ddhleigh

Hello everyone, new to this forum and it's been a wealth of info. I have done searches on the daily driver topic and didn't see anything similar to what I wanted to ask. I have read that a Porsche should get up to an optimal engine temp. (I've been considering a 2009+ 997 or a Cayman S. My daily commute to work is pretty much a 15 min drive that might consist of less than 15km, about 10 miles. Would this be a bad idea?

I live in Vancouver, BC Canada in case it's relevant. We rarely get snow, but it rains a lot. I also have no garage, but a covered car port.

Thanks in advance!

extanker

it will survive your driving and climate

tlarocque

Grand idea, not a bad one. Life is too short to drive ****ty cars. I think the "getting it up to temp" thing is more relevant to the air-cooled cars... it takes forever... but 10 miles of driving is plenty. When I lived in Seattle, I took turns driving my '88 Carrera and 996 Turbo (no longer own) year round and I loved it.

Dr.Bill

Don't worry. If you get one, you will end up taking the longest route to work possible and making all sorts of excuses to go out and drive!

TMc993

I drove my '97 993 as a true year-round daily driver for eleven years and it never left me stranded. I'm finding that my Cayman is even better suited for this type of use...Comfortable in traffic and a hell of a lot of fun on the open roads. You'll find yourself taking the long way home more than you might suspect.

inkatouring

Had 2 993s as dailies and then went with 981 -- it's not as iconic, but a great daily driver. As good as any daily I've ever had. Considered a 987, but improved engineering and interior make the 981 a better daily.....

extanker

i will add that with summer tires mine goes nowhere in the snow.....i have read that some people run snow tires with success

lvdg

Mine is a DD and i drive about 35 miles a day for work commute. My OEM p-zero summer tires handle rain just fine.

dennisafrompa

Tiaroque, you still driving the TDI? No buyback? I turned in '12 Jetta TDI in November.

sugarwood

It might not be ideal when it's really cold out. No idea.

dennisafrompa

....yes some people do mount winter tires. Runs great in the snow.

Macster

If you have to go work and if you drive why not drive to work in a Porsche?

My only caution is based on my experience in the mid-MO area with my Boxster is a 10 or 12 mile commute didn't get the engine very warm -- at least in the winter -- and in 4K miles the engine oil had a 7% water content. (On a whim I did an oil analysis.)

I adopted a 5k mIle oil/filter service schedule and 310K+ miles later the engine's fine. My work commute is now 30 miles and the weather here where I now live and drive is not hearly as cold. Still by obversation -- I have a data logger -- it can take either car (Boxster or Turbo) 10 or more miles before the coolant temperature line levels off. I'm sure it takes a few more minutes of running before the 9+ quarts of oil is all up to temperature, too.

So regular oil/filter services. Don't skimp in the brake and clutch (if the car shares brake fluid with the manual clutch) fluid flush/bleed service that is due every 2 years.

sugarwood

You drove 4k miles without ever getting to full operating temps?

Macster

Believe it or not "full operating temperature" is a moving target with these engines. That 4K miles was covered in just a few months after I bought the car new in Jan. 2002. And some of those miles involved 150 mile round trips to visit my Mom and Dad or once and sometimes twice a week 40 to 80 mile round trips to eat out or shop at a nice -- but distant -- book store.

The area was the KC MO area with the usual crappy winter weather. (I think in March of that year the area experienced a huge and widespread ice storm. My place lost power.)

What I found after the oil analysis results is with my 2002 Boxster in winter 180F to maybe 186F was about as hot as the coolant got.

Really the only sign I have the Boxster is at "full operating temperature" is if the coolant is hot enough to trigger the radiator fans. (This happens at 212F.)

On mild days for this to happen requires city driving. I don't do much of that anywhere and back in the mid-west in the KC MO area where I lived in a very small town city driving consisted of one stop sign and a couple of lights from my house to the I-70 freeway. If I went south there were no stop signs until I got to 50 highway.

clib

I have a short commute but its made better by driving my 993 or cayman R. I make it a habit for at least one drive home in 3 i take the very long way round and air it out for a fun drive. Makes me feel better and burns off any water.