TSP

I mistakenly posted this in the aircooled 911 thread and am copying here. Hopefully one of the mods will move or delete the one in the aircooled thread.

Here goes.
I'm considering a C4S as a daily driver. We can get quite a bit of snow where I live. I know the salt, I know the gravel, I know the cold weather starts will all conspire to turn it into worthless scrap. Our winters last too long for me to drive a boring car six or seven months out of the year and the Cayenne and Macan do nothing for me. I have a 356 for the summer and my wife keeps a 986 also. So, is a C4S a capable winter car? Is it a go anywhere through anything car if it has good snow tires? I've been driving a VW Passat for the last few winters but VW is buying it back because of the emissions scandal and I want something I can use that's not an SUV. Opinions? I'd probably look for an '09 or newer CPO car.

namronorman

I drive a C2S year round in Pittsburgh, PA without issue. I switch between summer tires and performance winter tires. Dedicated winters would be even better.

mopar bob

I drive a C2 year long with snow tires in Colorado.

Fined

And how is that? Going to end up in a similar situation soon enough and I've been wondering.

TSP

namronorman
I'm from the 'Burgh. North side. I now live in Northern Wisconsin. I take a lot of crap for the #71 Pens hockey sweater I wear. Sorry dude, winter is no comparison. You get much bigger potholes every spring, but it gets cold here. Like freeze your nose shut when you breathe in COLD. Snow isn't usually very deep as the road crews know how to manage it, but we do get it. I "think" that anything a diesel Passat could get through would be no problem for a C4S, but am looking for real world confirmation.

Rikky001

The C4S is a perfect winter car when equipped with proper winter tires.
I used to drive up and down to the Alps for skiing when I was living in Europe. Never had any issue, only fun.

dgjks6

3 years of 911 ownership and 3 winters with snow tires in NE Ohio. No real issues.

My only problem is the big snow/ice ***** that fall off cars or from the side of the snow plows, then freeze, and if they are more than 4 inches and you hit it it makes some awful noises under the car. Never caused any damage.

I read about not using it if >4 inches of snow, but never had a problem as long as just snow.

Also with the 997 I have an oil temp gauge and when its cold (sub 10-15 degrees) it can take 20-30 minutes to get the oil up to temp.

Dennis C

I drove my 996 C4S as a daily driver in Colorado in all conditions. Proper winter tires are the key, as mentioned above. With the right tires, a C4S is a great winter vehicle. I recommend WeatherTech floor mats too.

911searcher

I drive a C4 all year round in Canada.

My suggestions:
(1) don't use slicks in the winter
(2) use Snow Tires in the winter
(3) drive slower
(4) use Slicks in the summer because they are so much better (traction, sound, etc.).

mpath

Ditto my C4S. Pirelli Sotto Zeros.

vern1

My C4S cab is very capable in the Toronto winters. Not great if there is a foot of snow but then not much else is either!

I know people don't want to hear this but I am in the process of rebuilding my engine because of bore scoring and from all I have read (and its a lot) cold weather starts "can" contribute to this condition. One of the big reasons I went with a 4L rebuild and upgraded sleeves is that I will continue to drive mine year round and I DO NOT want to have to worry about this again. If you go with a newer 997.2 then it appears this is less an issue but not unheard of

Cheers

thklinge

Go for it! Porsches are excellent in the snow. Haven't tried a 997.. yet. But I've driven a 996 Carrera (rwd, but with the M220 option, limited slip diff) for three years, and a 996 Turbo three and a half years. Both almost every single day, daily drivers. And here's the catch. It's in Norway. Northern Norway. At 69,9 degrees north. Thats 8 hours driving north of the polar cicle. No issues, all fun! I ran the Carrera on unstudded "nordic" winter tires, the Turbo is on Hakka 7 studded tires. They have heated seats, the heater is excellent, it even has heated windshield washer nozzles. Porsche made these cars to perform every day, come sun, snow or rain. Use it, it's what it's made for.

I was also invited to Finland for the Porsche Presidents Meeting back in february. We drove the hell out of brand new 991.2 Carrera S, Carrera 4S and Turbo Ss all day long, for two days straight. Doing 75 mph on ice and snow in a forest where the road is narrower than the car is long is pretty insane. Had the time of my life!
If you need further convincing, cue the taxi drivers that gave ridealongs. There were factory drivers in Panamera GTSs and the big one: LeMans winner Marc Lieb giving taxi rides in... A 918 Spyder, on 4mm studded tires.



My Turbo about to be very sideways:




You go away one weekend, and come home to this...





It's not all bad, we do have the midnight sun during the summer. This picture was taken after midnight:

TommyV44

I've been driving Porsche C-4s since 2001 every winter up till 2014 when I moved to Naples and it's a wonderful snow car. Never stuck me anywhere. Very capable with snows on all 4 wheels.

Just get in and drive.

Glad I don't see snow anymore!!! Love the C-4S in the Palm Trees best!

Tom

Crester

I drive a C4S all year in Canada. It's completely fine... you just gotta make sure you don't go heavy with the throttle and everything will be okay.

halo777

ditto