PLoco

Do many of you drive in the winter and specifically when snow is on the ground? If so, how does your C2S perform? I am absolutely torn between the C4S and its ability to be rock solid reliable with the right rubber in all situations here in the PNW vs. the C2S which will give me more of a driver's car. Argh!

Help?

Tsurara

The real issue with ANY 911 is ground clearance. You are not going to have a ton of luck regardless of any model.

The 911 is very well balanced and the engine placement actually makes it very stable under acceleration in inclement weather as the weight increases the tire contact patch.

The thing that the AWD will help you with is not getting stuck/getting unstuck in snow. Ultimately snow traction is solely a function of your tire compound. A RWD car with snow tires will have better traction than an AWD car with Summer/All Season tires.

Personally, I'd go for the C2S and get some good snows. The only times it won't be effective are times you won't want to be driving anyway.

91469972

Snow C4S!

signature65

Seriously.....OP wants no info from us Non "S" owners......humph!

cbzzoom

I've got a C4S in Seattle and it is a blast. I have no doubt that a C2S would be fine in all the snow and rain, but a C4S is much more *fun* in the snow and rain.

Tsurara, ground clearance is almost never an issue here because when we get snow it's only 3-4 inches. The dangerous thing is ice because we sit right around 32 degrees and will nip just above and below.

IMO if you want to track or auto-x the car, go for the C2. If you will DD, go for a C4.

lig

I never drive the C2S in the snow. I have an S4 for that job.

The C2S works great in the rain and I'm sure it would be fine with Blizzaks but honestly I don't trust my fellow drivers in Seattle when it snows.

purrybonker

This same question comes up all the time. I'm just north of you in Vancouver and have a C2S that I drive year round. Snow is a non-issue here but I'd drive my car year round even if we had gobs of snow. Swap to winter tires around the end of November and back to summer rubber in March and all is good.

The "cost" of a C4 as having a winter driveability advantage over a C2 is ridiculous IMHO. All wheel drive in a Carrera does not = 4wd in a pick-up in terms of ability to negotiate snow. Selecting C4 over C2 with this concept in mind is ridiculous, but each to their own.

911's (C2 or C4) are terrific cars in the snow, the only reason to not drive them in the winter is concern about road salt and gravel in the snow belt. Having a C4 offers no protection against rock chips and rust.

cascade

I drive my C4S all year. It is great in rain. In snow, without snow tires, it is not that great. If it is a very light dusting, you are okay, as long as you take it easy. In yesterday's snow/slush, I couldn't get out of the driveway which has short, steep slope to it. Rear wheels kept spinning out - despite the weight of the engine. Had to wait for it to melt. If you want to go thru the exercise of putting winter tires on the car -- you'll have a blast with a C4S in the snow.

alexb76

I am in Vancouver and got a C4S and drive it in snow with winters no issues!

w00tPORSCHE

If I'm not mistaken, for the 997.2, the C4S no longer uses a viscous coupling, instead the power is distributed by an electromagnetically controlled multi-plate clutch, able to shuffle the grunt around much faster and more effectively than before. In total the car weighs just 55kg more than the two-wheel drive Carrera. Not sure if the same holds good for a 997.1. My C4S sticks to the road like mozarella cheese on a hot iron skillet. Makes me feel safer on slippery roads. Today my enitre city was like an ince-skating rink. I left early to work to avoid all the other cars. I don't consider myself as a very highly skilled driver, so I will take all the fun that the 911 has to offer with a little safety net. All the C2S owners feel that their car is more rewarding from a fun standpoint and they obviously are not lying or saying things to make 4 or 4S owners feel bad. It would be nice to get the take on this from someone who has driven both.

jca3

I drive a C2S in the Seattle area (Bainbridge). Don't do snow (use my truck for that), but I still put on Pilot Alpin winters on for cold weather. Great in the rain and cold and I'm sure the car would be great in actual snow but I don't have any real world experience in the white stuff.

chance

often up and down mt. baker hwy in the snow, with proper snow tires car does great. as mentioned above ground clearance only issue

cbzzoom

I suspect most of the "C2 is more fun" guys haven't actually driven a 4 aggressively. It's not your mama's 4wd, it's very rwd-biased and the steering is still light. You have to drive a little bit differently than a C2, if anything the "slow in fast out" is even more true for a C4 - to make a tight turn fast you want to come in very hot, trail brake hard to get the front to bite and rear to rotate, then you can get on the throttle even harder on corner exit.

w00tPORSCHE

That's exactly how it feels for me too. More RWD feel especially when you hit the gas pedal after the light turns green.

purrybonker

I have driven both 2006 C2S and C4S's back-to-back in the same road and DE environments and have no significant preference for one or the other. I will say that the C2S was the slighty faster car (in the hands of both the C2S owner and the C4S owner) on our tight DE track, but that's pretty meaningless as both owners are relatively novice track drivers.

My comments are only that, in terms of concerns about safe driveability in snow and ice, I doubt that a C4 brings much more to the table than a C2 assuming that the cars have appropriate tires.

I would expect that a C4 would have an edge over a C2 in lap times on a wet track, but thats not really the topic here.