winter mustang

[theponyfactor]

So, I know I don't post here a lot but I pretty much read everything......anyways.

I have a 98 neon that i use for winter which i keep having to repair. this is my 3rd winter beater and im getting sick of repairing them.

What I want to know is what you would do to drive a v6 mustang in winter? I was thinking I can get about $2000 for my neon (kbb). So my first thought was snow tires on the stock rims. Should I get a trak-lok? I know people would obviously do gears with this but would that just kill me in snow?


Also on a side note do you think bad control arm bushings would make a clunk sound when i accelerate? I have had this since i put the springs in and when i put them in i had a problem getting the control arm holes to line up and now it makes a noise.

 

[Petek]

How about selling the neon for 2grand and buying like an older nissan pathfinder or jeep cherokee? you can usually pick them up for pretty cheap and they are SUPER reliable (my jeep cherokee has 365000kms on it and is still very driveable and everything works on it but the A/C) the only reason im saying this is because years ago my mother had a very clean 95 mustang , and it got smacked up 2 consecutive winters, due to black ice. Im 50/50 on the trac loc for winter driving though, it would be nice for slow driving but 2wheels spinning + icey roads = bye bye back end.

 

[2slo95fiveoh]

i was pretty sure that the v-6s had posi-trac from the factory. but as far as a winter-mobile, i would stay away from a mustang,
or any other rear wheel drive car for that matter. like previously stated an SUV or a front wheel drive car (honda, acura) if your
winters aren't too terrible, would probably be a lot better. my boss bought a 95 pathfinder for $200 and all it needed was a tune
up and a serpentine belt.. you never know what decent deals you might find.

 

[Red96GT]

I'd be scared as hell driving my car everyday in the winter and it only snows here a few times a year. I vote keep some type of beater.

 

[smokeybear]

Get a set of cheap rims for a junk yard and get a set of studed snow tires and make sure you put some weight in the trunk. you will be fine. every car I have had has been rwd, and this is what i did and never got stuck.you just have to take your time driving.

 

[5.0Gt-Neal]

i drive a mercury mountaineer more than i drive my mustang. I guess thats the way it is when your in montana, but i do love the mountaineer, fulltime awd is nice.

 

[Jrgunn5150]

You can drive a Mustang in the winter if you really want to. But you don't want a Trac lock, you want an open rear end. A trac-loc will make the car more apt to slide on snow and ice, where-as an open diff the tire that doesn't get any power act's as an anchor. Get some good snow tires, and throw some weight in the truck and you'll be set, at least as good as it get's for a car that's pretty low to the ground.

I honeslty have to recomend an older Exploder, Cherokee, S series Blazer, etc, some type of 4x4. And repairing beater's, well.... They ARE beater's. When I was in the Midwest, before I was able to afford a new Wrangler, I just drove 500 dollar cars all winter. When they broke down, i left em righ where they were and bought another.

 

[theponyfactor]

well thats the thing this is my 3rd beater and I can't keep buying new ones since I do pay for pay for college, insurance, etc. so i was thinking i could use the money from the sale to buy some tires (maybe a diff mod too, dunno what) and then bank the rest for next semester.

 

[Jrgunn5150]

I understand, but here' is the beater formula I use. 1 month car note and insurance=350. So, whatever I pay for the beater-350 a month, after two months, most pay for themselves. A car with over 150k will quickly turn into a money pit. As soon as you fix the water pump, it needs an alternator, get that done and the heater core goes out, then the trans starts to slip, etc you get the picture... What I mean is, I don't try to keep them running, it's not worth it for a car I don't care about. And it becomes a viscous cycle, the more you put in, the more you need to get out to justify it, so you put more in...

Anywho, if you're set on driving a 'Stang this winter, follow the above tip's, and you'll be allright, except in the thick stuff.

 

[realitygt]

my mustang is my winter car :| and my everyday driver with 85k miles on it

this will be it's first year in the snow, cause I don't have enough money to buy another car and my car will be outside anyway.

 

[94Vert]

as was said get some snow tires and 2 cinder blocks or the like in the trunk

 

[2slo95fiveoh]

i tried to drive my car in the winter last year, not so fun. so i used the family beater (as i call it) the one time i tried to drive
my car when there was slight ice out it took me about 10 min. to get down my block. that bish is getting parked whenever
i hear snow on the forcast.

 

[5.0Gt-Neal]

I live in Bozeman, Montana so winters can get pretty nasty up here and i dont even try to drive my mustang. I keep it in the ford family and rock my 98 mercury mountaineer, its awd so just goes wherever i want it

--Neal

 

[Hybridbird]

The V6 cars come with a 7.5" open rear,and unless Chevy started makings Ford's rear end for them,none
of them come with "posi-trac" ,they would have "Trac-Loc" and that does indeed suck in the winter,it just
means both wheels will spin instead of one.Anyway,I don't know what all the fuss is about I drive my Mustang
through the winter every year with no ill effects at all :dunno:

 

[realitygt]

The V6 cars come with a 7.5" open rear,and unless Chevy started makings Ford's rear end for them,none
of them come with "posi-trac" ,they would have "Trac-Loc" and that does indeed suck in the winter,it just
means both wheels will spin instead of one.Anyway,I don't know what all the fuss is about I drive my Mustang
through the winter every year with no ill effects at all :dunno:

the salt they use to dry up the snow rusts ur car out much much quicker