Is it really that dangerous to drive these cars in the sub 40 degree weather?
 

I constantly read threads on the 987 and 997 forums, social media, and the well-known Porsche engine builders where they tend to note cold weather driving as a concern for these cars. I fully understand that oil takes a long time (8-15 minutes of driving) to get up to operating temp in 30 to 70 degree weather, the pistons and block need to warm up fully, and that one needs to be cognizant of this before giving the motor some big revs, but is it really that risky to be driving these cars in 20-40 degree temps otherwise? I've been on tons of various forums over the past three decades and this is the only group that seems to have concerns about driving in or purchasing a car from a cold climate. The BMW and Audi groups think nothing of this. I get that many Porsche owners view these cars as good weather-only cars, but is there something I'm missing here? I ask because I've owned my 987.2 for about a year and just put all seasons on it and plan to drive it on clear 30+ degree days fairly often this winter. I always start the car and let it go into it's normal idle (about 30-60 seconds after a cold start) and then keep the revs below 4000rpms, no high load driving, etc. until the motor and trans are fully warm. I run Euro-spec Mobil 1 0W-40.

Engine? Nah. Tires. Yes. Most people / many people don’t use the right rubber for the weather.

I only avoided the roads in my Boxster when the roards were freshly salted. Otherwise everyday driver. My Cayman though I'm just going to drive everyday. Frequent rinsing above and below to remve salt residue of course. I'll be maintaining my usual 5k oil change regime and also Top Tier Gasolene only.
I'm looking forward to our first snow day on the roads in KC :)
Cheers,
Julian

Porsche designs and tests cars to survive arctic circle conditions. You can drive them in the cold, full stop. I’ve driven all my P-cars in conditions to -25F. No issues.

Wash the salt off when it warms up outside, including the bits underneath. They are well galvanized.

All these cars generate heat pretty quickly, which is quite nice. Shift between 3-4k until normal operating temps are reached, and you’re good to go.

As noted, summer tires do not work great in the cold. Compound gets too hard and loses grip. Cold temps deserve either winter tires or all-season tires.

And, if you drive in crazy ice storms, freezing rain, or rapid snowfall conditions, you’ll have a whole new appreciation for those headlight squirters. They rock!

As previously noted, the car itself will be fine but if you don’t have the correct tires installed the car will feel like it’s on ice. Even on 45 degree days if the tire has been heat cycled enough and aged 5 years it will easily lose grip.

No.

The main issue is bore scoring, which seems to be more prevalent on cars driven in cold weather.

I know this is the dogma, and yes I know that winter tires are the best tires in winter, and that performance all seasons are better than summers below 10C... HOWEVER...

My real world experience is that things aren't nearly as black and white as people make them out to be. I recently picked up a 2023 Subaru BRZ, the top model that comes on 18" wheels with Pilot Sport 4 tires. It's winter in Canada, but it's been mild and our roads are currently snow free. The minute I had the car home I ordered a 17" wheel setup with Conti Viking Contact 7 winter tires. Rather than letting the car sit for almost 2 weeks while I waited for the tires I drove the PS4's well below 7 C and had no issues. At around 0 they still have great grip. At -10C they were for sure grip limited, but if you're aware of it they can still be driven safely. The PS4's at -10C still had MORE grip than the VC7 winter tires have on the same cold dry pavement. The VC7's are super fun on the cold dry, or damp pavement, because they are so loose you can basically be sideways at every corner! :D I've driven winter tires for over 25 years so I know the advantages, we're getting snow today and I can't wait to hoon the BRZ on the VC7's around in the snow.

All this is to say that things are not as black and white as people say.

It’s not just grip. Michelins says below 20F the tires can develop cracking and need to be properly warmed before driving.

Yep, I totally understand, but if one allows the motor and oil to warm up fully before running the motor hard, I would think this shouldn't be an issue.

Now, if the temps are below 20 degrees F, I wouldn't recommend driving any performance car hard as the oil may never get up to full operating temp to sustain extended high rpm driving. Plus there's the whole concern with tire grip.

I would caution you driving in sub 40 degree temps with the PS4s. Since the tires are relatively new, they might do alright in those temps in the short term, but routine driving in sub 40 degree F (4 C) temps will kill a summer tire quickly as the rubber will harden and degrade pretty quickly. Since 2016, I've had PSS and currently PS4s on my 2016 BMW M235 and once the tires get some life and wear into them, they become hockey pucks in sub 50 degree F temps and are pretty spooky in 30 degree F and a bit frightening if the cold roads are wet.

With that said, I'm all for outfitting a car for the conditions it's typically going to drive in, not the worst case. I ran winter performance tires on my 2016 BMW M235 for the first 3 years of winter driving in Kansas City. I did this because the BMW crowd swore you needed to run them in the winter. I hated every moment with those tires. The roads in the winter in Kansas City are usually a mix of dry and wet and rarely is there snow on the roads for more than a day or two and we only get maybe 12-18 inches of snow a season. Snow removal is typically swift. The winter performance tires were great in light snow and wet cold roads, but in all other conditions, they were crap. They had terrible handling, weak threshold braking, were loud, and wore crazy fast if temps were above 30 degrees F which is common in the KC winters. I got 15K miles out of the tires. I now run Michelin Pilot All Season 4s and they are much better for winter in KC and are superior tires for the conditions I drive in plus they are exceptional performance tires even in the hot temps.

Those who rebuilt bore scored engines professionally were supposedly seeing a higher volume of clients in areas with colder climates. I think that's where the most of the fear was rooted.

Go visit Gmund Austria and Stuttgart Germany in the dead of Winter. I assure you Porsche automobiles are some of the most capable winter cars made. It’s in their DNA

BS.

Just a LITTLE common sense, might be in order.

Regarding the bore scoring comments, I think some of that was also due to the winter blend fuels. Not just cold temps.

I see no issue with driving these cars in cold weather provided you have proper tires. Drive and enjoy!