alz

I'm moving from Seattle to LA in January, and I'm considering driving the 911 down instead of shipping it down... has anybody done a similar route before in Winter? If so - any concerns about driving down on summer tires, temperature-wise? I don't expect snow on the route from what I've read - but the first stretch will certainly be cold.

Also - is the road scenic? I can either go down the 5, or take the coastal road, I assume the coastal road is going to much better - but has anybody who's done the drive know whether I'll get to see much given the weather?

Right now I'm leaning towards just shipping the car, and driving LA->SF at some point as that seems to be best stretch; but it does seem like a good opportunity to explore north of SF that I wouldn't otherwise get.

Code

I've never driven from Seattle, but I have from Portland, and taking the 101 to the 1 would be the most scenic coastal route. Summer tires will do just fine. Have a safe journey!

dflowerz

Interstate 5 would suck and there is Siskiyou Pass to deal with. Would avoid that.
The coast highway is spectacular at many points through Oregon. Traffic would no doubt be lighter this time of year. Might be a bit tricky getting from I5 over to the coast depending on the weather. We did the drive last summer and it was great. Since I almost spun out my 911 on summer tires last weekend with temps in the mid 40s I would be really careful.

alz

Thanks, yeah I saw your thread/video ... nice keeping your cool! That made me do some more temperature checking of a few waypoints - Astoria is 38 degrees right now and Ashland is 34 degrees, and trending getting even colder; so although the scenery aspect seems great, the idea of driving down on summer tires is getting less appealing.

dflowerz

Could be a big fog bank over the whole coastline too. Sounds better to do that summer trip along the Cali coast.

996AE

Once in Portland head a little east (off 5) to Bend. Then Bend to Reno. From Reno, lake Tahoe, over the mountain to Sacramento. Then SFO and head down the Coast hwy. Not many miles out of the way and a few great roads vs the slab.

Google or mapquest will route you "avoid hwy" in profile. Pretty cool.

I road my BWM GS Adventure along this route heading back to SoCal from AK this summer.

rkwfxd

I've been up and down hwy 1 numerous times in my life but all on a motorcycle and all in summer. Some parts up north in the rain. Based on that experience I would not hesitate to drive my Porsche down. I'd just check weather reports and road conditions and plan my route accordingly.

dflowerz

We drove from Sacramento to Bend going through Reno. Seems like 139 out of Adin or somewhere up and down there was incredible in the 911. Road was two land and a little bumpy in places but mostly deserted. I could really let the car go and have great memories of that drive. In the summer though.

planet

My first German car was an E46 330i which I drove up and down Highway 1 many times when I was a younger man. Wonderful road, great memories.

I'd ship the car and enjoy the drive in warmer weather. You'll most definitely want to get the hell out of LA with some frequency.

rwschill

Based on my experience I would drive it but take it easy on speed until you get south depending on weather.

Chris C.

I picked up my 911S in Seattle and drove to SF last December. I would think twice about it if I were you, or at least watch the weather very closely.

It was early December last year and we had 3 days of decent rain on the horizon, when I checked weather, was supposed to stay just rain. Well above 3000 feet it was white out most of the way down 5, and I could not get over Siskyou (4200') as they closed it to non 4wd vehicles! I spent the night in Ashland and almost spend 3 days there watching snow pile up on my ducktail

You won't get a notice of needing chains until you're too far up the mountain passes - I wish I knew about this site in advance https://tripcheck.com/Pages/RCMap.asp#. They have awesome cameras and updates - truly amazing and the only reason I made it home in 2 days

Even then I was hiding in between truckers doing 40mph most of the way through the mountains, hoping to avoid that big rock or road rash from the sand. It was not fun at all, watching the temps hover at 36 then drop to 32 feeling for a break traction or a slide (which never happened)

Gorgeous drive, even on the highway - and it was fine below 2000 ft - but I'd carry chains and water and warm clothes just in case, and expect some hairy conditions if there is any precipitation.

Note: I learned to drive 911s in the rain on the track and am very capable in snow from my days as a New Yorker - traction is great in our cars in the rain until you add cold pavement and slushy stuff. While 911s are very competent, summer tires are summer tires. Heavy mountain snow requires snow tires and isn't good with SPASM clearances .

I got a lot of odd looks, and the sport design front end makes a nice snow plow

ipse dixit

Ship it.

ieatfishburritos

Once you're in the LA area, do you plan on driving the car during the winter months? If you go out with any car clubs on the popular canyon cruises, like Angeles Crest, the temps are too cold for summer tires. Even this week the temps in parts of LA are near the "tool cold" range for summer tires.

I daily my C4S and live on the north side of LA. I put on winter tires last week. I went with the pirelli sottozero tires as I understand they are a better choice in cold regions with less snow than the michelin alpins. I'm happy with them and won't be tracking the car with them on, but degradation in handling performance is relatively minor compared with what I had feared about winter tires on a 911.. It's nothing like putting blizzaks on a suv.

I also plan to take trips in the car through snowy regions which helped my decision. There are others here with high performance cars putting winter tires on as well, a friend with an R8 is picking up sottozeros this week.

Hothonda

Not a good idea.

skynet

I say go for it, could be a fun adventure. And even if turns into a misadventure, it will that much more memorable.