larry47us

Here are some comments (and some dumb ones at that) relating to my experiences - so far - on driving in the winter:

1. I'm using Pirelli SnowSport 17" tires. As temperatures dropped, I needed to put a few more pounds of pressure in my tires.

2. My car doesn't have LSD, so I was concerned about traction, especially with these tires - which are not "Ice and Snow" tires, they are winter performance tires. We've only had a few inches of snow so far, and the car has handled reasonably well, but I am really taking it easy. The tires handle very well on dry or even wet pavement. We had a bit of freezing rain. They are NOT suitable in that condition - few tires are - but I ended up spinning out going around a slow sweeping turn at 20 mph. Luckily there was no one around me. Rather a helpless feeling when the car starts to rotate on its own, and you can only wait till it stops.

3. I needed a new battery, which is just typical maintenance, but was surprised that the engine didn't turn over faster with the new juice. Maybe it's just harder to turn over a Porsche flat 6 than American or Japanese iron.

4. Holding to the 4,000 rpm warm-up limit takes real discipline. Unfortunately, when the outside temp gets below 15 degrees F, it takes a while to warm up.

5. Frozen windshield washer bottle - I bought my car in Houston, and drove it back up to Chicago. Worried that they didn't use frost free solvent in Houston, I wanted to drain the bottle before freezing weather hit. Procrastination set in and I didn't drain it. Then when freezing weather hit, it was frozen solid. Found an underground garage, and left it parked there all day till it thawed out. Ran the washers till they wouldn't spray liquid anymore - the bottle was empty. Then I filled it with a De-Icer compound, just in case there was some frozen Houston solvent left. I'm in good shape now.

6. VERY HARD to shift into first gear when the car is frozen cold. Found that while at a stop, if I slip it into second gear first, I can then push the shifter easily into first gear. There is never any problem shifting into second gear, even if it's the first shift of the day. After it warms up, there's no problem, but those first half dozen shifts to first don't go easily unless I shift into second gear first. I'll bet I could end up bending the linkage if I pushed hard enough to force it into first gear.

7. My leather seats are unheated. YES, MY BUTT IS COLD!!! I never realized how much a help seat warmers are with leather seats. But all of my previous cars had seat heaters. Brrrrrrr.

8. My enjoyment of driving a Porsche is not diminished by the freezing weather, nor the slippery conditions nor my cold butt. After those first few miles till the warmup is complete, 90% of the time, it's just PCar Heaven So glad that I have it.

larry

Divot

It reminds me of my first 996 winter (ha ha).

I saw highlights of the Bears game, and if that is not winter I feel sorry for you.

You can always just add pure rubbing alcohol to the wiper fluid. It has a much lower freezing point.

ivangene

might try Swepco 210 - that helped my first gear insertion issue in the cold - HELPED

Barn996

Good recomendation Ed, I had experienced 2nd gear shifting difficulty whenever the temp was below 40 degrees or so, but I recently drained my old transmission fluid(which had been changed 3 years prior) and used Swepco Oil instead of the factory fill. I feel an improvement now, but still some resistance until it warms up which happens within a mile or two.

TomF

11.3/1 compression will do that to you... what oil are you running?

I went years without ever owning a car with heated seats. I used to think that heated seats were for wimps... after owning a three 911s with heated seats, I guess I have turned into a wimp. I love my heated seats and it really doesn't get that cold here in Seattle!

larry47us

My indy uses Royal Purple 15/40.

I guess that I have become a wimp as well. My father-in-law used to use the heated seats in my Lexus 12 months out of the year. A/C on the face, and heated leather on the butt.

larry

Macster

There are better oils out there than RP and 15w-40 is kind of heavy (the 15w part anyways) for the winter temps where you are.

I'd advise you switch to at least switch to a name brand quality oil approved by Porsche and make it a 5w-40 multi-grade oil.

Sincerely,

Macster.