MelissaInNJ

...was chagrinned this morning. As those of you on the East Coast are aware, we got SNOW! For the Monday morning commute my husband's AWD Subaru WRX was the logical choice to commute in together in over my 97 Boxster (with winter tires). Not that my car couldn't make it, but his car was built for this. In fact he had been opining that we have had so little snow and his car gets even more fun in snow. Well he got snow...it was his big chance. So on the way to work this huge hunk of ice bounces under his car and wails on the undercarriage and gets lodged up in something. We then heard grinding. To be safe we turned back around to go home. Dropped him off to make plans to get the car to the dealer. I grabbed my car and drove the 40 miles to work. Go Boxster Go! You could almost see the WRX embarassed.

Not a complete victory though. Even though I cleared my car off 4 times during the snow storm, water still got in the doors and froze my windows shut. Had to force the door open and then run the heat on high for twenty minutes before the window would finally free itself and lower so I could close the door. So it wasn't EXACTLY jump in the car and go...but I could have!

I also won't tell you how I have been procrastinating getting my windshield washer pump fixed and therefor how I have mastered the while driving windex spritz on the windshield.....

Melissa in NJ

rbennett

MelissaInNJ, I have seen the snowy hell you all are going through, I cant even imagine it.

On a sunny note, us west coast owners enjoyed a 80+ deg weekend.
On a sad note, I didn’t even see snow fall from the sky until I was 24!

Anyway, hang in there as spring is right around the corner.

Doug&Julie

Hey, they're great in the snow! Especially with good winter tires.

(...I know, I've posted this pic more times than Jack Olsen has posted BBII! )

Vancouver83LTD

haha sounds like you had a good day
personally, I like my snow on the mountains - where it belongs

Uncle Bob

Doug&Julie, what tires do you have?

I just got a Winter set of tires/wheels for my '05 Boxster. All I could find were Contis.



I'll head up to Mt Baker this next weekend for some snow driving!

Doug&Julie

Those should work just fine. I was using Dunlop Wintersport M3s. We don't get much bad snow in the area, so I needed a good tire for "dry" winter days as well as the wet ones. Although, I have to say, with these tires, that Boxster felt as good as any car I've had in the winter (and we own Subies!).

MelissaInNJ

I have Dunlop Wintersport M2s. Bought the wheels and tires pre-owned for the same reason as Doug. We get snow, but not much, so had to perform in dry days too. When these need to be replaced I'll switch to the M3s. I have absolutely no complaints with them at all.

Melissa

Uncle Bob

Are your M3's 17" All I could find in 18's were the Cont's. I'm heading up there today (Mt Baker) for a little snow driving. Porsches were meant for driving!

Doug&Julie

Yes, I had them on stock 17" Boxster wheels (purchased used from another Rennlister). I'm certain they come in 18", although I've not shopped for them.

Let us know how the Cont's work. Enjoy the drive!

Uncle Bob

I will! In the sizes I have, I was unable to find any other tires, atm. Not sure why, perhaps when going to 18's Boxsters are the only use of that size? I tried several online sellers as well. Oh well, I have these and I'm look forward to a great drive, thanks!

My tires:
Continental ContiWinterContact TS810 S
Front: 235/40VR18 N0
Rear: 265/40VR18 N0

Doug&Julie

Was it an issue of the tire manufacturer doesn't make them or lack of availability from a supplier? When my brother bought his winter tires, he waited too late into the season to get the ones I suggested (the M3s) and had to get something else. (..which were great in winter but made his Boxster ride like a Town Car otherwise..)

Then again, I can't imagine anything in 18s being really poor driving...at some point the wheel/tire size has to compensate for "tread" traction?

MelissaInNJ

I drive 18"s in the summer, but opted for 17"s in the winter.

Melissa

Uncle Bob

I don't know as I only started last week looking so you may be right. Anyway, I like these Cont's very well, they have great grip in snow and ride very well.

Bode

Hi all:

I bought a 2002 boxster last month, and had a set of Nokian four-season WR A.W.P. 2s mounted before driving from Fort Collins, Colorado, to Portland, Oregon. The tires were recommended by the service center that performed the PPI for me. (For those of you in the Fort Collins area I heartily recommend Poudre Sports Car Enterprises, for service. They were recommended by a member of the local chapter of PCA, and were very responsive, very helpful. I explained that the PPI was particularly important to me because I had not seen (except a couple of photos) nor driven the car. And since I was in Portland and the car was in Fort Collins, I wouldn't have the opportunity to see or drive the car until I purchased it. They gave the car an extra good going over for me.)

Since I was planning to drive across a few mountain passes known for potential nasty winter weather, I decided that good winter tires were a must. (I put winter tires on my 4 Runner.) Poudre recommended and mounted Nokian four-season WR A.W.P. 2s. These are V-rated directional tires that feature the severe service emblem that qualifies them (in Oregon, at least) as a "traction device." Mine are 17 inch. While I, fortunately, timed the trip well and didn't run into much bad weather -- blowing snow with light ground cover – the car and tires handled beautifully. And while I can't yet compare their performance to summer tires, stability is such that I'm going to leave the Nokians on for an autocross next month. I'll switch to the factory-issue Continentals in April.