Coming to Finland with my MX-5

[element]

About

Hello fellow MX-5 fans. Let me first introduce myself.

My name is Taj, I'm from a small patch of land called Slovenia and the owner of a silver '07 MX-5. I will be coming to Turku in August with my friend (also an MX-5 owner ) as a master's degree exchange student at Abo Akademi for the 2011/2012 school year. Since I can hardly imagine relying on public transportation alone, although I hear you have great trains , I have decided to make the trip to Finland by car. I'm glad to see that the MX-5 community is also strong in Finland as I have high hopes of meeting Finns who also appreciate fun little roadsters regardless of climate.

From what information I've managed to gather, I will be able to drive on Slovenian plates for up to 1 year if I register my car with Tulli and provide the acceptance leter from the university and other documentation.

What I would like to know more is how to live with a car like the MX-5 in Finland. Can you give me any tips?

The post is in English, because I have yet to start my course in Finnish.

Best Regards, Taj

The car

Mazda MX-5 Emotion, 1.8, 2007 year

Mods

- AEM Cold Air Intake
- I.L. Motorsport 4-2-1 Exhaust Header
- Bilstein PSS10 adjustable suspension
- Larini Systems midpipe, sports cat and rear box (box not installed currently)
- Epoxi Wind Screen
+ some minor cosmetics

Videos




Pictures

[Marko]

Hi Taj,

Welcome to Finland and to the forum of Miata Club of Finland!

It is easy to live with the MX-5 in in Finland but if you're going to drive your car in winter you'll need the winter tyres. There can be a lot of snow and ice in winter. I hope you join our meetings and track days. We have the following track days in August and September

Ahvenisto track 18. August 13.00-17.00 http://www.ahvenistonmoottorirata.fi/
Alastaro track 14. September 10.00-14.00 http://www.alastarocircuit.fi/presentation.php

[Klasu]

I think it's a great idea to bring your own car. It's a lot more fun and easier way to explore a new country. I'm still considering on taking my car with me if I decide to do my exchange in Germany in the future. Owning a MX-5 in Finland is pretty much the same as any convertible car, winter is cold and there's a lot of salt on the roads. My guess is driving in winter is what your're asking about? You'll need good winter tires (don't know what the Slovenian winter is like, or if you use winter tires there?) Someone else could maybe comment on what's it like having soft top on winter, I bet it's a pain to keep it clean because of the salt. I had a engine block heater installed before winter as it may get as cold as 20-25'C in mid winter, not necessary though, I guess. Also some protectice layer on the underside of the car would be good because of the salt, if your cars don't already have one(?).So there are a couple of things to consider when driving these cars on winter. Even so, I don't think there's any problem, at least my NA worked like a dream last winter. Obviously you can use public transport most of the time on winter and save your car, if you have a place to store/park it. Even though I could've used my car every day in winter, I chose to use public transport most of the time as it works well here. Summer is great in Finland, hopefully it's like last year, not too much rain, mostly sunny and warm.

Hope you will enjoy your year in Finland!

[element]

I will definitely join your meetings and track days . I plan to arrive on the 15th of August. Could you provide some more info about the track days, where do I register?

Yes, I was asking about the winter and the roads. Winter tires are required here from 15th of November till 15th of March, there can also be a lot of snow and salt on the road, especially when it keeps on falling and our winter services are "caught off guard". Temperatures are usually around 0°C, -10°C when it's the coldest. I won't be bringing my winter tires because of logistic problems .

As I see it I'll drive around and explore the country until the snow starts, then park the car and cover it during the winter. I'll be located in student housing just a few kilometers from the university, so transportation won't be a problem. When does the heavy snow start?

[Klasu]

Snowing will probably start in november or december. Winter tires from 1st of december till the end of february.

[Simppa]

Hello Taj and welcome to Finland!

I think it's a great idea to bring a car with you. Especially when you're staying in Turku. There are lots of beautiful small roads in there, especially in the archipelago. See these for start:
http://www.saaristonrengastie.fi/ (I can't believe these are only in Finnish and in German!)
http://www.pikkurengastie.fi/summary.html

[tuma]

Winter tires are commonly used up to late march or early april, sometimes till late april... Most of people who drive only at summer take cars out late of april.

[element]

Thanks for the links, I'll plan some road trips while the summer lasts.

[akir0]

Hi and welcome to the forum! I've been driving my -06 Roadster coupe until 30th of November these last 3 years. And taken it from the garage on March (depending on the snow situation). In November there are usually some days when it snows, but the permanent snow usually doesn't show up in the roads (especially not in the cities).

I'm not sure how much the gasoline costs in your home country, but the finnish price is now between 1,50-1,60 euros per litre.. Just in case you didn't know

[element]

It's 1.3€ here, which brings costs up a bit. Oh well, at least it's not a 6.2L V8 .

[Tem]

Since I can hardly imagine relying on public transportation alone

That kinda sucks in Turku anyway. You can get from (almost) any place to downtown, but that's about it. If you wanna go anywhere else, you just have to go to downtown and wait for another bus going wherever you wanna go. Bloody annoying and takes forever. It used to take me some 5 mins to get to work by car and it would've been roughly an hour by bus.

[element]

I just arrived in Turku this morning with a boat from Stockholm. I'm looking for a two or three bedroom apartment and would be grateful for some help with the search. Can anyone from Turku help? My phone number is +38651395981, or PM me and we'll get in touch. Thanks

And weather today is really good for driving around top-down. ^^

[Marko]

See these websites to find apartments:

http://www.jokakoti.fi/
http://kuluttaja.etuovi.com/
http://asunnot.oikotie.fi/

Are going to rent or buy an apartment?

If you would like to see Finnish Miata owners, you can meet us at Alastaro track on next Sunday the 14th of August 10 am - 2 pm. http://www.alastarocircuit.fi/
http://www.miata.fi/forum/index.php?topic=1280.0
If you already have a car you can drive it on the track. The track fee is 40 euro.

[Tem]

If you're looking to rent, might wanna check this place:
http://www.tys.fi/en/renting_a_flat/flats-degree_students/the_student_village/

Close(ish) to your uni and full of students. If you're looking for peace and quiet though, skip that place. There's a party somewhere every night.

[element]

I know about TYS but I'm looking for a normal apartment, not student housing. My party days are long over ^^. Browsing the links now ...