unclejosh

great car, stuck like glue in all weather with summer tires. got an alignment that eliminated most plowing and understeer tendancies. very secure ride.

cannon1000

1. It can help cover up my stupidity and lack of talent if used properly.
2. Can't hurt in snow & ice.
3. It came with the Turbo
4. I don't race it, so the weight penalty is no biggie.

I've always enjoyed AWD vehicles, my wife has one (FX35) and they are nice to have, her car did great in our snow storm last year but my truck was like a wild bronco.

pdm12002

Folks

I've been a sponge for the last year on rennlist. My first post. bought a 2006 997.1 C4S CPO. Sorry no pic. Black Cab with two tone black/gray dash Grey leather everywhere Else I'll get the profile setup properly soon. Live on an iPad so some challenges.

The car is so emotional. That's the way I describe it to everyone. This is comparing it to everything else. I live in SF and in the mountain roads around here I lose my nerve before the car. But, even taking the 380 interchange at 85mph, I can feel the front wheels kick in big time. The AWD can only make a great driver better. I'm not that guy but I'll track it soon and we will see. It's not just about whe it's raining. That being said, in the Bay Area, driving in the rain is really fun to see when the features we are paying for kick in.

P

pdm12002

I would also like to pose another question. If AWD came for free, would you take it? I've gotten the impression over the last year that folks are really arguing money vs driver skills. I respect cab vs not from a track perspective. AWD vs not I do not buy.

P

Zeus993

I think some of these complexities come into play when you are buying new and faced with choosing from the plethora of options. In my case I just found a great buy on a lightly used CS2 with some very nice options. I never got into an exhaustive search looking for a 4 or whatever. I drove it, dropped the Aston search and bought the C2S. As you say, these cars are emotional, regardless of 2 or 4. If safety is your main concern then, uhhhh... you may want to look at another car!

Nugget

Hell no. AWD in a 911 is a downside, not a feature, and I would avoid it even if it cost less.

yossarian

That's the part I never got. Thinking like the op, given salt, rocks and the simple fact of snow high it just does not seem practical to drive in times when awd would be useful.

I live in nor cal as well and have never had issues with my c2s. I just don't take it to tahoe.

ADias

I had a 996 C4. When the 997 was launched the chassis differences made a 997 C2 as stable as a 996 C4 was, and even more so the 997.2 (both with PASM), without the added weight penalty and front traction side effects.

The 996 AWD and the 997.1 AWD use a viscous coupler, which means that the front wheels are always under power (even if at a minimum of 5% split). When I drive one of those cars I know it is an AWD - the steering is different, the front traction is always there.

The 997.2 AWD couple to the front via an electrically controlled multi-plate clutch and the front axle can be fully decoupled. In that sense, the 997.2 AWD can feel (at times) like a RWD. The issue is that it is nonlinear, i.e., all of a sudden a lot of power can be coupled to the front, and then you feel it. And no, the 997.2 AWD does not understeer more - that is strictly an alignment issue. If anything it can understeer less.

But... to answer your question. On a 997.2 if AWD was a free option... I would not take it.

aaks38

I bought a 4s but for me there were a few reasons, i drove a 2s and didnt notice that much of a difference but the 4s does feel more planted. I was so used to driving a touareg which is awd and an audi so i got used to being spoiled with the added traction and being saved a few times in the rain and snow.

I got my 4s for the same price as a 2s as it was used so i thought it was a plus if anything. I can see the difference in width but it depends at the angle that you look at it. Head on its hard to see but most other angles you can see the difference, at least in person.

Macster

996 Turbos only come with AWD. I can't think of any time I've ever used it, even though I drove through some snow (on new Bridgestone summer tires) last winter for around 50 miles.

Were I going to drive the car in snow/ice conditions on a regular basis it might come in handy but of course the car would need proper snow/ice tires.

However, I can tell you for a long time everybody got around with just 2 wheel drive (and rear wheel at that) by just fitting proper snow tires (and carrying chains just in case) on their cars.

Really I think the biggest contributor to good driving in bad weather is proper tires.

More than once in bad weather I've seen 4WD, AWD cars and trucks off the road (or worse) and it is not because they were not able to pull away from a stop sign but were unable to slow down or turn properly in marginal traction conditions.

In this respect, FWD, 4WD, AWD passenger vehicles are all the same. The all have just 4 tires in contact with the road and only two steer the car.

Sincerely,

Macster.