CorsePerVita

I see so many threads with crap breaking so I figured I'd share my story of my trip yesterday. My wife just left for a funeral so I was left home alone to bach it for a week. Last night was my last night to myself and I was bored to hell. Out of nowhere a buddy of mine posts up on one of our local car club forums he needs a ride because he sold his jeep. Well, short notice being less than 2 hours. The drive is a 4 hour trip. I thought "Hm if i leave at 5pm i could be back before 9... or a little after."

I top off my fluids, check my tires, double check my coolant and make sure i'm good to go. Gave him a call and said "I'll take ya!"

The roads were supposed to be entirely clear. What he didn't tell me is that it had snowed. Perhaps he DIDN'T know... anyway..

We end up about halfway up the mountain and the roads are coated in gravel because it's so slippery but we're ahead of traffic. I had to laugh at one point because my 944 does so well in the snow, one guy is freaking out locking his hubs on the side of the road while I'm passing him up in my 944 with no problems. (either overly cautious or he was new to the snow perhaps)

We continue up the mountain and start hitting the twisties. They weren't that bad and we slowed down because for some reason I do not desire to go off the side of the mountain and into the woods (imagine that). We hit a corner with heavy traffic and the glare from the lights caused us not to see that well. The same time this corner had a wonderful patch of packed snow and ice and I saw him start to slip a bit on his tires. He's in a big heavy jeep with part time all-wheel drive so I knew it would be interesting. The back end started to get a little sketchy but i just kept consistent throttle and kept on it. It only lasted a few seconds but it definitely scared the crap out of me.

After that we had only another 30 minutes or so to go and the roads were almost ENTIRELY dry from there which was a bizarre sight. We started with dry roads, hit the mountain full of rain/snow/ice..... back to dry roads.

Once we started down the mountain to drop off his jeep we hit a line of people doing probably 20mph. DRY ROADS. GRAVEL. 20mph???? He finally pulled over, ended up being some 4runner. I guess people are scared of the mountain?

All in all we did pretty well. Interesting trip, weather wasn't bad.

I was proud of my little 944. When I first bought it the car was of questionable condition. I have now spend almost 2-3x what the car was worth to get it "where it needs to be" - and now it's a daily driver i'm not afraid to take into almost any weather. Dry/ice/rain/snow you name it and it's seen it thus far. Only time I can't do snow is when it's tall enough that my car ends up being a snow plow .... which isn't often.

I remember when I struggled with the ignition system, the fuel system, my suspension, the brakes, the hydraulics, and I JUST recently put in a new clutch and rebuilt the torque tube. I think the only thing I haven't done to this car is replace the engine and tranny thus far. But I'm proud to know I did it all myself. Years ago i was just wondering what would break the next week. Now I'm just doing regular maintenance and fixing all the little crap.

Was nice to be going up the mountain in "my fake porsche" that "isn't a real porsche" that "handles like crap" and "is just a slow pos" (as far as what I've heard from passerby you know... that's what everyone tells me).

But good luck wiping the grin off my face, they're missing out on one kickass car.

JohnKoaWood

Good to hear I'm not the only one... I love my 951 for all it's ugly kid antics, but my N/A has a special place in my heart... having only left me sitting once (ruber centered clutch disk died) and has always been there for me when I needed it...

kombatrok

Cool! Mine has been noting but reliable... I drive it everywhere, frequent 3-4 hour trips sometimes longer, I'll drive it in any weather any time. I would drive it across the country tomorrow and not think twice about it.

The only thing that has failed was the clutch... and for all I know it was the original.

CorsePerVita

was the same thing that started to go out on mine, original rubber clutch. i replaced mine with the italian sprung clutch and LOVE it.

royalschwarz

When they are taken care of, they are the best little cars in the world.

odurandina

my 944 was wayyyyyyyy better than my 968 on snow, slush, slightly treated roads, etc.

76 911s

Did the 944 have an LSD?? I've had an '85 NA and now have a '968...both great in the snow. My 951 on the other hand...

CorsePerVita

No LSD in mine, open diff. But I could foresee issues with traction in a 951 due to power. I think the 944/1 is about perfect since the power isn't too much and it handles so well. It snowed here again today and I am having a BLAST in the snow.

guardsred944s

I only wish I had pictures of my pcar going up and down snowy Pennsylvania roads with all the SUV's pulled over to the side.

A. Traction Control
B. Anti-lock Brakes
C. Four Wheel Drive
D. Limited Slip Differential
E. None of the Above

Ans: E

CorsePerVita

Lol exactly!

Mike C.

I was quite happy with how mine handled with good snow tires. It had very good traction for a RWD car (I don't expose it to the salt anymore)...

Mark944na86

I drove my S2 in the rain the other day, and it didn't break down. It was so wet I actually had to turn on my lights and windscreen wipers (which both worked). You could actually see the rain running down the windscreen in little rivulets. Puddles were appearing spontaneously on the road surface.

I didn't realise we were expected to report in when things didn't go wrong. Do we need a dedicated "no problems today" thread?

CorsePerVita

Nope, just felt like spreading the happiness of a good drive that was 4 hours, and reflection of how crappy it was years prior. hard work pays off. Nice when you can look back and reflect. I have a simple life, my wife and my cars are the few things that put a smile on my face every day.

Mike C.

I'm sure any old British sports car forum has one...

CorsePerVita

A "hey my car is working today" thread? LOL!