Schpee007

J. Kid, thanks much for the thoughtful post of advice. Sounds like 18s are the way to go. Now I just have to bring myself to trusting I can avoid all the crappy drivers in snow who do stupid things and could plow into me. I would be beside myself if I got into an accident.

J. Kid

I initially worried about accidents too but to avoid nearly any chance of damaging a car I would need to drain all the fluids and move it into the living room for permanent storage (I say nearly because a house could catch fire). I'm all for taking the best care of my cars but not at the expense of not driving. In terms of accident concerns that is why insurance premiums are paid. It took me a while to get to the point of being comfortable using these great cars as daily drivers but I came to the conclusion it is the only way I can personally fully enjoy mine. Some having different feelings and prefer to drive only on sunny dry days for a special occasion. Many are in between these two ends of the spectrum. Do what makes you comfortable. Modern 911's are perfectly capable of being a year round daily driver in nearly any place that has paved / maintained roads if you so choose.

Schpee007

Thanks, J. Kid. Have a great weekend. Hope the weather isn't too brutal back in NY.

Schpee007

One more newbie thing I forgot to ask. What is the best way to clean the undercarriage of the car after it has been out on treated roads? I am assuming the staggered wheels and wheel size prevents going through a car wash that offers the undercarriage wash. Thanks!

wheeler

I'll add to the above ^^^^^ and ask about washing the engine compartment? Do's and dont's?

Rob Heath

Finally got to drive the C4S in the snow!

Woke this morning and saw that we had about 6+ inches on the ground and headed out before the plows, sanders, etc. just to see how the car would handle.

It was a lot of fun!!

I was happy to see that the PSM doesn't kick in right away allowing for some fun oversteer into the turns. Wiith a light touch of the gas and slight turn of the wheel , the four wheel drive then just pulls and just straightens the car right out. Great handling.

The Pirelli Sottozero winter tires along with the 18" Carrera IV wheels feel awesome.

Found a small shopping center parking lot that had not yet been plowed, nor many cars and switched the PSM on and off for a while doing some figure 8s and dough nuts. That was fun also.

Did some accelerations and then jam on the brakes to see how that all feels and what the car will do. With the PDK I found that car stayed in 2nd a little too long before upshifting and because of that I was getting a fair amount of wheel spin in the snow. By manually upshifting to 3rd I got to a faster speed a little quicker. Never have owned a Porsche with ABS brakes so that was different also... the car actually stopped and in a straight line.

One of the reasons I sold my '88 3.2 Targa was that it was not a very good car in the snow and living in CO... the C4S just feels great out there!

Still snowing and I may head out later and drive some more.

J. Kid

Lots of different ways to do this. Some like the convenience and lack of physical contact with touchless "laser wash" type automatic car washes. I've used these in the past typically in the spring as the ones near me they have a high pressure undercarriage blast. In order to clean well without touching they tend to use fairly strong cleaning agents. Cleaning agents a bit too harsh for my liking as a regular winter washing regimen as they seem to strip wax with repeated use and I'm concerned they may strip away the waxy undercoating I apply in my wheel wells and suspension before the winter season starts. Overall it seems fine to use these as part of a final spring cleaning before rewaxing or reapplying a cosmoline type undercoating. In terms of regular cleaning/desalination when the weather is too cold to wash outdoors with a hose I use a low pressure chemical type sprayer that any home improvement store would sell. Use a dedicated one for the car only. The slim angled wand is great for rinsing in wheel wells, under the rocker panels, underside of the engine and occasionally in the engine compartment if you notice salt getting up there. The one good thing about salt is that fresh water easily dissolved and removes it. In the spring I'm a little more thorough and use a soapy rag or soft bristle brush (boars hair or similarly soft synthetic) to get engine & undercarriage super clean. I do this spring clean while it's off the ground and wheels are off for the swap out of winter wheels for summers. It is a bit of work but I don't mind a little quiet time in the garage with the P-car. Plus I don't have to mess around with all the long term storage prep issue, no worries about seals seeping oil from lack of use, tires getting flat spots etc, etc.

SnP

My 2010 C4S on snows feels more safe and secure than my wife's 2010 LR4 on snows.

911s were made to be driven year round.

J. Kid

For the engine compartment low pressure fresh water and mild car wash soap. My GT3 has top mounted vents from the factory and when it is in the rain plenty of water gets on the engine without issues. I can't imagine Porsche would allow so much water to get in there if it would hurt the car. That said I would be careful about avoiding getting too much water in the airbox, on the air filter or blasting the alternator with a direct stream. I just clean those areas off with a damp soapy rag followed by a clean damp one. The manual warns against using heavy degreasing cleaners on the engine without reapplying a corrosion inhibitor. I've never used degreaser there so I'm not sure what corrosion inhibitors should go on the engine.

J. Kid

+1 997's have world class suspension & steering feel. That feedback isn't only for dry road high speed performance but it helps in the snow too!

Schpee007

J. Kid, many thanks again for all the great input. Inspires me to go find another set of wheels fast so I can get out there in the snow we've just had here today. :-)

J. Kid

I used and liked the 18" Carrera IV with Sottozero's that Rob Heath posted about (Rob great post and pics BTW). My local dealer had a 15% off coupon on that setup and could get them in just a few days. You could probably get something cheaper from Tirerack or even less picking up some used rims.

myw

never had that issue ever. just make sure its a touchless car wash that doesnt require your tires to be guided by a week track.

for the daily drivers i normally spray the under body, wheels and suspension best i can with the hose come spring time... giving ample time for the car to dry off. i would definately do that too if i drove my 911 during the winters.

also remember that these high pressure car washes will likely cause some water leakage in your rear windows (has happened to me and many others with 997s)

myw

+2. i think for the most part the engine bay doesnt get too dirty in my experience. i normally just wipe it down with a damp water microfibre cloth once/twice a year and the engine compartment ends up looking very clean/almost new.

because the space is so small there isnt that much surface area to clean.

BAD.TAG

Thats the single best way to learn. Glad you took the opportunity.
Im sure most people would see someone doing this as immature/childish etc..they dont know the skills that are being gained that will come into play on the road someday