bic

So me and my 986S just moved out to Los Angeles about a week ago and I've been thoroughly enjoying the area's twisties so far. I'd like to check out one of the nearby ski resorts before the season's over but my problem is that since the car came from Miami it's on summer tires and I have only driven in snow a couple of times .

I know that the Boxster is a capable winter car when on snow tires but how bad of an idea is it to drive through snow on summers? I certainly wouldn't try to drive through a snowstorm but I don't know how clear the roads might be where I'd be going....or even if driving on a snow-packed parking lot would be treacherous.

The only time I tried skiing was when we drove from Boston to Maine in the middle of winter so it was cold and icey from the start of the drive till we reached the top of the mountain. Out here, I'd be starting from a significantly warmer beach and imagine that all but the last 3,000 feet or so of elevation during the drive would be pretty dry. Since I'd only be going up the mountain for a day, snow tires aren't an option, and I'd rather rent a suitable car for a day rather than attempt to put on chains.

Thoughts?

Dai

I would rent a car for the day rather than risk my life with it. Summer tires are not designed for snow, the thread is designed for shedding rain water not snow. Beside, the rubber compound is designed for summer heat so it is fairly hard when the temperature dropped, the summer rubber compound will be so hard that it will not give you any grip. If you have all season tires, I would still hesitate to the idea. I have winter tires on my Boxster S and when the temperature here in Calgary dropped to -30C and the road is full of ice and snow, I don't like driving my car at all. The Boxster is rear wheel drive with mid engine so the front is very light, and when you let off the throttle to stop, your car want to go side way. Why take the risk?

Brian P

If you have even a slight dusting of snow, I would not drive summer tires on it. I tried to get up a hill at the end of my block once, and the car got about a third of the way up, then started sliding backwards. I nearly took out my neighbor's mailbox. I then couldn't get the car back up my driveway.

With snow tires, the car is phenomenal, but I see how that wouldn't work for your situation.

stumpjumper

rent a car for srue

I wouldn't even drive summer tires in any car, even my audi allroad, if it's below 30 degrees out, they are far too hard and will not behave well, even a dusting of snow and you'll have no traction at all

Doug&Julie

First morning of ownership in my second Boxster...the temps dropped below freezing and a slight dusting covered the road. Foolishly, I went my "usual" way to work, which included a few rather large hills. Going down the first one...completely off throttle...I could feel the car sliding sideways as it was going down. Oh sh*t. Rode it out...had the hill been much larger, I'd have been in the ditch. I barely made it up the next hill and the second. Scared the heck out of me how bad the summer tires were!!!!

Good idea to rent a car. I suggest a Subaru.

lawdevil

I have a 2008 S and can testify that without snow tires, it is dangerous! Just a couple of weeks ago I ended up sliding sideways 50 feet down a hill. I was probably going 5 mph at the time - so it was not a matter of reckless driving (except to the extent driving at all in snow was reckless). I lucked out and did not hit anything (had to leave my car in a driveway for about a week until it melted) but I will not make that mistake again. When there is snow - Boxster will stay in the garage!

mike

lawdevil

I have a 2008 S and can testify that without snow tires, it is dangerous! Just a couple of weeks ago I ended up sliding sideways 50 feet down a hill. I was probably going 5 mph at the time - so it was not a matter of reckless driving (except to the extent driving at all in snow was reckless). I lucked out and did not hit anything (had to leave my car in a driveway for about a week until it melted) but I will not make that mistake again. When there is snow - Boxster will stay in the garage!

mike

Charlie C

The main reason I won't drive mine in the snow, sand, or salt, is that the cold weather makes nearly impossible to wash that crap off. I would NEVER consider a drive through car wash and even a self service won't do an adequate job.

I drive my Pathfinder in the lousy weather. Not to say I don't drive my P car during the winter...I took a nice ride yesterday.

sjfehr

Those who are complaining about a complete loss of traction in cold weather- what tires are you using? And just how cold are you saying is cold? I've never noticed an issue at all in cold weather (into the teens) with my Bridgestone g-Force Sport tires, though I do admittedly take it easy in the cold because I know the rubber isn't as grippy as when it's warm, and I keep my car garaged, so the tires start out a little warmer before I leave, and presumably maintain that temp through friction (etc) as I drive. But under normal driving conditions, I've never once lost traction due simply to cold weather.

schwank

I just have a set of good Bridgestone performance all seasons. I drive the car daily and so far about 6 days in light snow this year. I think it is a blast to drive with a little powder. Drift it around corners with gas and counter-steering However it is pretty capable. The only issue would be ice and starts from dead stop on steep hills.

My car is no garage queen though. She's more of a rescue from previous negligent owners. So I have no qualms driving the snot out of it.

In your situation though, I would not take the Boxster. Play it safe until you have the right tires. Kind of funny to think about snow tires in LA.

Charlie C

They were commenting on driving in snow. Kind of like skiing but using your car instead.

bic

Thanks for all the replies even though they weren't the confidence-inspiring posts I hoped for, at least I now know not to risk driving my car through a little white stuff.

There must be a lot of accidents in the mountains around here, huh? From people not used to and not expecting to drive through snow and ice heading up to a ski resort for a day of fun in their normal cars sporting summer/all-season tires.

Ray S

Let me tell you from experience. Don't even think about driving one of these cars in the snow on summer tires. Imagine "bad" and it will be worse than that.

I had a dealer loaner Cayman (on summer tires) over a snowy weekend in Chicago and the car was disaster. It would slide on the slightest grade and was incapable of climbing any hill without a scary amount of momentum.

On snow tires they are completely fine (I drive my 996 all winter long), but on summer tires these cars are trouble even in a light dusting.

Macster

and it was the only car I had. Couple of inches of snow on the ground and I took Boxster out (middle of the night!) just to get a feel for the car in slippery conditions.

Surprisingly the car got around pretty good. No ice under snow. Had a blast in a big parking empty parking lot. Sideways at 10mph!

Roads were plowed and gritted next day and I managed to get around with just the normal care one needs to have in slippery conditions.

But another time I got caught out in bad snow storm and should have turned right around.

Didn't. Pressed on and after awhile it got so bad I couldn't pull off freeway cause off ramps were not plowed/gritted. The highway lane was sort of clear.

But as I got further north hit the real heavy stuff. Nearly 13" in places but some plowing had occurred. Had planned on getting on freeway but heard over CB radio cars running off road and traffic already starting to stop.

I was afraid if I stopped car I'd never get it going again. The only way I could control speed without breaking tires loose was to use the cruise control and bump speed up by 1mph increments. Even gently as possible using the throttle the rears would spin.

Then I hit snow on top of ice east of Joplin MO on 71 highway. Almost didn't make it. Car slid down a banked corner and I spent several minutes rocking car until I managed to get it moving again.

Drove all the way from Ft. Smith Ark to Butler Mo non-stop at between 10 to 20mph with eyes staring straight ahead and with death grip on the wheel.

Never again.

Well, again, more recently, got caught out in Williams AZ and spent 2 nights one day snow bound unable to get Boxster out of parking lot cause it was so slick. Motel parking lot had steep grades in and out and even the parking lot so slick could hardly get car from one parking space to another. I would have never been able to control car to get it out of lot and not sure how bad or good freeway was and if it wasn't any good I'd never make it off freeway and back to motel with car in one piece.

Unless you have real snow/ice tires on Boxster, tire cables (not chains) and a good strong long tow strap just in case, leave Boxster at home and get rental car with proper tires. Be sure tires suitable for where you're going and car has proper chains/cables in trunk to use in case, cause chains can be required where sking is.

Sincerely,

Macster.

bic

So you guys heard my concerns about driving the 986S in the snow in my first post...

Well today I found myself near downtown L.A. with nothing to do and I realized that with it getting late in the season and with the rain and colder temperatures, today would be a good day to see some of the white stuff (I've spent 80% of my life in places where it doesn't snow so it's kind of a big deal for me). I've also been meaning to check out this Angeles Crest Highway I've heard so much about since I moved out here. I figured I'd take a chance and make the drive not knowing what to expect and the worst thing that'll happen is I'll have to turn around when conditions get bad. I set off and about half an hour later, I was here:





The Angeles Crest skid pad?


Getting closer to the goal:


Started seeing a good amount of snow here, about 30 miles from L.A.






I'm almost embarrassed to say it but this is about the highest I've ever been in a car (legally):


It got down to 22 degrees a few miles up the road from here!


This is about where I had to turn around. It was starting to get dark, temps were in the low 20's, more ice was forming on the road, and I was still rocking summer tires from Florida. Not exactly the safest combination of things.






The Boxster handled itself remarkably well considering this was by far the highest up a mountain it's ever been and the coldest temperatures it has experienced. I used more caution as the thermometer approached freezing but even still, the car felt firmly planted and I never felt a loss of traction. I passed over a number of wet spots but never any snow or ice except a patch or two when I pulled onto the shoulder to take pictures. Since I already made it to 7,000+ feet and most of the way through the mountains, I think I probably could have made it all the way through without an issue. If not for the sun setting, I might have kept going.

All in all, it was an incredible drive. It's not the most challenging road in the world but the scenery, lack of driveways/intersections/stop signs, pullouts, passing lanes, pavement, and most of all scenery makes it really special. The snow was just the bonus.