Daily Driver Question
09-19-2009, 12:23 AM
#16
Pro
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: New York City, Amagansett, N.Y.
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My wife drove our '99 and '02 Porsches as daily drivers in New York City and they were great. (She changed jobs after we got our 997 and can now take the subway to work.) I would strongly advise getting a set of winter wheels and tires from Tire Rack which really provide better traction in cold and wet weather than the OEM summer tires do.
09-19-2009, 12:23 AM
#17
Poseur
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Personally, I wouldn't use it as a DD in the Boston area. Having lived there for many years, I can say that the stuff they put on the roads in the winter months is just plain nasty. Sure, you have no snow and ice to deal with, only slush, but it will take its toll on the car's components. I would drive my Porsche during winter days when it was clear, and the roads were dry,--but as you know, that doesn't happen much in New England in the winter.
09-19-2009, 11:20 AM
#18
Dan brings up a good point - it's not so much CAN you, but SHOULD you. There is a ton of crap on the roads (even here in NOVA with our minimal snow) that can get kicked up on your paint, windshield, etc.
My biggest fear (and the reason I just bought a GTI for a DD) is that I worry to death about some idiot sliding into my beloved 911. If they hit me in the GTI, I'll be mad, but nothing like if the 911 got wrecked. So I'll keep the 911 tucked away in the garage and bring it out in the winter on those days over 50* when the roads are clear (5-6x a winter).
I had been driving the 911 daily until about a month ago, so it does work in that role.
My biggest fear (and the reason I just bought a GTI for a DD) is that I worry to death about some idiot sliding into my beloved 911. If they hit me in the GTI, I'll be mad, but nothing like if the 911 got wrecked. So I'll keep the 911 tucked away in the garage and bring it out in the winter on those days over 50* when the roads are clear (5-6x a winter).
I had been driving the 911 daily until about a month ago, so it does work in that role.
09-19-2009, 12:49 PM
#19
Racer
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Austin, TX
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Keep it waxed and don't let the salt build up and it will be fine. I'd get a 2nd set of floor mats for the winter. Other than that enjoy.
Paul (who drinks coffee in his 997 every day)
09-19-2009, 01:50 PM
#20
Says the man who lives in TX...
Come out here and drive your car for a winter and see how it looks afterward. Like I said, if the road crap, salt and debris don't get you, the moron in the SUV who feels invincible will.
Come out here and drive your car for a winter and see how it looks afterward. Like I said, if the road crap, salt and debris don't get you, the moron in the SUV who feels invincible will.
09-19-2009, 02:17 PM
#21
Rennlist Member
I'm with Tex,....drive the thing! It' a Porsche not a Ferrari. It WANTS to be driven all the time.
09-19-2009, 05:15 PM
#22
Instructor
I use my car as a DD, i have now 74k fun filled miles on it. Sorry to those who only drive it on weekends. It wants to play so let it. it floods down here, and i have taken it thru although not on purpose but the only way out, 7 -8 inches of flood water without any issue. the car is bullet proof. use it , drive it and enjoy it.
09-19-2009, 05:18 PM
#23
Drifting
09-19-2009, 07:26 PM
#25
Pro
Might be silly tio state but Porsche has plenty of publicity photos of 977's in snow...tire chains and all...might be for C4S's heading to Chalet's in Austria...but just the same...Germany is far from a fair weather country...When I get mine, it'll be a DD for Atlantic Coast Mobile Veterinary Services Inc. I'll be limited in some instances but I'll have a Blast!
09-19-2009, 07:50 PM
#26
Racer
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: connecticut
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I drove my C2 with 17 in 225 front and 255 back dunlops and had no problems in CT. I took it up to VT on numerous occasions with a Thule box on the roof. Mine was a DD from the beginning. I had the clear bra on the front. I had come from an S4 and the front got beat up from the rocks. It wont be the equivalent of the audi, but you will be able to do it. You may decide after a while that you don't want to but that is not what you asked. You can have some fun in empty lots as well...
09-19-2009, 08:03 PM
#27
Burning Brakes
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It appears to be an individual choice. Some might not care about driving their car through any sort of weather, while others will only drive during perfect weather. Most of us probably fall somewhere between the extreems. In the interest of full disclosure-I live in the great state of Texas. I drive daily for my 5 long miles. However, I do not drive in bad weather not so much for the weather, but more for the idots who appear to venture out more in bad weather.
09-19-2009, 08:51 PM
#28
I don't mind the rain so much, but I grit my teeth in agony every time I hear a rock bounce off my car, my windshield, etc. That gets magnified 100-fold during the winter. I guess I love my car too much to let it "suffer". Would I love to drive it every day? Sure.
