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My greatest concern about driving in snow isn't ground clearance, corrosion, or inadequate traction. A 911 with winter tires is a pretty competent car in light to medium snowfalls. My greatest fear is being smacked by one of the myriad drivers of SUV's and other AWD drive cars who don't understand how to control their vehicles when their traction is compromised. The huge increase in popularity of SUV's and AWD's in recent years has brought to the roads a ton under-informed of people who believe that their cars are impervious to the risks of icy conditions. I just don't want to be in an accident in my car which I lovingly take care of. The thought of my 992 being in the shop for days or weeks getting crumpled metal replaced is repugnant. There isn't a single snowfall in my area where there aren't accidents, and I just don't see the point of risking a collision in dicey conditions when I have two other cars in the garage.
Summer tires are awful in 20-45 degree temps, even on clear days. They don't have the same compound/composition and are not designed for that temperature range. It is doubtful I will drive my 992 on days when there is snow and ice, certainly not a lot of it, but having competent snow / winter tires for the temperature make the car drivable in the winter months. Added to which, here in Colorado, the weather can change pretty fast. I don't want to drive on a seemingly nice day and have weather come in and not have adequate tires to get home. And that has happened to me. Took my kids to an indoor swimming pool in a Jaguar coupe in October. It seemed like a nice fall day. When we came out 3 hours later there was 3 inches of snow and that car barely made it home.
Summer tires are awful in 20-45 degree temps, even on clear days. They don't have the same compound/composition and are not designed for that temperature range. It is doubtful I will drive my 992 on days when there is snow and ice, certainly not a lot of it, but having competent snow / winter tires for the temperature make the car drivable in the winter months. Added to which, here in Colorado, the weather can change pretty fast. I don't want to drive on a seemingly nice day and have weather come in and not have adequate tires to get home. And that has happened to me. Took my kids to an indoor swimming pool in a Jaguar coupe in October. It seemed like a nice fall day. When we came out 3 hours later there was 3 inches of snow and that car barely made it home.
This. Summer high performance tires in cold temperatures is a very bad combination. Not to mention that they will definitely have excessive wear when run in the cold temps. PS4s is 20 degree whether - might as well be using the tires off a Big Wheel.
In central Texas (Austin) there is probably a cumulative 2 to 3 weeks where the temps are too cold for summer tires. Whether or not there happens to be snow or ice on the ground too(it happens occasionally), the car will stay in the garage.
Q.) Do you . . . drive your RWD 911 in the winter?
A.) Yes, all year 'round! Sometimes it'll actually get below freezing at night, two or sometimes even as many as three times a year; but that's why my C2S has a heater.
Yes, all winter long with Michelin AP5s. Great tires and work well with my C2S.
Winter tires is a must. I use Michelin AP5s as well. As others have said above, driving in the snow can be a really fun experience. Especially in a very competent car like a four-wheel-drive 911. Here’s my 991.1 TT right after a snowstorm getting some milk at the local supermarket😂
I've order the heated steering wheel so yes. I have gone C4 but would still do so with a C2 but my car will not go out if there is snow or the temperatures are under 5c as I will stick to my daily on winter tyres for that.
What sort of rust protection do these cars have? The reason I ask is that the Italian car I am coming out of has little allowance paid to this.
I think those "warmer weather areas" get MUCH milder snow - and if they don't spread stuff on the ground then my concerns of ground clearance, snow turds, and vehicle sand blasting become non-existent. So yes, I just might drive it. My son lives in Kansas City - they get snow and sometimes a big snow but it never lasts more than a week and the city doesn't routinely throw crap on the ground. I'd probably drive the 911 there year round (but likely still take an AWD/4WD vehicle on the "extreme" days). I'll be honest - you "see" a lot of bravado from people about driving in snow but invariably they've never lived in an area with REAL snow. It can get dangerous fast - people do get stranded and while rare, they die. One other thing - much of Iowa is rolling hills - people try to drive with summer tires and get stuck in town on a hill at a red light. Stupid dangerous as well as just plain stupid!
‘Having lived in Montana and Colorado for over 2 decades, I would hardly call these places somewhere without real snow. And we don’t have hills here, we have actual mountains. You can do whatever you want but, I have driven RWD cars all year and never been stuck.
I buy cars to drive them, not to sit in the garage and look pretty.
I drove my RWD Cayman with winter tires last year and only got stuck once. To my shame, a student recorded an iPhone video of the event. This winter I upgraded to a C4S.
Nope, lucky in GA it’s not a snow issue two days doing count. But ice and freezing rain not a good experience, add that people can’t drive here on dry pavement. In addition not a fan of swapping out wheels and tires just to drive, and sports cars for me have always been for fun vs DD. This thing loves floods ice, and whatever else occurs.
Wash out the crap at your local power wash place regularly and apply undercoating. Even without all that, it'd last way more than three years. There's a warranty included with the car for that...
it’s not about the body rust through which is non-existent in modern cars anyway. It’s about the corrosion to components, especially brakes and engine. I’ve had cars under warranty that needed brake work that wasn’t covered by the warranty.
I don’t understand all of the consternation over driving a 911 in winter. It’s a Porsche. It’s not made of tissue paper. These aren’t fragile things. You can drive it in the rain, snow, ice, bitter cold, etc. These cars are built to be driven hard and at speed all year round.
For chrissakes, nearly every modern 911 has heated seats. Heck, there’s an optional heated steering wheel. They’re not heated so that it can sit in the garage all winter.
Porsche sells winter wheel/tire packages for a reason. The best thing that you do with these cars is to drive them. If you store yours for the winter, know that many of us are out there still attacking the mountain and backroads even when the temps are in single digits. SPOILER: Those of us driving them are having more fun.
I don’t understand all of the consternation over driving a 911 in winter. It’s a Porsche. It’s not made of tissue paper. These aren’t fragile things. You can drive it in the rain, snow, ice, bitter cold, etc. These cars are built to be driven hard and at speed all year round....
I agree 100%. I have a 911 2-wheel RW drive and not worried about bad weather as well as the higher taxes in the northern regions. .I'd never buy an EV Porsche.with the $210,000 MSRP.
10-15-2021, 08:34 PM
