Dr Mitch

I'm on the verge of getting into a very nice '90 C4.

Not being the type who can idly sit by whilst a real fun car is in the garage, I do plan on driving it in the winter (in Toronto).

So, just wondering who out there is still running theirs (pretty much daily) in the winter?

Who WAS and stopped?

I KNOW, a shame to drive a car like that in winter, will rust out, etc etc etc - but I'd rather own a car and use it all of the time vs keep it in a vault and take it out only once in a while. I've been a firm believer that cars run better the more they are driven.

BTW This car would be replacing my beloved Volvo V70R - so anyone with similar experience, I'd love to hear from you!

Andy Roe

I'll be using mine all winter except for when it's snowing/icy and salt on the roads.

Goughary

Snow tires go on next month and I'll be driving mine everyday, rain, snow, ice, sleet, sun, fun....

I'll also have it on a stand at some point, look carefully for rust and corrosion, and take care of anything found before it gets out of control....So far so good - zero rust and only minor stuff ever found...

Dr Mitch

Thanks! Do you do any sort of underbody treatment at the beginning of the winter for your car?

The Stig

Dr. Mitch:

I drove my C4 everday in our lovely GTA winters for 3.5 years. Never got stuck in the white stuff or spun out because of poor traction.

I stopped when electrical gremlins starting creeping into daily drives. -20 degree C weather does not a happy 964 make.

Also the salt and sand corrodes and sticks to everything. I found this out when I pulled the engine and trans to do the clutch. Engine tin wear and even the smallest little parts turned to dust during disassembly. You think your car is clean until you see how pervasive road salt is.

vagluv

i will be, but its a little different here in texas

Dr Mitch

Lol, explains your stable of awd cars perfectly!! yeah those cold nights there when you have to turn down the a/c must be brutal!!!

911Thrasher

my RS will be running all winter too - Ok no snow here, but lots lots of rain!

Vandit

. Same.

I'll be interesting how my BFG Rivals behave in 30-40 degree temps. I know my Hankook RS3s are pretty compromised in sub 40.

vagluv

my pilot sports dont behave unless theyre properly hot...

here in the dfw we probably average 5 inches a year. i love getting the cars out to have a little fun in an empty parking lot, but i doubt the 964 will see any of it. just dont trust other drivers enough

MusicMadMike

Got the winter tyres on. Air Con and heating all working perfectly. Karcher pressure washer at the ready to get rid of the salty nasties. Let's see in the spring if I need a new body. Was planning full respray in spring anyway. Brave or stupid? We'll see

GinaP964

After 10 years of all weather/all year usage and having just got my C4 back from body resto and all new paint... old Wolfi is going into semi-retirement. I'll be using him in the wet, for sure, but when the temperatures really drop, and the salt goes onto the road, he'll be staring at the garage wall.

Call me a big wuss!

GeorgeK

4th winter with mine. Behaves perfectly in snow, better than a viscous differential equipped 993. The Nokians will do their last winter before changing them for new. I have a yearly convention in Garmisch, which I drive to every time.
There has been rust on the car, but most of it was there when I bought it, and I have been taking care of it yearly. Can't say if the salt/snow made it worse or not. Did not come back in the places that have been taken care of.
I'd much rather drive it and maintain it than lock it up and be bored senseless by the family wagon.
As a side note, my first 911 was a Carrera 3.o, I drove it in winter and it had remarkable traction with proper winter tires.

Goughary

Dr Mitch - no special undersprays - just go drive -

Some of the guys maybe in the UK can chime in on what they do to protect the cars from the nasty weather - I have always been on the "don't wash it till spring" plan. Salt isn't all that bad till it's mixed with water... and then it gets nasty. My uncle lived in upstate NY, and never washed his cars in the winter - and they never rusted. He swore by it....So far has been OK with mine - not a spot of rust.

Now - if I do wash it in the winter, I wait till it's rained a few times to get most of the salt off the roads (rains more than snows in the winters down here in CT) and then I go to a carwash that doesn't recycle their water, and have them give the car an under-body spray wash, which cleans out most of the gunk....

All that said - I'm sure that it will rust someday - but my car, though it's been completely rebuilt, gone through, maintained well, etc, is not a museum piece. I will drive it till the floors fall through, and when that happens, I will have a mechanically perfect rust bucket in need of a roller to swap the parts to...lol...

In the end, I bought it to be a daily driver - and I chose it because it should be one...Otherwise I would have maybe bought a Ferrari and parked it in my livingroom...hehehe

mike8

All winter long except extreme snow and ice that requires salt....I bought a 964 because I wanted 911 that I could drive 12 months out of the year...yes extreme weather I will drive my wife's sport ult, all others, the 64.
Drove it to Florida through a snow/ice storm(VA) last Feb....no issues other then me white knuckling