rpolin

So, as many of you know already, I'm a 911 newbie which simply means that I don't know much other than I am having the time of my life driving my cab as much as I can.

I have an '02 911 C4 Cab with 38k miles (IMS retrofit scheduled for next Monday) but I live in CT and come the winter months, it's going to kill me not to be able to drive her. While I have no intention of driving her when its snowing out, I would like to drive her in the winter once the roads are plowed.

My questions are pointed to those who drive their 911's during the cold winter months.

I realize that I will have to get something other than summer tires, which i have on her now and I'm not looking for tire recommendations, at least not yet that is but what am I curious about is the following:

How is the C4 traction in light snow? I realize its not built for it but I curious.

Would you recommend a seperate set of rims if I go with a seperate set of tires for the winter months or just swap the tires on the gorgeous rims I have already?

What's the big fear over road salt? If you wash the car regularly, does it really matter that much as the cars are rust proofed, no?

Any insight would be greatly appreciated as the thought of not driving her for 3-4 months is killing me. Thanks.

PS - Before you start yelling and screaming, my first instinct was to use the search feature as you would have thought that this topic would have been beaten to death by now but I struggled to find much useful information on it. Blame it on being a newbie but I did at least try the search function.

chsu74

I live in Fairfield county also and own 3 sets of your sport design rims. One set has winter tires on it and only used for the first 3 years of owning the car. I went last winter without putting my winters on and it was fine as long as you choose when to run the car to move fluids and be smart about it.

If you want to drive it with snow, then 17" rims with winter tires is my recommendation.

ivangene

you need winter tires and this thread


https://rennlist.com/forums/996-foru...your-pics.html

Dennis C

A C4 with proper winter tires (notice I didn't say snow tires) will drive beautifully in light snow. The things that make this car handle well on dry roads also apply on wet or snowy roads. Ground clearance is the only issue. I drive my C4S year round, and it never disappoints me.

CT944

Same here, drive it all year round. Just get an extra set of snow wheels/tires, you will not be dissapointed.

Kazual99

What is the "snow" you speak of? I live in Florida 6 months out of the year, so mine is a year round summer tire deal.

Dennis C

It snowed in my neighborhood yesterday. Granted, it was up on the hill at an altitude a few hundred feet above me, but it was close enough that I could easily walk up and touch it. Snow on June 20th...

rpolin

Thanks for the input

rpolin

CHSU74 - Who do you use for service in Fairfield? I used Fairfield County Motorsport over by the Fairfield Train station to do the PPI and some basic service but they will be doing the IMS retrofit for me next week.

cuttinsod

I live in FF county too...I have a 2001 C2, and drive it in the winter. It hasn't really seen any snow, just slush and stuff, and it did fine. I don't take it on bad days due to the imbeciles we have on our roads, plus the SUV needs to be driven once in a while too.... :-)

chsu74

I have a guy in E Norwalk who is good for basic maintenance. The most competitive Indy for an IMS retrofit is a Rennlist sponsor based in NJ.

I will be dropping the engine for a complete R&R at some point this year with the car hitting 100K miles.

rpolin

I get nervous using indy's that aren't specialists in pcars just becuase of all the things that can and do go wrong. The guys i use in Fairfield seem to be very knowledgable but along with knowledge comes higher prices. So far, no complaints and they always have some beauty's in their shop to look at as they do track cars as well. The nice thing about their shop is that its right at the train station so i can drop it off on days I go to the city and not have to worry about getting a ride.

I thought about the place in NJ and there is another up in South Windsor for the retrofit but both are a haul and would require a ride their and back twice to pick up and drop off the car, something i don't think my wife would be too keen on. The guys in fairfield, while not an authorized LN shop, have supposedly done their fare of retrofits and price wise, were competitive with the shop in NJ and South Windsor but estimates are one thing, reality is another.

If interested, i'll let you know how it all turns out.

PS - If you have any interest is selling one of your 3 sets of rims, let me know as I would prefer to use a seperate set for the winter if possible.

PSS - If you decide to use the shop in NJ for the complete R&R and your wife isn't keen on the idea of driving out there either, i am always looking for an excuse to go for a long ride.

pl

ditto on 17rims+winter tires.
used to daily-drive my C2 in NJ for 3 winters, never a problem,

chsu74

My guy in E Norwalk is Glen's Garage. Kip Harris, one of the managers who used to work at Farnbacher Loles in Danbury, is there now with Glen. Spencer ***, Kip Harris and Glen used to work at a Porsche racing team/tuning shop in Norwalk over 15 years ago. Spencer *** and Kip Harris then went to work for Farnbacher Loles until two years ago when Greg Loles was found embezzling money from his church and all kinds of nasty stuff.

The good guy around you up in Fairfield is Dan Jacobs. I go to him for alignment exclusively but he is expensive. For other basic stuff, I use Glen or shop around. 996s are very easy to work on. I change oil, brakes and filters...

C4CRNA

Don't wait till the last minute to order your snow tires,they sell out in the fall.