Winter. Bring it on.

    Every winter its the same, we get a hard frost, I leave the bike in the garage and opt to take the car to work, at least I could if the window hadn't frozen itself to the top of the car stopping it from dropping, or the door has frozen itself to the door frame. Bit embarrasing not being able to get into my mega car without having to stand outside it in the freezing cold for 20 minutes waving a hairdryer over the door. :oops:

    Well last years temp drop to -17.6c broke the camels back and I ordered a Defa Fan heater for the interior. For a laugh I did enquire about a full on remote controlled Webasto System but at £1750 I decided the Defa at £69 represented better value at the expense of convenience. Ordered it mid December, it didn't arrive until mid January (because of the snow :banghead: ), and on a 3 degree weekend I set about fitting it.

    I wanted to mount it semi premamently so I could leave it hooked up but out of the way for the winter and just unplug and remove it come spring. Not to many options for this in the E31 but I bodged up a mount out of an old USB case and hooked it onto the front seat flap.






    I then cut into the cabling and a short distance from the unit put an in-line 2 pin connector. The rest of the cable I ran under the seat carpet to the side of the car then back to the boot and exiting the car via the vents in the rear wing. From there round and down to the rear bumper where I fitted a female 2 pin connector with a waterproof cap and velcro'd it inside the rear diffuser.

    If I want to use it I have to reel an extension lead out to the car, just reach under the diffuser for the plug and connect to the extension lead via a 2 pin to 3 pin adapter cable I made up.

    All fitted and finished I waited to use it. The temperature promply rose to 10 degrees and stayed there so we had no more frosts and I never got to try. :banghead:


    However I hooked it back up 2 weeks ago and this morning we had a frost so I gave it a try. Started with this:




    Went inside for a bowl of cereal and approx 10 minutes later went for a look.




    2 minutes to hook up, no scraping windows, spraying de-icer around or standing there with a hairdryer and i get to climb into a warm car. Might not be a manufacturer standard fit but it does the job. Cool.

    93 850 CSI
    hung like Einstein, clever as a horse

    I understand this may be somewhat personal preference but An 8 is not supposed to have winter tires, warm-up packages or ever have the need to scrape ice off the windows.
    That's what you have a winter car for.


    My 8 has been stored in a garage from October to April every single year I have had it, except for now, and that is because I'm about to swap houses and no longer have the garage.
    My 8 has been parked outside my house during the frost, and I started her up for the first time in 2+ months on a mild day last week just to see if the batteries still worked.
    Plan to put her on a charger, and she will be moved to my new house in February where she will be parked in the carport waiting for April to come.
    Building a double garage as soon as spring gets here next year so this will be the only winter she will have to stay outside.


    oh.. and when the M3 looks like that I use 3 liters of lukewarm water and just pour it on the windows, not too hot or the window might crack.

    -Egil (thats my name)

    1990 850IA Hartge SC
    2012 M550d Touring

    If I misspelled a word it's because I'm Norwegian, so bear with me.

    Seeing as the car comes fitted with a Ski Hatch and had an optional Programmable Pre Heating Package, I don't think you'll get much argument about winter operation being a personal preference. ;)

    93 850 CSI
    hung like Einstein, clever as a horse

    Zitat von shiggsy;94290

    Seeing as the car comes fitted with a Ski Hatch and had an optional Programmable Pre Heating Package, I don't think you'll get much argument about winter operation being a personal preference. ;)



    I actually have this installed optional Programmable Pre Heating Package
    536 AUXILIARY HEATING
    It is a fairly heavy instalation and even comes with an extra alternator ( yes I have two )
    But never tried it as im afraid it will start a fire :ahhhhh:

    Instead thar car sit's in a heated 16deg garage waiting for the spring :harhar:

    Regars
    Terje

    That looks a great idea but I have to say, with all that effort you have obviously gone to, and a great installation, am I just being lazy thinking I would just put a small 1KW fan heater in there at night with the cable hanging out and plugging it in the morning to do the same job?


    Or just get a remote starter and leave the heater on full defrost when I got out at night and start the car from the comfort of the house.


    I'm prolly just lazy!!! :oops:

    Zitat von huldra66;94293

    I actually have this installed optional Programmable Pre Heating Package
    536 AUXILIARY HEATING


    You must be strong willed, I couldn't have that and not use it!


    Zitat von 8Tech;94295

    am I just being lazy thinking I would just put a small 1KW fan heater in there at night with the cable hanging out and plugging it in the morning to do the same job?



    Well that is basically what I've done, its a 1.3kw heater and the cables hanging out the back. Hardest thing was manouvering the weight of seat.:top:

    93 850 CSI
    hung like Einstein, clever as a horse

    Zitat von stevep840;94297

    Living in Cornwall means we don't need anything like this;-) just never gets that cold:devilchilli:



    Steve you dont keep an 8 long enough to worry about winter do you:laugh: (its great to have you back:jump:)

    :driving2:Its been a year since I sold her and I still miss her.......





    Lloyd

    Zitat von Lloyd;94298

    Steve you dont keep an 8 long enough to worry about winter do you:laugh: (its great to have you back:jump:)



    :laugh:Cheeky, Got a feeling this one will be here a lot longer than some:top:I've got the need for speed well & truly out of my system:)


    ;)

    Those who risk nothing,achieve nothing,become nothing.

    Zitat von shiggsy;94300

    Thats right, come back and then insult us. :grin2:


    :laugh: I didn't mean it like that Stevie Boy but I guess it looked that way:harhar:



    Amg Mercs & Alpinas gone for good:driver:

    Those who risk nothing,achieve nothing,become nothing.

    I would never drive my 8 in the winter, I don't even have winter tires... actually, I only have one set of wheels for it.


    To me tis is a summer car, and if I can avoid it, I don't drive it in the rain either.

    -Egil (thats my name)

    1990 850IA Hartge SC
    2012 M550d Touring

    If I misspelled a word it's because I'm Norwegian, so bear with me.

    Zitat von Noggie;94303

    I would never drive my 8 in the winter, I don't even have winter tires... actually, I only have one set of wheels for it.


    To me tis is a summer car, and if I can avoid it, I don't drive it in the rain either.



    And neither would we if we lived in Norway:top: but my local Winter temp is normally between 8 & 12 deg C;-)

    Those who risk nothing,achieve nothing,become nothing.

    Actually it's quite a joy to drive the 8 in the winter... :mrgreen:
    And I don't mean sliding around.
    Due to the sophisticated (and heavy) rear axle and the steptronic gearbox it drives without much drama and feels safe. (Good winter tires are a must, of course).
    It is still a rear wheel drive car, but I find it safer as a 1 or 3 series.
    (Not to mention my old E34 540, which was quite tail happy. :mrgreen:)


    A 2nd 8 is not as expensive as a new small car and for me (trough the Club insurance) it's even cheaper to insure as the old 5.
    So for me there is no reason why not to enjoy it all year long.


    Cheers,
    Steve

    Zitat von stevep840;94305

    And neither would we if we lived in Norway:top: but my local Winter temp is normally between 8 & 12 deg C;-)



    That's not too bad, mine is -6 & 6, and there is more salt on the roads than in the Atlantic ocean.
    So mine stays indoors until the snow is gone and the salt is washed off the roads.

    -Egil (thats my name)

    1990 850IA Hartge SC
    2012 M550d Touring

    If I misspelled a word it's because I'm Norwegian, so bear with me.

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