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I live in Minnesota and plan on driving my 1995 C2 this winter when the roads are clear of snow and salt. Should I be concerned about starting at 20 below? I remember my dad having a 1963 VW bug and 1965 VW bus that he drove for many years without any issues. I would be driving it not just starting and let idle. I will be using 0W-40 and Mobil-1 PTX 75W90
The right oil weight and tires....should be no issues. Enjoy! Not to start an oil debate, but if it were me, I might run a 10w-40 synthetic which is listed in the manual for below 14 degrees F. Not sure I'd go to 0w-40.
Nothing beats the unique smell of the heat from an air cooled on a cold winter morning!!!
Your lubricants and tire choices sound fine. Besides keeping the battery on a suitable tender I would also pull the DME Relay and crank over the engine for 15-20 seconds to build oil pressure. Then reinstall the relay and start the engine. Drive under 3,000 RPM until the engine starts to warm. Good luck and be safe!
I'm in Minneapolis and used to drive my car in the winter all of the time. Car runs fine in the cold. The heater struggles at that temp though as it takes FOREVER to get the engine warm. I carried a blanket for passenger comfort.
Awesome! What tires did you decide to run? I guess Porsche recommends the Sottozero 3's. Those are more of a performance snow tire, but finding compatible sizes in say a Blizzak is tough.
If you're driving on clear roads, you don't need snows. All seasons are fine or just leave the summer tires on and take it easy.
I've done a fair amount of cold-weather 911 driving and it's great fun. On one longer drive (in a 70's 911, not my 993) I used the plastic cover of a big tupperware storage container (couple of feet in diameter) and placed it upright against the engine cooling fan, leaned over so the top was against the fan housing and the bottom was sitting on the engine tin. Taped it to the engine support crossmember. No way it could get caught in the fan and it restricted air flow enough that the engine could almost get up to temp and provide some cabin heat....I found that around town the heat is fine but if you're doing highway driving in very cold temps the airflow just keeps the engine stone cold.
0W-40, 5W-40, 10W-40 are all 40 weight oil, hence the "W-40". The last number is what differentiates the weight. 0W-40 isn't in the manual because there was no such thing 25 years ago.
Re: Churchill's comment above about using summer tires in cold winter environments, and "taking it easy":
Not trying to start a winter-summer tire war, but Isn't the correct word "winter tires", not "snows"? Plenty of data showing summer tires in colder, certainly very cold temperatures, are not adviseable- even dangerous, and even on decent, clear roads. It's about temperature and different rubber componds in addition to differing tread designs. The cutoff is generally given at 40-45-degrees F.
Summer tire rubber becomes stiffer, less flexible, and don't perform as well in colder conditions. They may even be dangerous irrespective of whether there's snow, slush, or ice.
Concern about -20 ?
you betcha
Pull the dme and circulate the oil.
Use thin oil recomended
I had 15-50 Mobil and it was like +10 and that oil was reluctant to move. So I started pullin dme.
The engine loves cool weather! Its Fun!
But wrong oil you could pop a Lifter. So use thin oil imho.
Gear oil ptx da best.
Maybe check to ensure linkage is clean underneath or lube it while in there.
any sag in engine mounts? Can create shifting woe's. And yes I ran summer tires on dry cold roads but snows r best for real winter driving
TJ
Re: Churchill's comment above about using summer tires in cold winter environments, and "taking it easy":
Not trying to start a winter-summer tire war, but Isn't the correct word "winter tires", not "snows"? Plenty of data showing summer tires in colder, certainly very cold temperatures, are not adviseable- even dangerous, and even on decent, clear roads. It's about temperature and different rubber componds in addition to differing tread designs. The cutoff is generally given at 40-45-degrees F.
Summer tire rubber becomes stiffer, less flexible, and don't perform as well in colder conditions. They may even be dangerous irrespective of whether there's snow, slush, or ice.
It's true about the rubber, which is why I said if you're running summer tires in winter you should take it easy. Up to the owner. I wouldn't get all-seasons for occasional local winter driving, but if you're DD'ing a 993 in cold temps, sure, change the tires. Re snows, there's a big difference between snow tires and all-seasons...snows have chunky tread patterns that are designed for traction on snow and ice. Just not necessary if you're driving on cold but clear roads. I used to live in a place where we used studded snows in the winter....those are good fun on a slippery road.
I'm no engine-o-logist but you should have zero problems. I drove my 993 C2S around last winter in Chicago with snow tires and it was some of the most fun I've ever had in a car. Take it easy on a cold start, get the fluids warmed up and you should have no problems. It never got colder than 20F, but I ran Redline 10W-60 during that time with normal oil reports/oil pressures.
10-28-2021, 08:27 AM
Sub Zero Winter Driving
