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Florida love bugs. Lasts a couple to three weeks each spring and fall. These suckers will etch your paint if you leave them on your car for more than a day or so.
Last edited by micwhitt1; 11-22-2023 at 05:04 AM.
Reason: Typo
I used to daily drive my fun cars but gradually Plus life is more enjoyable with access to more variety . The less frequently I drive the fun car, the more special it feels and longer it takes for me to get bored of it.
The argument that a single car for both fun and daily driving being more financially responsible falls flat in my case. I used to use a single car with dual purpose as both my fun car and daily driver. That approach had a high turnover rate because it'd feel like a chore to drive during rush hour which would quickly erode away a lot of the magic I'd once felt about the car. Wouldn't be long before I'd switch to a new car. But when I switched two having two cars--one for daily driving and one for my fun car--I'd end up keeping both cars for longer and spending less on average over time. I pick daily drivers I appreciate as a car guy, not to use like an appliance. Access to variety generally makes life more appreciable. My cheapo daily driver Mustang is 1) a 6-speed manual which I bought for the purpose of 2) taking scrapes and dings like a champ without worrying about it. The C8 can't satisfy those two mandates.
It's both more economical and enjoyable for me to have two cars, each with the dedicated purpose of daily driver or fun car, long term than to flip through dual purpose cars (fun and daily driver) one at a time more frequently. That's especially crucial now with the C8 being 3x the cost of my previous fun car.
I do drive mine whenever I want, year round. Hypothetically - if I did only drive it seasonally here would be the reasons - and why they are not reasons for me:
1. Only like to drive with top down - I do prefer that, but this car with the top up is still a pleasure to drive - and with the camera mirror, I have no issues with visibility at all.
2. Dont drive in rain - first, rain is not seasonal, but I do prefer dry roads. However, this car in the heavy rain, in Weather Drive Mode is phenomenal. I recommend it.
3. Dont drive in snow - right, I don't drive it in snow. But thats not all the time. In fact, here in Maryland its become relatively rare.
4. Salt - I wont drive on road that appear to be salted - and we do get a lot of that here even if there is limited snow/ice. But, again, its not all the time.
5. Cold - yeah if I had Summer tires I would need to avoid driving when the temps are approaching 20 degrees or less. But, I swapped mine out for the Michelins that are standard on the non-Z car. Other than that, I see no reason not to drive in cold weather.
I do drive mine whenever I want, year round. Hypothetically - if I did only drive it seasonally here would be the reasons - and why they are not reasons for me:
1. Only like to drive with top down - I do prefer that, but this car with the top up is still a pleasure to drive - and with the camera mirror, I have no issues with visibility at all.
2. Dont drive in rain - first, rain is not seasonal, but I do prefer dry roads. However, this car in the heavy rain, in Weather Drive Mode is phenomenal. I recommend it.
3. Dont drive in snow - right, I don't drive it in snow. But thats not all the time. In fact, here in Maryland its become relatively rare.
4. Salt - I wont drive on road that appear to be salted - and we do get a lot of that here even if there is limited snow/ice. But, again, its not all the time.
5. Cold - yeah if I had Summer tires I would need to avoid driving when the temps are approaching 20 degrees or less. But, I swapped mine out for the Michelins that are standard on the non-Z car. Other than that, I see no reason not to drive in cold weather.
Exactly, so it boils down to salt. When there’s snow, there’s salt in my area. I have AS tires so that’s it. As for rain, I don’t leave the house in my corvette for cleaning purposes. If I get caught in rain, oh well it’s a car. A group of us got caught in a downpour over summer and we slowed to about 30 and raised the HTC, the coupes pulled over, scrambled, got soaked and we waited in the dry
As long as I prevent corrosion as much as possible it can be all season, I just prefer to store it during winter, although probably shorter hibernation than I did with my C5. I don’t think there’s a wrong answer in this thread, it’s a Chevy and it’s a proven all weather car.
I've always driven my fun car in the snow, but I live in Wisconsin, so putting your fun car on the shelf for ~6 months is asking a lot.
I did not enjoy driving my Mustang GT/only RWD car in the snow, but that car left a lot to be desired from a handling standpoint.
I would plan to drive a Corvette year-round, with winter tires of course as there are many cold dry days to enjoy driving. For snow & ice I have a truck.
Anyone put a roof rack/box set up on the C8? Another accessory that would make the car more livable year-round.
I had a midengine car in the 80's (Fiero, don't laugh). I had put very good Michelin all season tires on it. It was the best 2wd car I ever had in the snow, Traction of midengine cars is great.
Please, tell us why driving a C8 daily sucks in general.
Seriously?
Too low to the ground ( I can't see over the pretty landscaping at round abouts and intersections, or even if there's actually nobody in front of the Corolla in front of me doing 35 mph in the left lane.
Too wide with too low of a roof so enter and exiting sucks.
Door is too wide and long so not hitting the car next to you is more of a challenge than it needs to be,
Suspension is too stiff (even tour mode doesn't magically turn sway bars and springs into a Cadillac)
Seat is uncomfortable (yes even the GT2).
Lack of creature comforts found on most $30K cars these days (no lane centering assist, adaptive cruise, auto high beams, etc.)
Lack of storage (rear trunk cooks your groceries, front is just tiny).
Too much attention (sometimes you just want to go the grocery store without explaining it's not a Lamborghini to random strangers who ask).
No back seat.
Doesn't wear well (rock chips on C8 somehow are more painful than rock chips on an old truck).
Honestly except for a few exotics, motorcycles, and antique cars, I can't think of a worse daily driver.
Too low to the ground ( I can't see over the pretty landscaping at round abouts and intersections, or even if there's actually nobody in front of the Corolla in front of me doing 35 mph in the left lane.
Too wide with too low of a roof so enter and exiting sucks.
Door is too wide and long so not hitting the car next to you is more of a challenge than it needs to be,
Suspension is too stiff (even tour mode doesn't magically turn sway bars and springs into a Cadillac)
Seat is uncomfortable (yes even the GT2).
Lack of creature comforts found on most $30K cars these days (no lane centering assist, adaptive cruise, auto high beams, etc.)
Lack of storage (rear trunk cooks your groceries, front is just tiny).
Too much attention (sometimes you just want to go the grocery store without explaining it's not a Lamborghini to random strangers who ask).
No back seat.
Doesn't wear well (rock chips on C8 somehow are more painful than rock chips on an old truck).
Honestly except for a few exotics, motorcycles, and antique cars, I can't think of a worse daily driver.
Sounds like an SUV would be a better fit for you...
I'm in the twin cities in MN, once the first snowfall comes its game over. When the snow is coming they pre-treat the roads with something like calcium chloride (not sure if that is the actual stuff). Then once we have snow, EVERY road is salted adn sanded, streets, highways, freeways, interstates, everything gets salted. Then you have freezing temps where snow might melt a little during the day and the puddles freeze at night, and they are everywhere. Then after a couple of months of that, the roads start breaking up from the freeze/thaw cycles, its potholes everywhere, especially here in the twin cities, where the high volume of traffic makes the pothole situation even worse. In the summer you stand a fighting chance of dodging the potholes because you can see them. But in winter its not easy to see them as they might be snow filled, or the general condition of the road can cover them. Those of you that live in major metro areas in Wisconsin and Michigan see the same thing.
I rarely see any Corvette or other expensive cars driving around in the winter, occasionally you'll see one on a nice day and some guys with the AWD supercars might drive them around, but its pretty rare. Just too much risk of major damage with the roads we have here in MN. I've driven all over the country, I laugh when I see them repaving a road in the south, especially roads I've been on, because even in their worst condition they are better than the roads we have.
I live in SoCal, so it gets used year round. However, I have lived in Michigan, and the amount of salt they used was unbelievable. They often didn't even bother plowing. Everything gets rusty. If you try to take anything apart, you will be fighting the rust. I also have family in Colorado. They use tons of gravel. If a car changes lanes in front of you, your car is literally pelted with rock hitting it at 65 mph..
This is my 5th Vette. I swore to myself the next one would be a toy, instead of a daily driver like the first 4. So, unless I'm on a road trip in it, it stays inside when it's wet outside. Still, I got in late May last year and it has close to 12,000 miles on it. So, it does get driven. I have an X5 for the rainy days.
11-22-2023, 05:04 AM
