97tt newbie

Have any of you guys driven or been caught in the rain or snow? I live in Utah and it started snowing today already! I'm picking up my car this week I hope and wanted to know what to expect in wet weather. Thanks!
Al

Bob Rouleau

Al your car will be fine in the wet using the OEM Michelin tires. Plan to corner slower than you would normally because the stiff suspension doesn't transfer a lot of weight on a slippery surface. Your wide tires will aquaplane more easily than say a Honda minivan. So, take it easy in the wet and life will be good. In the snow - oooh, don't go there without skinny snow tires!

Pierre

Don't forget that the GT3 has no undercoating. So salt might do some damage.
My good ol' 996 Turbo sees its share of snow and rain every winter here in Swtzerland, but I'd probably avoid to take a GT3 out in these conditions. If you do, remember to wash it regularly.

BrianPA

I would not venture into the snow with a gt3 under any conditions...

blkc4sny

I had no choice but to drive in light/medium rain for 2 hours in my new GT3, which only had 100 miles on it. It handled very well, never felt once that I was hydroplaning or loosing grip, then again, I wasn't trying to push it, just 60-70 miles per hour, mostly straight road.

skl

Somebody here on the forum showed pix of his car in Minneapolis driving it all through the winter last year, but with snow tires. Without any undercoating I think he's crazy, but it's not my car! I would think it would snow plow with very little snow as it is so LOW! I used to have a '90 C4 coupe and got it stuck on my 1/2 mile long driveway in a snow drift with regular tires. Didn't drive it in the winter but tried it once for the hell of it. My neighbor had to pull it out with his Suburban. That's what Audi Quattros are for thank God! Had at least one of those since they first came out- wouldn't live in Iowa without one, but now the Cayenne will come in handy too!

MarkPcar

We usually have a nice late summer September, but this year has been very rainy. I just went over my 1,000 mile break in today, most of which has been on wet roads. No issues, just take it easy and enjoy!

64lusso

I picked my car up in NJ and drove it back to VA last spring and got caught in a couple of down pours. I hadn't looked at the tread of the tires before I left the dealership and I would have been scared to death if I had. They have wide deep gooves and there doesn't appear to be any good way to get rid of water but they actually do very well for a wide tire, only big puddles nudge the car around a little and they did just fine in the pouring rain, I am not planning to experiment with snow however!

fryd

Please take your car back to the dealership, hand in the keys and ask for a Cayenne if you're thinking about driving that car in the snow.

Karl S

I drove a very wet DE at Mid-Ohio in May, along with one other GT3. Our cars handled the wet track very well and we were still able to turn some very quick lap times on the street tires. I've had no issues with my car in the rain on the street. You just need to be judicious with the accelerator. I actually like to play in the rain because you can get the car to slide at more lower (therefore safer) speeds. The car is very easy to control with the throttle.

Deep snow will be impossible due to the low ground clearance on the car.

Karl

chickennostril

'04 gt3 ok in the rain tho? i'm thinking of going from my 2000 c4 to an 04 gt3; looking for a little excitement, but don't want to be an idiot. will invariably get stuck in the rain a few times a month here in the northeast. i drive like 20k miles / year. I'm looking for more noise and bumpy feel -- like my old 993 c4. what do you think? '04 gt3 a riot, or rain disaster?

Leigh2

I had to drive mine to a shop in the middle of winter it was horrifying. I got stuck at the end of my street trying to go over a 3" ridge made by a plow and just about slid backwards into the ditch at 1 MPH. Luckily a couple of good samaritans stopped to push me over the hump....and we're talking a 3" hump on a flat plowed but snowy road that in my SUV I wouldn't have noticed. The rest of the 5 mile drive was on frozen pavement which was marginally less horrifying. Don't even think about it without snows....rain is fine with decent tread depth.

LVDell

Holy 6 year old thread Batman!

chickennostril

well, i'd be getting an 04 probably, so that's perfect scoop. thanks, all!

JR944

It's all about the tires.

I own that former MN car. It now has 85k miles and NO rust/corrosion issues even though my friend drove it year-round as his only car in MN. I bought the car with three sets of wheels/tire..... OEM w/street tires, Magnesium BBS w/MPSC's, and "cheap" BBS with snows.

It will never be as good as C4 in compromised traction conditions but driven reasonably with good tires the GT3 is no worse than any other 2wd car. Here's a photo taken this spring on the morning of our local instructor training program. Those are the summer tires.... I took the Audi.