubbles. It looks cozy enough to sleep in.

 

[Disturbed]

Winter hibernation....what's that?



I can drive my car all year round.

 

[Gerald]

no........

 

[handyman_321]

Well I'm in the great white north, so the only way I would drive it year round is if I could get a snow blower on the front...lol

She has to go into her bubble for at least 3 months..... Sad

 

[grcforce327]

The only thing I hibernate is my pet grizzly!

 

[IEATVETS]

Just put mine away yesterday for it's long winter nap! Will be in the basement of our cabin in northern Wisconsin until it rains at least 2 times. That is usually April.

 

[Zan186]

I bought my car capsule last week. Haven't opened the box yet. Soon as the snow flies I am putting it in the bubble. Once it goes in, it won't come out until the snow melts and we get two good rain days to wash away all the salt.

 

[wigginz]

The only thing I hibernate is my pet grizzly!

Can't take credit for the term (thankfully), I know I've seen it here on the board before.