yrralis1

I have not seen snow since 1992 . I take for granted that the cars in Miami come with summer tires . I dont know how far up divides cars into all season inventories ,
I ask this because the question came up in a Macan forum. I know that in the videos of the winter driving experience that Porsche offers the cars are 4S AWD cars . Granted that is some serious snow and it does seem to make its way through it .

So what you you guys do ? Do you change tires ? Do you store the car and have a second car ? Do you put snow tires and rough it with a RWD car ? Whats that like ? Have any of you ever driven AWD and RWD in the snow back to back to compare ? Thanks in advance .

mksz51

NO 911 or any sports car for that matter that has lived under my roof has or will ever see snow. We routinely have 6-12 inch + snow storms every winter and the lack of ground clearance, risk of body damage from hitting a frozen snow turd or worse, and the sandblasting of the front and sides of the car from sand/salt/corruption on the roads makes it a hard NO for me. We have a Macan and 4WD truck for the bad weather. This thread will generate multiple strong views on both sides of the issue - you now know mine.

yrralis1

You are in a very serious snow area being in Iowa . Would this be as string for someone in a place like Virginia or North Carolina with less ? Also why does Porsche offer driving classes with cars just ripping through snow ? I know its a few years old but tis short video shows it .

mksz51

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!

Bxstr

911 is a great winter car. Both AWD and RWD. In RWD, all weight is over the rear drive axle. Limitation is ground clearance. I don’t drive mine in winter due to salt and corrosion. I understand that these cars have great corrosion resistance, but I have one 911 that I hope to keep for a long time and I’d prefer it stay nice.

Remember, AWD only helps you get going. Not stop. Get good snow tires.

Yes, I have an additional daily driver next to my 911. When I drive my 911 on weekends it feels even more special.

Nick Murray has plenty of videos on his experience snow driving his 911.

Mikster

Absolutely. All my cars for the past 15 years have been daily drivers including snow. All rear wheel drive and here in Toronto where the snow can get deep.
I’ve never had corrosion concerns. And with winter tires and common sense it’s never a problem.
this 992 will be my fourth Porsche and will be a snow driver. Of course four wheel drive helps immensely, but as said earlier—use common sense, slow down and you’ll be fine.
M

manifold danger

I bought my 991.2 C2S with the intent of driving it year-round. I'm in Maryland, which on average gets about 2-3 decent snowfalls a year. I also don't have a daily commute, so I can be pretty picky on whether or not I "have" to take the car out in bad weather.

However, what ended up happening was I ended up keeping an Audi S3 that I was supposed to get rid of... and I even just upgraded that to an S4 a couple months ago...

So the thing about the climate here though, is that it will occasionally get up into the mid 50s and even 60s-70s sporadically throughout the winter. So I don't store it. It sits in the garage and sometimes will go 2-3 weeks without moving, but at least once a month I have an opportunity to get it out and stretch its legs on summer tires. Usually much more than that.

Also important to note- I don't leave summer tires on my Audis in the winter. All wheel drive is virtually just as useless as RWD without the proper tires. My S3 I had a spare set with winter tires on, which was overkill in this climate... so now my S4 has all seasons and that should be just fine. I also have a Macan with all seasons that would be used in ACTUAL snow, unless I just wanted to play in my Audi, which I absolutely would do if given the opportunity.

All of this being said, I'm on this forum because I will very likely be moving into a 4S/GTS at some point in the near future, and yes it will be driven year round because I'll be moving on from the Audi. I will buy a spare set of wheels though because it will be my only "fun" car and will definitely want summer tires in the summer months; right now I don't use the Audi for that purpose so the Continentl DWS06s that are on it are perfectly suitable for what I use it for.

To close the loop on this thread though- with the appropriate tires, rear wheel drive is perfectly adequate in snowy conditions.

OttawaSteve

That's hilarious. I have driven a car in an area with real snow for more than 50 years and while AWD would be handy, I have never had it on one of my cars. I have never been stranded and never heard of someone dying when stranded, at least not around here. Maybe farther south, where people aren't used to snow and don't have the proper equipment. I don't have a RWD 911, but I hear they as good or better in snow than a Cayman, provided they have winter tires.

chuckbdc

+1 re appropriate tires. That said, I use my C2S with PS4s any time I need a smile (and there is no snow, and the temps are above32F), but found a good option for other times.

ronflax

I live in the DC Metro Area (Maryland) and I definitely drive mine all winter long. I switch to a winter set of wheels/tires in late October and back to summer wheels/tires in April. I don't drive my 911 in snow, unless I'm someplace and it's started to snow and I need to get home. I also own a Macan S which I do drive in snow and other crappy weather in the winter. That said, we generally don't get that much snow in our area so the 911 is just fine for most winter days.

Also, I do love the heated seats and steering wheel in winter!

detansinn

This 100%. Folks have a tough time processing that driving in the snow can be legit fun.

OttawaSteve

Yup. I sometimes feel sorry for someone that has never drifted a RWD car. You can do all sorts of silly things at very low speeds.

michael818

I have a RWD C2S, I use it year round in Northern Virginia. I have had 2 previous 911's and a Cayman S and all of them have been RWD and used year round. I do take them out in the snow, provided there is enough clearance but generally the conditions are more light snow and slush. All of the cars have been switched to winter tires, usually around December 1. The winters stay on until the end of March. They do use sand and salt on the roads here but it has never presented a problem. These Carrs are designed and used in Germany - they get snow there. I don't believe that there is an option to get a 992 with anything but summer tires no mater where you live. I have driven in "real snow" in Vermont and New York State. The car is fine with the right tires. AWD might be better but I have never had a problem with RWD in the snow, you drive to the conditions and you'll be fine.

Mikster

Driving in the snow is the MOST fun. You don't necessarily need to speed.
I love waking up to a fresh layer of a few inches of snow, uncompressed, the streets are all quiet...and navigating down streets that are wide enough so I can avoid other cars parked, etc.

M

drcollie

I am also in Northern Virginia but park my 911 for the winter once they start dumping chemicals on the roads, and they put a lot of that garbage on the highways here. The car itself is fine in the snow with proper tires, but the corrosion the road salt and brine causes is unbelievable, and compounded by the fast the 911's are rear engined and accumulate a lot of junk in the rear of the car underbody (just look at your air filter after 15K miles if in doubt). Unless you are going to get under the body and wash it weekly, the corrosion will do damage over time. I own a small fleet of commercial trucks and we have all sorts of failures of components due to rust and corrosion from road chemicals. So I bought myself a low-optioned Ford Ranger 4WD and that's my winter ride. I don't really care if this gets trashed, it was cheap and blasts through the crud just fine. I do a lot of the work on my vehicles myself and like to keep the fasteners clean and unrusted. Pickup trucks are way more fun in the snow than any sports car, talk about drifting powerslides!