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I live in Minnesota where the winters are known to get extremely cold and snowy. I also really want to buy a C4 which I intend on daily driving year round. Everyone I know is calling me crazy, but I love 964s and I would like some input from others who daily drive their 964s in areas with very cold and snowy winters. Do others exist?
The car will obviously be garaged, but the garage is detached so it will be cold out there. I plan on keeping this car forever so I will take car of it like it's my child. That said, how reliable are 964s in the winter? How does stock suspension do in snow? I plan on getting Blizzaks, so with the C4 drivetrain I hear its bulletproof.
I don't want to bore your too much up front, so I will end this now, but if you have any input I would truly appreciate it.
Welcome to the madness - It is perfectly doable and you can have a ton of fun with it. Darren, one of the sales people @ Porsche Minneapolis, was daily driving a C4 widebody until a year ago. Unfortunately, someone t-boned him and totaled the 964, so he now daily drives a 993 C4. He loves it and wouldn't dream of driving anything else. Ask all the questions you want, this board is a great resource.
That's great to hear. I am going back and forth on doing a 964 C4 and being safe and getting something like an S4 or Allroad. I know I would just get bored with those cars whereas I can see myself having fun with a Porsche forever. I plan on having a winter set of pretty much everything (front/rear bumpers, seats, wheels, suspension if need be).
@LPMM: I am from Wayzata, currently live in New York, but moving back to the Kenwood/Uptown area next spring/early summer. Do you know the guy in Wayzata who drove the slammed black 964 (maybe year round)? I always saw him around but never stopped to speak with him.
You are in for the time of your life. Get the snows on and get out and have fun. There is no car more fun or better in the snow.
I can say from experience. Stock ride height is much better in snow over a few inches. The underbelly tray under the engine is a good thing to have in the winter. I wish I didn't give mine away. And 16 inch wheels are preferable to the 17 inch cups Cuz you want the narrower tires and taller sidewalls.
That said. You will not believe the incline you can climb in seriously slippery conditions or how much control you will have in the snow and ice. It's just that awesome.
I drove my car for 3 straight winters on 16" D90s. I stopped because 23 year old electrics and -15 degrees C (5 degrees F) don't really work well together.
When things were working - it was a blast. The look on SUV and pickup driver's faces was brilliant. Mostly because they were stuck in a ditch as I passed them. I know, I know - no one likes a show off.
I daily drive my 964 year round. Regularly runs 0 F. I wouldn't worry about the cold garage. I think it's actually better for the body if you avoid major heat swings. It saves the fast defrost and moisture everywhere. I run two kids to the mountains almost every weekend in the winter and have a roof box on. It makes me smile every time I drive it. Sometimes when it's -40 I feel bad for the car but it fires up and goes so it must like it right?
Didn't someone on here post a vid of themselves using their 964 to clear the snow in the work parking lot after a co-workers Quattro-equipped Audi couldn't get the job done?
Didn't someone on here post a vid of themselves using their 964 to clear the snow in the work parking lot after a co-workers Quattro-equipped Audi couldn't get the job done?
I'm in the Midwest and bought a C4 that I intended to use year round. It seemed like a great idea on paper, but now that I own the car and want to keep it nice, not happening.
I live in Minneapolis/Saint Paul, and on and off, I've spent 20+ winters here.
I wouldn't even think of driving my 964 through the winter, not even our mildest ones.
First, you would literally watch it rot away from all the salt and other chemicals used on the road. Either that, or you'd spend a fortune on daily Car Washes, even then, the chemicals would take a great toll. The Bonnet would need a repaint and the Windscreen replaced annually from the SandBlasting they'd endure (a mix of Salt and Sand is used on the roads).
Second, if you live here, you'll remember the flash ice storm we got two saturdays ago. The State Patrol received reports of 400+ crashes in 5 hrs. in the Twin Citties alone. My wife and I happened to be at a concert, it started before the rains came. When we left, the roads were Skating Rinks like I've rarely seen, so bad (even in our all-wheel Jaguar) that I took side streets the 6 miles home - and at 15MPH. I cannot imagine my C4 being as good. Plus, it's the other guys you need to watch out for - they're the ones which will get you.
If this is your first winter here, to date, you haven't seen anything yet. In fact, the past 45 days have been unseasonally mild, but we average about 84" of snow annually (and unfortunately it's not usually from 4 or 5 bad storms, it accumulates from 3 or 4 inch deep snowfalls weekly) and avg. daytime temps of below freezing mid-Nov. - mid-Apr, much colder at night.
Finally, I doubt that on our typical sub-zero January mornings, you'd get your air-cooled engine anywhere near operating temperature on a 5-mile drive majorly accelerating engine wear. Not only that, but I doubt you'd have adequate heat to keep from frosting the inside glass.
In the end, your car, your money, your skin.
At the very least, as others have mentioned, get a rat honda or toyota and get through your first winter here and then decide.
I suspect, like me, on some of our more horrendous days, you'll be happy it's tucked away in a nice dry garage under the cover. I mean, if you can't drive a Porsche like a Porsche, what's the point?
Cheers!
Agreed on all points, except the heat. It blasts hot within 30 seconds of start. We had a freak blizzard last April, had to drive home from work in 8" of snow and the car was unshakable. That's not an issue. The issues that dissuaded me were:
1) Our roads are terrible enough as it is, but the potholes in winter tear cars apart. It's like driving on the moon with all the pots and craters.
2) Other careless drivers slamming into me.
3) The chemicals they use on the roads are truly cancer to our cars.
4) Being stressed about the above everytime you get behind the wheel.
I've also used a 944 and 986 as a winter car before (one season each), and it's doable with the right tires, but life is just so much easier with a proper winter car.
Last edited by pcarfan944; 01-05-2015 at 05:04 PM.
I drive mine year round. Great in snow and on ice. Heats up quickly.
Door locks like to freeze though - with me either out of or IN the car - I have RS cards and the manual lock **** wasn't installed initially!
I also have the RS ride height, so it's a bit of a snow plow in deep stuff!
I love it though.
Depends on the car, depends on your passion, depends on your budget. There's no doubt they're truly functional snow cars- I've had several Audis, several Subarus, an awd turbo Talon, and now the C4 and an awd CRV with a manual; the C4 is very very good.
At the same time there's no escaping that they're 20-30 years old now, built with none-too-robust electronics/now aged rubber, and they're appreciating. Not to mention that they're no longer cheap.
If you can find a solid car that's not pristine, you're either able to pay Hans and Udo $100 an hour to adjust the valves/change the oil/dink around with whatever thing isn't working right at the moment or do the work yourself, and don't mind the accelerated aging winter puts on the car then get one by all means. I love mine on a dirt road or in fresh powder or even just in the wet, but I try to avoid salty slush.
10-07-2014, 11:06 PM
964 C4 in Cold/Snowy Winter?
