achilleas101

Not to get into an AWD debate here, but this is not accurate. Audi has permanent all wheel drive, and depending on which version, in some cars is actually 60:40 rear biased.. but in all their cars it is always on and continuously vectors torque.

I am not as familiar with Porsche's awd, but I think you are more correct for that one. In either case, even if the AWD is designed for track performance, the fact that it can send torque to all wheels makes it a lot safer to drive in snow than a RWD car. So if you have to drive in 4" of snow and go up a slope, or make a turn with little risk of sliding off the road ( assuming you have all season or winter tires) it will allow you to do that more safely. That's all I can ask for, and was looking for.

BillyX

I drove my previous 718 Cayman RWD for two winters with the OEM winter set. Yes, you have to watch out for frozen snow turds. It also scraped when the accumulation was over 4" But, it's fine once it's plowed. I only got stuck once below 0 F when the normal road salt turned the snow slimly on an incline.

I'm still waiting for my 992 4CS winter tire set to show up. I plan to drive it like a winter beater. Someone on the forum once reminded us that these cars are made in Germany, where is does snow all winter.

smiles11

They’d run a 4S to set the ring lap if that was the case. Weight is king on the ring.

westcoastj

except the a3 line. My RS3 has haldex differential, so it's fwd bias. While I'm sure it's fun to drive the porsche in the snow, I'm not risking it and I don't want to pay $ for another set of winter wheels. My RS3 will be driven in snow and my c2s manual only for spring/summer. My dad did have a 996 c4s manual back in 2002 and drove it year round and even took it up to whistler in the snow.

Tupper

Don’t you guys worry about road salt corrosion?

detansinn

Nope. While it's certainly an issue with the 911s of a couple of a few decades ago, Porsche spent the past couple of decades actively taking steps and using technology to combat corrosion. That's why they've got a 12 year corrosion warranty on these cars. Given that the 992 is nearly entirely aluminum, there are no body panels that will are going to rust out/through.

Tupper

^ I take it the steel rotors are also protected?

Im asking this because I am considering DD this in winter and selling off my SUV. But I still have reservations.

detansinn

Steel rotors will show rust when you wash the car or after a rain. No great shakes with them in winter. Brake and they're all shiny again.
FYI, Porsche winter wheel sets have different offsets that bring things inboard, helping keep the stone/salt debris within the wheel wells.

achilleas101

oh those damn haldex diffs. You're right, the 3s and one of the generations of TT had them. Most of their cars have the torsen or crown diff.

i had a separate set of winter and summer wheels on my S4, much more convenient to swap em out than getting tires mounted and remounted twice a year. So it was a no brainer for me to do the same for the 911. Paid 2k for a decent Forgestar set, then the tires are another $1500 after mounting. That 2nd set of wheels is much cheaper than having a 2nd car. :-) I actually debated keeping the S4 as a winter 'beater' but couldn't justify keeping it when i was able to sell it for $29k. I thought of it this way- right off the bat thats 25,500 more in my pocket, plus the insurance, tax, maintenance cost i'd save, and additional depreciation on the car. That can be put towards whatever costs i incur on the 911 and then some.

I don't have to drive in the snow too often any more, so the winter wheels are more for the cold temps and good traction/braking performance when it's below 40 degrees, and insurance in case i do need to go somewhere in snow. if it's deep snow and i really need to drive around, i'll take the wife's SUV.

Tupper

Thanks for all the info.

I guess the only issue is that I have a Cabriolet, which doesn’t have defrost to the rear window. Not a huge issue but probably the only other factor.

Huge decisions….

ctdubl07

Im anxiously awaiting a 4S to replace my daily Pmera 4S with 70K on clock that I drive Sht out of year round and thats with my wife having a Velar with 22s and our "nanny" wagon 2016 Denali XL with 105K. We live in CT but run to VT every wknd Tgiving thru 4/1. Both of those trucks have 22's with all seasons and they suck in snow....gotta be extra careful as another poster said, cant get over confident just because you have a truck.
As BillX said, Im going to put Alpins on that 4S and drive the Sht out of it in winter and to top it off, run it thru a carwash 2-3x a week!! Ghastly!!!!
But yeah, Id love to see C4 in manual and then chip it for $2K....

991Targa4S

I drove a 987S as a daily for 11 years.

If you don’t drive like lunatic you will be fine.

An old colleague of mine and I were leaving work during a snow storm. He drove a Mini Cooper S and got stuck in the lot. I had Sotto Zeros and made it home fine. I was on the road with nothing but SUV’s.

RWD and AWD with proper tires will get you where you want to go. Keep in mind I’ve been to HPDE and know how to counter steer and how much throttle is too much.

At most I would turn off traction control and start on 2nd gear to get out of a parking lot and put it TC back On once moving.

If you only have room for 1 car and want a 911 go for it. People in Europe for example are at times forced to have a small car to fit through village roads & a 911 is no less a car as a daily.

Drew46

Where in VT? I am in Westchester and make the trip to Mt Snow just about every weekend (other than the wet season in May).

carcommander

You guy do know about Cayenne Turbo’s right?

ctdubl07

Agreed....road salt is a conversation my dad would have debated in the 70's!! plus how many sand bags to load in over the rear axle......
While my state and surrounding do use a modified salt/sand/CMA cocktail, my town uses strictly glycol.
But combining D-sinns point with the fact that I dont care because I dont own cars for that long, any potential corrosion is going to be someone elses problem.