Look at the Toyo T1-S. They have a slightly taller sidewall ratio and it does help.

 

These debates crack me up. There is a 2001 TT with 9,000 miles at Huntington right now, all tricked out with carbon fiber! Any guess if he drove his car in the winter, much less the rain... That's a tragedy in my opinion.
I am simply amazed at how well these cars work in the snow. I especially love it when you pass SUV's with their hazards on, fishtailing around with their all seasons tires on as I roll by in the C4 with winter tires on.

 

That’s simply an economic decision. I personally prefer to keep my Turbo off the roads in the winters but others might be willing to accept the damage that this causes. Their choice, not mine.

In my opinion, these cars can be used in the winters and sometimes can even be fun if the driver really knows what he is doing. But it isn’t economic to do so, and if fun isn’t the goal, then there are a lot of vehicles that can get through much better than a Turbo. Winter tyres on a Turbo are an improvement over summer tyres but they are no match for narrower, soft rubber studed snow tyres. The wheel/tyre packages are also not cheap on the Turbo and that money can go a long way towards the cost of a good winter car (about half of what I paid for my Audi S4 in my case).

So basically, I don’t think it makes economic sense, but when do these cars ever make economic sense? And if the goal is to push yourself and your car and really learn how to drive well then I bet a GT3 with snow tyres could get you to that place nicely.

Maybe now is a good time to point to the infamous Winter Nürburgring video?

nordschleife_winter.mpeg [67MB]

Stephen

 

Fixed-
Putting snows on the car allows you to drive it all winter, not just on snowy days. It's tough to decide to take the car out on any winter days, particularly if the summer tires are worn, since the weather can change so dramatically over 4 hours. If you don't put snows on, you have the high annual depreciation cost, and effectively no use from Dec thru April. That makes your cost-per-mile much higher, and enjoyment-per-day much lower.
Moderns snows are decent dry weather tires. The main obstacle to spirited driving is concern over wearing away the best gripping portion of the tread. Unlike drys, which work better at low tread depth, the snows work best when the tiny side-sipes are present.
Deciding to use the car in winter, allows one to take it to work any day, and particularly enjoy it on crisp winter days when the cold air further stimulates the turbos. The grip levels are lower, but so what? It's pretty easy to see .9 bar in the upper gears on my stock X50 AS

 

I know it's not a turbo(yet), but I thought it was appropriate for the thread.

Thanks

Chris Jones

 

Ummm....is your caps lock broken, or are you just really high strung??


Some people just do not mind having a car and driving it in snow, rain, or whatever. I personally am with that group of people. One of the main points for why I want to add a 993 Twin Turbo is that I can drive it all year long, and go visit my wife's family in Canada.....even in the snow. No big deal really. It is not like these cars are made of glass or something.

 

Originally Posted by omega
GET A SUV LEAVE THE GOOD CAR IN A SAFE PLACE IF YOU CAN'T AFFORD TWO CARS SELL THE P CAR TO SOMEONE WHO WILL TAKE CARE OF IT NOT DUMP IT IN A SNOW BANK!HELL I DON'T TAKE MINE OUT IN THE RAIN MUCH LESS SNOW WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
--------------------------
One reason I drive my 2001 turbo in the snow is SPECIFICALLY to **** off people like Omega who think they know better how I should spend my money than I do. (Another is because it is fun.)

Just keep your SUV out of my way on snowy (and non-snowy) days, thank you very much.

I road the bicycle to work every day this winter except the 4 days my throat was too sore; the TT worked then. Just to show that for some people even the TT may be rational compared to some of my decisions.

Michael Wilson in New England

 

FWIW, I decided to sell the 993 C4S and the A8 and get the TT. I'm actively looking for the right car. I don't want a garage queen since I intend to use it year round with dedicated snoews and rims.

To Omega: You missed the entire point of my post: It's not a question of having the money to get another AWD car - I also have a Lexus LX470 that I give to my nanny to haul the kids around in. Try to pay a bit more attention and do us all a favor and turn off your All Caps so you don't come off as quite so much of an *******.

 

ernie-i agree-i have had 3 awd carreras (my present a 996 tt-03) and i also put winter tires on it, and it does fine in the winter-why else would you get an awd sports car. i personally think to pay 120k for an awd turbo and drive it on nice days is a waste-of money, and of capability.

 

Sorry for the off-topic continuation of this thread, but I'm hearing that the AWD turbos are fine in the snow with winter tires; as I'd expect.

But has anyone put a RWD 911 with winter tires through a typical mid-Atlantic winter (Washington, DC area) with good success?

David

 

Well, I don't know if this will help you, but I drove my '02 Z06 in the snow this winter with Blizzak's. It wasnt exactly the greatest situation, however it did better than I thought it would have. A RWD 911 should do even better, I would think, because of the extra weight over the drive wheels, and less torque. I live just outside DC in Vienna.

This is my first post here. Don't hate me because I drive a Z06, its only until I can swing a 996TT!

 

I sold my big RWD Lexus LS430 to buy my 2005 996 TTS. I somehow can't imagine that my new Porsche could be worse on the winter roads than my old boat! Anyway, down here in Calgary we don't really get that much snow, just a lot of "junk" - and with only about 3-10 big snows over our 8 month winter season - LOL!

 

Wow man, that is one old thread you brought back! Wow!

 

I never drive mine in snow!!!




Such a tragedy...

It's a car, Enjoy it as you wish, it's YOUR dime...

Mike