Robert993TT

I bought my 993TT about 1.5 years ago. I have been using it as a daily driver during spring, summer and autumn. During the winter month I store it i the garage only to drive it once a month in order to maintain it and keep the seals from drying out.

I wish I lived where the roads are free of salt. If that would be the case I would use my 993TT all year round. I reckon its to old to use that way now.

I was invited to drive the whole range 997 (except GT3, and GT2), Cayman, Cayanne on a frozen lake in the north of Sweden last winter. It was an fantastic experience. The 911 is a great car in the winter. The whole range of cars (except Cayenne) had special prepared tires. Very much like rally cars comes equipped with. The rear tires on the 997TT looked quite out of order. However the grip was great and you had perfect control of the car at all times.

If I would live further up north I would love to try the 993TT in winter condition with the special prepared tires and see how it handles. There was a huge difference to drive the Porsches with normal winter tires on public roads compared to the frozen lake. Its like day and night.

I reckon there are a few persons here with 993TT. Are there any of you who has used your car during the winter and want to share your experience?

I posted this in the 993TT section as well. However, since I now posted it here. I can as well extend the question to the whole 993 range.

budge96

Ahem... I live back east where it does snow periodically and for the initial three or so
years owning this edition 993TT, I more often than not left the car garage stored except for the best of days ,spring,summer and fall ...deep sleep winters...except
last year my 4x4 truck was down and my M5 certainly wasn't up to the challenge
during a sudden snow and I had to realize..wait a minute! The TT is 4x4 !
Out she came and boy ! you want to talk about fun!!! Excellent grip handling and
all around fun. Not to be used should snow pass 10-12 inches though, snow drifts
not recommended!
try it you may be surprised! Bert

Robert993TT

Thank you for your answer. I really would not recommend you to use the 993TT or any car only with summer tires during winter condition. With the engine in the rear the grip is good but its not a four wheel drive in the traditional sense. Even four wheel drive does not compensate for winter tires.

budge96

Bro...if the snow gets deep enough i have a 4x4 454 dually that I believe has sufficient
tread!

Robert993TT

Two weather fronts met yesterday. For a couple of hours there was a lot of fresh snow. I just had to try out the turbo. It did better than most other cars out there on snow tires.

Merry christmas everyone!

rcg412

I used it in the snow once or twice... It's good, but I actually think my 2wd 997 is better( maybe its the alignments?)

Both had snow tires. The awd in the turbo seems to be more for performance, since 5/95 split

Robert993TT

It´s not like a quattro equipped Audi, but better than an FWD or RWD front engine car in the snow with snow tires. I had narrow 17" winter rims (225 rear and 205 front). Had an fwd Audi in front of me at a stoplight in uphill that day. He could not move forward. I drove past him from standing still with no problems. Not thanks to the AWD in the turbo, but the fact that it has the weight over the drive wheels. Ground clearance is the main issue in weather condition like those in the picture. But it was fresh snow so there where no real problems.

The 997 is much easier to drive as I remembered it in the snow. It´s a modern car, is more forgiving and has PSM to help keep the car on the road. At the time I saw no benefit of the AWD system in 997 C4S/Turbo in the snow. Probably more so in the 993 if one could trust the AWD-system - which I didn´t.

It was extreme weather conditions as the roads where not prepared when I took the turbo out. It was deliberately since I wanted to beat the plow and salt trucks. They would spoil all the fun.

RP993

I don't want to steal the thread but it's from my heart :
I live in central Europe with snowy, rainy winter season. After 15 years of BMW ownership i moved forward to aircooled 911s. First i had a 993 cabrio (DD from April to October) and bought a 964 C4 as a DD for the winter. The first and most important rule is to get the best winter Tyre which is avaible. The car was so much fun in the snow that I could not imagine. After a year i could step forward to the next level : 993 C4S. Same safety but more fun thanks for the different factory setup. Now i have a 993 TT also and I'm pretty sure, that the drivetrain works similar in snow like her N/A sister. But i have a little fear from the Turbo torque which could? cause unexpected behavior on slippery surface. Would be very happy if anybody could tell me any experiences from first hand.
Many thanks in advance!

Robert993TT

I agree with you that tires are very important. With the correct winter tires you could drive just about any car in the snow.

I would guess that the 964 C4 is a much better Porsche for the winter months in snowy conditions than a 993 (C4,C4S,Turbo). The 964 has a permanent all mechanical AWD system and should perform better than the viscous coupling in an AWD 993.

The 993 turbo behaves the same as a 4S I would belive. Feather the throttle and adapt to the grip available and you should have no problem at all. But if you let those turbos spool up. Then the car transforms itself into a blunt weapon that demands its driver. But that can be said about almost every high powered cars out there. There are easier cars to control than an older Porsche in slippery conditions. That´s for sure.

I would have no problem letting anyone not familiar with a Porsche 911 drive a 997 in snow with PSM activated. If it had an automatic gearbox I could tell the driver to floor the gas pedal and they would still be in control of the car on a slalom course on ice. I know because I tried it. It's foolproof literally speaking. It can not however save someone who lacks common sense. To drive a 993 turbo in the snow I think you need to have a lot of common sense and respect for both the car and the conditions which you drive it. If you follow those simple rules than you will be just fine.

RP993

i had the same feeling, that the 964 AWD system is more for safety than the 993 system. maybe i should step back :-)

I guess the "how to handle your 993 TT " question has the same rules in snow, rain or even at dry conditions. The only difference is how fast you reach the limits..

Unfortunetly i don't have any experince with 997 in snow or rain, but i belive that a 997 4S tiptronic could be an ideal DD in the winter. Maybe a 997 turbo also, but it's already a question for another forum...

amokwa

I drove my 993 turbo in a sudden snow shower last month. Being a manual the car is very predictable.

Feed the clutch in when taking off and short-shift to control the revs. It is shod with Vredesteins. Nice Christmas eve picture of your snow covered turbo by the way.