mander

I drive an 09 C4S year-round as my only car. Here in central Ohio, living in downtown Columbus this hasn't been an issue. I average 5K a year.

How crazy would it be to similarly use a 991.2 GT3?

I asked my service adviser and he recommended against as there was less rustproofing and the city uses salt occasionally.

Your thoughts?

MileHigh911

Well...most don’t keep the car forever. The bigger issue would be that you are lower to the ground, and the design of the front splitter is like a snow plow (compared to C4s). Anything is possible, and you don’t drive many miles. For the dozen times you can’t drive it, there is always Uber.

Maverick787

I assume you will be getting winter wheels and tires? If not traction would be terrible and possibly dangerous. Front splitter very low ......not a good car for snow.

RealityGT

If you're just puttering around the city, you should be fine from a driving perspective.. But, do you really think a GT3 is a suitable DD when you have to deal with snow, salt, sleet?

If anything buy/lease a beater ($5k - $10k).... shouldn't be an issue if you can buy a GT3..

shapiroeric

Stock tires + cold weather = bad.....you'll be puttering around town in it with zero traction

RealityGT

^He would definitely need the appropriate winter performance tires..

Golden Boy

Sounds like a bad idea to me. I always have a merc gle 350 as my daily for winter months . Gt3 + snow = bad idea. Not just you sliding. Snow ups the risk of other sliding into you as well. Not worth it in my opinion. Snow sort of defeats all the fun the gt3 should be. Just my opinion

0to60

Relocate out of the snow belt States to a warmer climate. GT3 is not made to plow snow. Must suck to stash a GT3 away for 5 months out of the year.

NVRANUF

Yes it certainly does suck to park any Porsche for 5 months...

evilfij

Where is there any evidence of less rust proofing?

Mika911

With winter tyres you should be fine. Would remove the splitter and the brake ducts though as you will hit the snow and they will snap very easily at very low temperatures.

manitou202

I drove my 991.1 C4S in the snow. I would occasionally take it out after a small storm to drive in unplowed conditions, and would take it in the mountains to the ski resorts (I had the roof rack as well). I've always had a daily driver for regular commuting and driving on slushy days.

I'm not planning on driving my .2GT3 in the snow. I'm worried about the ground clearance and other drivers. If my C4S was hit, I wouldn't be very upset because it's "just" a regular 911. The GT3 is a different story. Plus without the AWD I don't think it will be as enjoyable, more annoying if anything.

If you don't have an alternative vehicle, you could probably pick up a beater for the cost of a winter wheel/tire set for the GT3. Plus remember they aren't as friendly to change during the seasons if you don't have the CL equipment.

Lapis

I also am in Columbus, OH and work downtown (columbusLOFTS.com)... I think I've probably seen your car about.

I had a 991.1 GT3 the last 2 winters here, and though I didn't drive it daily, I made a point to take it out at least once every week or two all season long so it wouldn't sit. Fortunately, our last 2 winters were quite mild, so it was no big deal.

Main issue, IMO, with DD'ing a GT3 in Columbus in the winter would be that the stock Cup tires aren't good in very low temps, certainly not below freezing, due to the rubber compound that doesn't stay soft in cold temps, and it therefore loses traction completely when freezing. But if you put all-season or winter tires on it (Michelin Pilot Sport A/S series if they're available in the right size would probably be ideal), then that would be fine. I used to DD a 996 Targa (2WD) for 5 years in the winter, and with a dedicated set of winter wheels/tires, it was totally fine, even in the ice and snow.

I wouldn't be too concerned about what your service advisor (who? Jeff at Byers?) said about road salt. Just be sure to wash the car regularly including inside the wheel wells, etc. I doubt there is any truth in real world use to speculation about rust resistance of GT3 vs. other Porsches. They're painted everywhere and unibody is dipped in corrosion resistant coating before painting inside and out. Sound deadening material is not same as corrosion resistance.

GT3, though, also has much lower ground clearance, and you can't really drive it around all the time with the front axle lift up (it goes down automatically anyway at 35mph or so). So you certainly wouldn't want to drive a GT3 in Columbus if we get, say, 6" or more of snow, which I know isn't that often.

If you live downtown, the solution is easy: When the weather is ugly, just use the Car2Go service, which has those Smart cars parked everywhere that you can rent instantly anytime and pay by the minute.

Or, since I doubt you're too much of a penny pincher if buying a new 991.2 GT3, just buy a $10,000 or cheaper used crossover SUV to use a DD (at least in bad weather).

PwAg

OP: Micheline Pilot Alpin PA4 would be a decent winter performance. All-seasons are for most part still lame with RWD in snow. I'd also stick with winters just because the tread stays most pliable in cold temps. Keep stock wheels, just pop on/off 2x yr. You are in Columbus, outside the lake effect belt, do you even get more than a couple feet per yr? Guessing it's very minimal, probably a dozen bad days a year? You'd laugh what you see driven in and around Aspen/Telluride during winter. It can be done.

Lapis

PwAg is right about the PA4’s being among the best performance snow tires you could get, if you’re going to change them out 2X/yr. With those you could get through anything unless snow too deep for car’s ground clearance.

The Pilot Sport A/S series would be better if you wanted to leave them on year round with some sacrifice in outright summer performance but dramatically better wet traction than the Cup tires and usable performance in the cold winter. You’re unlikely to drive GT3 in heavy snow and ice either way I imagine so the A/S would probably be fine. I’ve used them before as “winter” tires on some of my other performance oriented cars in past like Audi’s and BMWs and they worked very well in Columbus winters, even in heavy snow. Admittedly those cars had a lot more ground clearance and many of the were AWD.

Problem I think you will find is that most of the aa/S and winter tires don’t come in the exact sizes as the stock GT3 tires. You might need to downsize to 19” rims (assuming you get Steel brakes not ceramics, which won’t accommodate smaller rims I think)