2013 Mazda Miata Club PRHT

2013 Miata Club PRHT Update: Winter is coming

Winter is coming. Sadly not for us GoT fans— or maybe not so sadly, given the quality of the final season– but certainly for those of us living in New England. The threat of first snowfall perpetually looms and the daily Weather Channel check-in is cause for constant, second-guessing thoughts: it’s about to get cold, and it’s about to be snowy. For the first time in years I’m going to daily-drive a rear-wheel-drive car through the winter’s worst. As excited as I am, there’s some preparation in store for my Mazda Miata.

[Disclaimer: Michelin provided us with these tires at no cost.]

2013 Mazda Miata Club PRHT

First and by far most important: winter tires. Doing so comes at the help of Michelin, who stepped up and provided a set of X-Ice Xi3 tires for this test. “Test” is loose in this sense, but I’m out to prove that you can, in fact, drive a small, light, RWD sports car through the winter with moderate if not total success. Stay tuned for a comprehensive review once I’ve had time to try the Michelins out in the snow. And for a review of the Miata in the snow, of course.

2013 Mazda Miata Club PRHT

The 205/50/R16 tires for this test are appropriately small for the car. Why drop down from the 17” wheel size? Simple: more sidewall for pothole absorption. Turns out, FD RX-7 wheels fit perfectly. They’re the right bolt pattern, backspacing, and offset. Not to mention, they still don’t look half bad even twenty-five years later. I was sold. A few days later I picked up a set of four $200 cash. They’re not perfect but they’re powder-coated black and still look half decent, weigh relatively little, cost next to nothing as far as wheels go. Plus it’s a fun hat tip to Mazda’s past, plucked straight from one of the brand’s most important and notable vehicles.

2013 Mazda Miata Club PRHT

It’s been a while since I dabbled in the winter tire field. In the past I’ve tried the Falken Eurowinter FS439, Firestone Winterforce and General Altima Arctic. The first two were on my Challenger R/T; the General was on my Subaru WRX. It’s been a couple years since I’ve driven on any of these tires but I logged about 50k miles on them combined. Not a ton of mileage, but not nothing. It should be good grounds for evaluation of the Michelins.

2013 Mazda Miata Club PRHT

And now, enabled by Todd at Everyday Driver and his “snow tires on a sports car are fine in the snow” rants, I’m about to do something many will think me an idiot for even considering: I’m about to drive my Mazda Miata through a Connecticut winter. Every day. Snow, sleet, ice, you name it and I’ll be driving through it. Okay, if it’s treacherous or impassable, I won’t be out. Short of ground clearance becoming an issue, I intend on driving through– or trying to drive through– any and all weather.

2013 Mazda Miata Club PRHT

Winter tires and wheels weren’t the only prep, though. My snow brush and some basic recovery gear migrated from storage into the car to live until it’s hopefully (never) needed. I also procured a collapsible shovel to live in the trunk should it be needed to the car out. Last but not least are rubber floor mats, which I’ve yet to buy but will be doing so shortly.

2013 Mazda Miata Club PRHT

So I’m out to see how my beloved Miata does in the inbound New England winter. We’ll see how it goes. Truthfully, I’m looking forward to it. Driving my prior rear-wheel-drive vehicles in the snow made for some of my best driving memories ever, and biggest automotive laughs. I have a feeling that it’s going to be a snowy winter, so stay tuned for an update on how both the Miata and the Michelins perform when the snow starts falling. I’ll be sitting here waiting patiently, finger hovering over the “Traction Control OFF” button.

2013 Mazda Miata Club PRHT

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12 responses to “2013 Miata Club PRHT Update: Winter is coming”

  1. imaragtopman Avatar
    imaragtopman

    I have a good set of OEM NC rubber mats I will give you for postage or come get them in St. Pete. BTW, I love the look of the club strip and had one made in orange and black. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/857b2c71353606cfb8f27a0833042ca812d234a40e21a15a7ad04be231b3c6bc.jpg

    1. imaragtopman Avatar
      imaragtopman

      Club STRIPE

  2. Zentropy Avatar
    Zentropy

    For years I drove RWD cars year-round, and all I can say is that RWD with winter tires is considerably more capable than FWD with all-seasons. My ’99 Contour SVT was almost immobile in the white stuff, and our family minivans haven’t been much better. I’m hoping the BFG KO2s that I put on the Sedona will be better than the OEM touring tires that came on it. They’ve so far been great in the rain (and off road, obviously). Ohio winters are unpredictable, but I’m hoping we get a few inches at some point so I can test them out in the snow.

  3. salguod Avatar

    Winter tires transformed my old Prius from the worst car I had in the snow to the best.

    Regarding winter wheels, I discovered that the 16″ wheels from my RSX were a good fit for my wife’s Accord, so when I sold it as an organ donor I arranged to get the wheels back to use for winters. I had intended to have the tires on it by now, but I unfortunately was laid off last Friday so all unnecessary spending has been cut off. We’ll make do with the all seasons for now, but hopefully not for long.

    1. Zentropy Avatar
      Zentropy

      Bummer about the layoff. Hope the downtime is brief!

      1. salguod Avatar

        Thanks. Timing sucks (then again, when is a good time to be laid off?) but I’ve already got a few possibilities. Something will come through.

  4. Vairship Avatar
    Vairship

    You should be alright – as long as the snow doesn’t pile up TOO high.

    https://66.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lga1lqfZYR1qdgf13o1_500.jpg Image from http://www.365daysofa.com (and no, that’s not 365-day-sofa). Story starts here: https://www.365daysofa.com/page/78

    1. Zentropy Avatar
      Zentropy

      If I were single with no kids, I would totally do that. Looks like fun!

  5. outback_ute Avatar
    outback_ute

    Good luck!

  6. Kernel Panik Avatar
    Kernel Panik

    Hakkapeliittas are on and the grill is iced up. The BRZ and I are as ready as we’re going to be. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/af35ecb35d43c4412886c0e1ff504c782d191c21de07d4ee45d49b5dcf917f13.jpg

  7. DoctorNine Avatar
    DoctorNine

    There’s nothing like hooning about with the top down and the heater blasting while the snow is falling. It’s even better with your significant otter riding shotgun and spinning the tunes. You should probably consider putting an 80lb bag of sand in the trunk. It provides improved normal force, and can be used in an emergency for traction if you need it.

    Happy trails.

  8. DoctorNine Avatar
    DoctorNine

    There’s nothing like hooning about with the top down and the heater blasting while the snow is falling. It’s even better with your significant otter riding shotgun and spinning the tunes. You should probably consider putting an 80lb bag of sand in the trunk. It provides improved normal force, and can be used in an emergency for traction if you need it.

    Happy trails.