OntarioTurbo

Recently went through separation and '86 951 is my only car. I don't really want to drive it this winter, but I have no money to buy a winter beater. A friend of mine has some 15" phonies I can use to put snows on.

My question is, How many of you guys have driven a 944 in our Canadian winters and do you think this is a good idea?

JimV8

A 944 is great in winter. Just get some good tires on it.

Richard930

Too bad about that, but its great in the winter with proper tires

Christien

I drove a 944 for 2 winters, and loved it! Never an issue with cold starts (though a flaky starter is another issue altogether). The only time I left it at home was when the snow was fresh and not packed down. We live on a court that's among the last streets in the city to get plowed, so I had to wait until other people packed it down. I never did get stuck, though.

Turbodan

I don't think the 15" phonies will fit over your brakes .
if you do drive her make sure to oil spray her first. I also would get some rubber floor mats so the salt from your shoes doesn't leak through carpet to floor. Also be sure to be light on the gas as the turbo has too much power for the snow.

comatb

We have been driving our 89 944 na since 2003 as a daily driver. We use snow tires, rust check, and use good rubber mats. It is only a problem when the snow is so deep that the car high sides in the centre and looses traction. It is however great fun to drive with the back end out, not something easy to do in the dry with low hp. It does have ABS which is nice on ice patches. Bottom line is do it right and enjoy it all year long.

Bill

OntarioTurbo

Thank you for all your replies.

I never thought of the clearance for the brakes. Good call! I will test fit the rims and if they don't clear then I will need to dismount my tires and put snows on my 16" phonies.

I thought about the turbo being a little more of a handful in the winter. I've driven it in autocross and have had a few "surprises" after the turbo spooled up on dry pavement let alone snow and ice. It would have to be "nice & easy" in the slippery stuff.

Yes, I definately would need good mats. Any ones in particular that have worked well for you guys?

PPo

For the '86 you may have some trouble finding 16" Phone Dials but I do recomend getting another set of rims. They are relatively cheap...

Agree with everyone here, with good snow tires, you will have a fun winter car.

pontifex4

I have a spare set of late-offset 16" wheels, but nothing early, so I'm afraid that I can't be of any help. Do your washers and rear window defrost work?

There's a guy downtown who has a red '86 NA which is still on the road. I've never spoken to him, but I wouldn't be surprised if he were planning to keep it on the road all winter.

Fair warning if you take your car to a rust check-style place: they will likely want to drill three holes in the tops of your sills unless you pull your plastic door sill trim off and push the carpet out of the way for them to expose the big rubber plugs along the sills in the car's interior.

OntarioTurbo

Pontifex4 - My rear defrost works, but my washer pump is currently not working. It worked last year, but I didn't get around to fixing it this year as with everything going on I didn't use the car much.

My buddie has a hoist in his garage and oil sprays cars on the side. I would do it myself there. No extra holes please!

I might have to mount the snows on my exsiting 7 & 8" wide 16" phonies. Good excuse to get new rims, maybe 17's next year with wider rubber.

Need new axle shafts as well. I was thinking remans from NAPA. Anyone know of a better place to buy?

Turbodan

yeah the 15s won't fit. for mats just get cheapies from crappy tire or walmart.

pontifex4

OntarioTurbo, did I once meet you at a tire shop?

Coincidentally, I have to replace both axles this winter, as well. They were both flipped by the previous owner (and are now backwards) to get around the wear, so I've been shopping.

This is a little off topic, but NAPA currently sells three options for the 944 -- a remanufactured one (~$180 + $100 core), a new replacement with a long warranty for about the same price, and a cheap new replacement with a shorter warranty for around $150 + $100 core (that there's a core charge for new axles suggests that NAPA is brokering the reman process). All are special order items.

The internet is a wash of "NAPA axles suck" claims, but from what I can gather, the first one I listed (the remanufactured one) is from Cardone, who has at least some credibility.

For reference, Sunset Porsche in Oregon asks around $300/axle for the real deal, with no core charge. That's what I'm going to do.

comatb

I have had axles rebuilt for our 89 944 road car as well as the 944 race car by Eurodrive in Burlington. They charge about $90 each.

pontifex4

Bill, where did you have this done? How are they holding up?

Edit: sorry, I didn't read that very carefully. Cell phone Rennlist can be difficult to read. Still, though, how are they holding up?

comatb

I'm not sure of the Rennlist rules about posting this but I have no affiliation with Eurodrive other than being a happy customer although turn around time can vary as I have experienced in the past from a couple of days to a couple of weeks.

They also clean/reseal my injectors.

Eurodrive
1254 Plains Road
Burlington ON L7S 1W6
1-905-639-7873

Bill