Frustrated. Miss the car too much. Winter sucks...

[ManiZ]

Well, that's it in a pinch. I haven't driven my '06 Z GT since mid-December; haven't even started it up to hear the exhaust roar.

A wierd thread topic I know, but I am really quite frustrated right now. We don't really ever have a severe winter here in Denver (ski resorts are up in the mountains...they get plenty). We are used to getting 12" overnight, only to find out that the temps are in the 50s next morning and the snow melts within a day or two. That's it. Not this time, though. As Murphy would have it, my FIRST winter with the Z has turned out to be the worst winter Denver has seen in over 2 decades.

About a month ago, I finally gave up and disconnected the battery...life support gone.

I find slight solace in the thought that I am saving several thousand miles off the odometer, and of course keeping it away from the nastiness that is winter driving...but...at what immense cost!

I am stuck with our '05 tC these days. No offense to any tC owners here, but the car is incredibly frustrating to drive...especially while merging onto the highway. And the brakes are atrocious to say the least.

I know many of you are mature-enough to have stored many cars over the years and don't really mind the practice, but this has been my first time and the fact that it was forced onto me doesn't help either.

Rant over.

[blkZ28Conv]

You'll get use to it. Always nice to only drive the "exciting vehicles" on nice days.

I know the feeling. My Z06 has seen little action over the last 4 months (~150 miles) even though we haven't seen a flake of snow.

Rewards: Vehicle never gets dirty which keeps paint marring almost zero and the odometer mileage stays low (my 04 Z06 has only 2900 miles on it).

[Coupe]

I feel you man, i miss my baby.

I start her up in the garage once a week just to hear her.

[azenthusiast]

I wish I had a car like that waiting for me. It has to be frustrating. Move to Phoenix, you can drive it whenever you want...

[GBSLambo]

Before moving to Florida I lived in Michigan and I always put my sports cars up for the winter. It is hard not not being able to drive them in bad weather. It's also not good if you just let them sit without starting them up all winter. It's good practice to start them up once a week or so to let the oil and other fluids warm up and circulate.

[DieselMDX]

i used to do the same thing with my Eclipse, had 30,000 into it and only drove it on nice days, but after a while i said to myself why am I paying all this money and NOT driving it. I basically had a 50,000 lawn ornament. Here I am paying all this money and driving accord. So I sold it and bought a G35 and had the best of both worlds

[BigJimZ28]

I hear ya
don't get me wrong I love driving my 97 z28 conv. in the snow
and is a great everyday car but,
it only has like half the power of my 81 z28
so for now just start it up ever 3 weeks or so
and set off the car alarms down the street
from my driveway

my neighbors must love me!

[paul34]

sorry to hear man... I'm also sorry to hear you're disappointed in the tC.

But, let me guess, must be the auto? I have the 5-speed and I find no problems with it. The brake pedal does have a bit of travel compared to Nissan's I've driven, but they work well enough once you get used to it.

I test drove the AT tC once and knew it wasn't for me. At all.

[Coupe]

Originally Posted by BigJimZ28

I hear ya
don't get me wrong I love driving my 97 z28 conv. in the snow
and is a great everyday car but,
it only has like half the power of my 81 z28
so for now just start it up ever 3 weeks or so
and set off the car alarms down the street
from my driveway

my neighbors must love me!

I have to open both my garage doors before i start my car up becuase of how loud it is.

[tom p.]

I'm somewhat pleased that my good car is in the garage and clean. Having a 2nd car has been the key for me when it comes to OCD, etc.

I do sneak the good car out whenever the roads are clean/dry. It's always a sweet moment

[ManiZ]

Thanks for the comments, guys. I barely have just a click above 7k miles on it so yes, the thought of saving mileage is great for sure, as is keeping it nice and shiny in the garage, away from all the winter chemicals on the roads.

blkZ28Conv - The C5 Z06...on every Z owner's list of dream cars. Congratulations! That is one great car you have.

azenthusiast - You are right, man. But that was the thought I had moving to Denver from Wisconsin 3 years ago! Only my luck can explain our super-wet winter this year...

GBSLambo - You are exactly right. I am just so new to the storage concept that I didn't even think of that. Finally started it yesterday, let it warm up for 5-7 minutes and pulled out and back into the garage to give the rubber a chance to flex a little. Flat spots is the last thing I need when spring rolls around! Another thing I didn't even think of was reducing the insurance coverage! Did that just last week after having paid full coverage for the past two months for absolutely no reason. P.S.: Keep up the good work with those beautiful machines of yours! You are one lucky guy.

DieselMDX - Congrats on the G! Are on the my350z.com forums? We have a G sub-forum there.

paul34 - You guessed right. The tC is an AT since my wife primarily drives it. I am sure an MT tC would be a lot better experience overall. I am teaching her to drive stick this spring.

[shakashaunz]

I have been in denver my whole life. I have taken my "nice" car out a few times this winter (1991 300ZXTT) but mainly on the highway late late at night just to do a few highway pulls. But the next day it gets a full detail of course. One thing that keeps me sane is that my daily driver is also a 300zx, albeit an automatic NA 2+2 but the feeling is similar, just watered down. But I learned to relish those days in summer with the t-tops off putting in a 600 mile day in the mountains surrounded by 14K foot peaks.