perfectlap

Ok this year will be my first voyage in snow on snow tires. Usually I get out the snowshoes or mountain bike. I have the N rated 18" Pirelli Snowsports. How are these? I was leaning toward the Blizak's but the tire rack dude said "well its what they tested the car with in the snow so you should go with that". Hmm... ok I said.

How exactly should one drive in Snow? I don't mean 6" inches but just enough
to to slow all traffic to 10 mph or slower. Should I drive the thing in 1st gear all
the way? Constant throttle? etc...

Doug&Julie

Boxsters are actually quite good in the snow, especially with (and, really, only with) good snow tires. (I use Dunlop Wintersport M3s.) The only obstacle your Boxster will have is deep snow. I've driven in six inches and been fine. (..to be fair, when I drove in six inches, I did a fair amount of bob-n-weaving over the freshly driven in ruts, but never got stuck.) With the motor right over the rear wheels (but not hung out the rear like a 911), traction will never be a problem.

The most important thing about driving a Boxster in winter is being smooth. Steady on throttle...steady off...no "sudden movements". Keep the car in higher gears to keep the RPMs low so you are less likely to spin wheels. The Boxster has plenty of torque to lug around all winter this way. (..ah, the beauty of the newer Porsches!) The perfect balance of a Boxster means you shouldn't encounter any surprises in handling, either. In fact, I found my Boxster to be better to drive than my Subaru Legacy sedan in wintertime driving. (..the Subaru had all season tires on it, and really pushed a lot. The Boxster was just so brilliantly balanced.)

Other than that, you're just driving a Boxster like any other car in winter. It's abilities are a big reason I'm back into one this year (and plan to stay in one for the forseable future). It truly is the perfect year 'round car.

racer

Keep it simple. Leave plenty of room in front of you to stop. Leave plenty of room when turning. BE SMOOTH. No herky jerky on gas/off gas/whip the wheel around unless you are prepared for corrective action. "Short shift" is likely the prefered shifting, this way you can raise your speed without using high rpm where it becomes easier to break traction and get into trouble.

It is a car with the motor in the middle. While I do not have "boxster" experience in the snow, I do have 914 experience in the snow. 50/50 weight (only 2,000 lbs though) and the car was able to move through the snow ok. Yes I was on 4 snow tires and you should be too. If you really have little or NO experience driving in the snow, you may not realize how easy it is to go TOO fast for some conditions. I would recommend scouting out an EMPTY lot (one without medians and lights if you can find one) and then when it snows, head to the lot for practice. Get a feel for when you loose traction and how to regain it again.

Enjoy!

JohnVitamvas

This topic has been covered a lot before but I agree entirely with D&J. The car is actually phenomenal in the snow. I have the Wintersport M3's on my car, on a set of Porsche 17" wheels I bought for a couple hundred bucks. The car is really unstoppable if the snow is less than 4-5 inches. Heavier snow than that turns the front end into a snowplow, and it's pretty effective, but probably not the best long-term.

I went out in our heaviest snowstorm last year in my snowtired, no-PSM, no-TC Boxster and laughed at the SUV drivers who had slid their AWD behemoths into the median.

JAGOLDENBXSTR

I will agree this will be my 3rd season on Blizak's LM 22 and while I have slid in some stuff from time to time the car has been great. I have also considered using chains in heavier snow but have not yet had to go that route. I agree with the advice given give lots of room and keep it smooth and things will be fine. I would suggest that next year to switch to a smaller 17" rim and tire though.