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Yes I drove my 13 991 and 20 992 both c2 through buffalo winters. Winter tires and it’s more than competent as long as roads are cleared. Ground clearance is the only issue.
We get a lot of snow here in the mountains. I'd nonetheless drive my C2S in winter except that I live not far from Salt Lake City, the Great Salt Lake and some of the world's largest salt mines. Guess how they deal with the snow here? It's snowing here now, I'm sniff sniff about to put it in storage.
It’s all about the salt and chemicals from my perspective. If you don’t plan to keep your car more than 3 years, go for it.
I think they are good for a lot more than 3 years but if you're uncomfortable driving them because of that, it's your choice. I buy the cars to drive them and I hat the thought of parking them for the winter. It's just a matter of choice.
I am also in Northern Virginia but park my 911 for the winter once they start dumping chemicals on the roads, and they put a lot of that garbage on the highways here. The car itself is fine in the snow with proper tires, but the corrosion the road salt and brine causes is unbelievable, and compounded by the fast the 911's are rear engined and accumulate a lot of junk in the rear of the car underbody (just look at your air filter after 15K miles if in doubt). Unless you are going to get under the body and wash it weekly, the corrosion will do damage over time. I own a small fleet of commercial trucks and we have all sorts of failures of components due to rust and corrosion from road chemicals. So I bought myself a low-optioned Ford Ranger 4WD and that's my winter ride. I don't really care if this gets trashed, it was cheap and blasts through the crud just fine. I do a lot of the work on my vehicles myself and like to keep the fasteners clean and unrusted. Pickup trucks are way more fun in the snow than any sports car, talk about drifting powerslides!
It is all personal choice. The 911 is my DD, it goes out no matter what the weather if I need to go. I have done this with all of my P cars and have never had a problem. I will say that I don't intend to keep them forever but I do know that my 997 and 991 are still going strong with the new owners.
Not a 911, but 2 caymans: 718 2.0T, and now my 718 GT4 (yes, my GT4 gets snow tires).
The 2 biggest concerns with them are too much throttle (very easy to oversteer or loose grip when trying to accelerate) and low ground clearance. AWD might help the "get going" throttle application compared to RWD, but overall it's not a concern.
Snow tires are the biggest advantage to any vehicle driving in the white stuff. I'd take my GT4 in snow tires over any FWD car with all-seasons and it wouldn't be close as far as traction / safety is concerned.
Last edited by iliveoncaffiene; 10-14-2021 at 05:33 PM.
My greatest concern about driving in snow isn't ground clearance, corrosion, or inadequate traction. A 911 with winter tires is a pretty competent car in light to medium snowfalls. My greatest fear is being smacked by one of the myriad drivers of SUV's and other AWD drive cars who don't understand how to control their vehicles when their traction is compromised. The huge increase in popularity of SUV's and AWD's in recent years has brought to the roads a ton under-informed of people who believe that their cars are impervious to the risks of icy conditions. I just don't want to be in an accident in my car which I lovingly take care of. The thought of my 992 being in the shop for days or weeks getting crumpled metal replaced is repugnant. There isn't a single snowfall in my area where there aren't accidents, and I just don't see the point of risking a collision in dicey conditions when I have two other cars in the garage.
MT great for rwd winter driving w appropriate tires. Plus, the low speed car control practice comes in handy at higher speeds in all temps. Plus- drifting cones course is just a zen experience
UOTE=iliveoncaffiene;17725526]Not a 911, but 2 caymans: 718 2.0T, and now my 718 GT4 (yes, my GT4 gets snow tires).
The 2 biggest concerns with them are too much throttle (very easy to oversteer or loose grip when trying to accelerate) and low ground clearance. AWD might help the "get going" throttle application compared to RWD, but overall it's not a concern.
Snow tires are the biggest advantage to any vehicle driving in the white stuff. I'd take my GT4 in snow tires over any FWD car with all-seasons and it wouldn't be close as far as traction / safety is concerned.[/QUOTE]
M My greatest fear is being smacked by one of the myriad drivers of SUV's and other AWD drive cars who don't understand how to control their vehicles when their traction is compromised. .
Wouldn't you feel this way in any car though ? I really have no idea what I would do . I watched Nick's video and the AWD did offer great traction but I prefer driving a RWD car . Weather events surely are better suited for higher clearance cars bur unless I lived in a massive snow area I would want to have access to my car all year round . I suppose the decision of AWD vs RWD would depend a lot on how much snow a region gets . For instance my childhood was in New York City . I could do a RWD in that setting full time . A place like Colorado might give me a second thought on AWD . I also accept that every region might deal it differently so if someone in Iowa noted that a lot of salt and junk is on the road it might be different than places where clean up is more efficient .
When the question arose it seemed foreign to me . I hate to confess that I had to go to a place in thew winter I would have to buy clothes .
Iknow that many focus on the tires and driving conditions but even wearing all the layers and a jacket with gloves sitting a sport bucket seat must feel like gymnastics . I still, would want it though . I would want my 911 every day !!
Wouldn't you feel this way in any car though ? I really have no idea what I would do . I watched Nick's video and the AWD did offer great traction but I prefer driving a RWD car . Weather events surely are better suited for higher clearance cars bur unless I lived in a massive snow area I would want to have access to my car all year round . I suppose the decision of AWD vs RWD would depend a lot on how much snow a region gets . For instance my childhood was in New York City . I could do a RWD in that setting full time . A place like Colorado might give me a second thought on AWD . I also accept that every region might deal it differently so if someone in Iowa noted that a lot of salt and junk is on the road it might be different than places where clean up is more efficient .
When the question arose it seemed foreign to me . I hate to confess that I had to go to a place in thew winter I would have to buy clothes .
Iknow that many focus on the tires and driving conditions but even wearing all the layers and a jacket with gloves sitting a sport bucket seat must feel like gymnastics . I still, would want it though . I would want my 911 every day !!
Yes, I'm on guard with any car I drive in icy weather, but there's a big difference between repairing or replacing a damaged sedan and a $140,000+ 992 that could take a year to replace, or months to repair. Having said that, if I were in a circumstance where I had to drive a 992 in snow and ice, I would definitely be in an AWD with winter rubber.
It’s all about the salt and chemicals from my perspective. If you don’t plan to keep your car more than 3 years, go for it.
Wash out the crap at your local power wash place regularly and apply undercoating. Even without all that, it'd last way more than three years. There's a warranty included with the car for that...
Last edited by cactusjack; 10-15-2021 at 09:38 AM.
I would definitely be in an AWD with winter rubber.
I hear this a lot. And I have both AWD and RWD cars. The fact is that AWD only helps you get traction as you accelerate. It does nothing for braking and steering. That is the job of the snow tires. With the engine in the rear of my C2S, I have had no issues whatsoever with traction in ice and snow and we get a lot here in Colorado. In fact, Porsche even has a wet mode that I have tried a few times and it's really hard to get the car to lose traction. I get the fact that a lot of people think they need AWD to drive in ice and snow, and if it makes you feel better then do it. You don't NEED it. What you NEED are really good snow tires on any car driven in ice and snow.
We had a late snow storm here one year and I had already changed tires on my AWD Mercedes E63S to summer tires and was driving back from Colorado Springs. When I hit the snow, the car was un-drivable. Managed to make it to a hotel parking lot and spent the night. With snow tires I would have just gone home.
I hear this a lot. And I have both AWD and RWD cars. The fact is that AWD only helps you get traction as you accelerate. It does nothing for braking and steering. That is the job of the snow tires. With the engine in the rear of my C2S, I have had no issues whatsoever with traction in ice and snow and we get a lot here in Colorado. In fact, Porsche even has a wet mode that I have tried a few times and it's really hard to get the car to lose traction. I get the fact that a lot of people think they need AWD to drive in ice and snow, and if it makes you feel better then do it. You don't NEED it. What you NEED are really good snow tires on any car driven in ice and snow.
We had a late snow storm here one year and I had already changed tires on my AWD Mercedes E63S to summer tires and was driving back from Colorado Springs. When I hit the snow, the car was un-drivable. Managed to make it to a hotel parking lot and spent the night. With snow tires I would have just gone home.
Porsche has a 12 year rust warranty.
I agree that winter tires are more important than having AWD in most circumstances. However, if you have to negotiate long and steep hills that are ice and snow covered, AWD has its advantages.
I agree with all of the posters who emphasized snow tires - I’ve been putting snows on my MB350 wagon (and it’s predecessors) forever, and spend a lot of time driving in Vermont. Most of the cars I see up there off the road in snow are out-of-state SUVs - rarely one of the sedans which so many Vermonters like. The only problem I’ve had with the MB is ground clearance, that’s literally been once or twice in 30 years. Driving in snow requires good winter tires, good traction control, and good common sense. AWD is a plus, but not required.
I don’t put winter tires on my Porsches because I have the wagon when it snows. So if there’s snow on the ground or threatened, the Porsche stays in the garage. If the ground is dry, I’ll take it out. I’ve only been surprised and caught in light snow a couple of times, and it did ok. But I would recommend it.
As far as corrosion from road treatments, I just traded my 2007 997 which got the same winter use and it had no signs of any damage underneath (the buyer checked). And NJ certainly throws a lot of stuff on the ground, as does the guy who plows my driveway. And neither have any of my other cars, all of which see regular use year round. I don’t baby them, and certainly don’t wash the underside after every winter trip. In fact, I never specifically washed the underside - whatever happened as part of a normal washing was it.
10-14-2021, 11:37 AM
