KS-CS

With snow season approaching, I'm curious from those who have experience with the latest generation drivetrains: When driving on plowed/packed snow, do you put it into one of the "Off Road" modes, or leave it in Street mode?

bluejam

Anybody? I have the same question.

m453w

Last year had a lot of practice. Never took it out of street mode, and did just fine. But I do have winter tires on my CS.

Divot

Off Road locks differentials and severely limits your top speed. Street mode is fine if you want to exceed about 10 mph. Try it now on an empty road and see how fast you can go in Off Road. I only use it to get unstuck or go up/down a steep hill very slowly.

They accelerate fine, stopping not so much.

mudman2

Divot

Hey, once every year or so I try to post something useful.

I wish I had the video after the first snowstorm when I tried to stop to enter the highway. That would be something to get you to Thousands of pounds of vehicle, 6 piston front and 4 piston rear calipers, and ABS all joined in unison to ridicule me as I slid into the oncoming lane, separated only by a yellow stripe under 6 inches of snow. Fortunately this was a blizzard that prevented the normal intelligent people from occupying the lane that would usually be several vehicles deep.

For Sale: One slightly stained driver's seat.

lawjdc

KS-CS: Did you ever get around to trying it in off-road mode in the snow? Just curious. It appears as if we will be getting some snow here in the West any day now.

mudman2

Off Road is NOT for snow, unless you get stuck, PSM will take care of you IF

1 - You have Snow Tires
2 - You remember the laws of physics
3 - Don't accelerate hard and if possible don't brake at all or 2 (above) will bite you in the a$$.

Andy E.

Leaving it in street mode works 95% of the time with zero issues. Only on one occasion when skiing up North did I have to switch it to off-road mode due to a freshly snowed street and little traction.

If this is your first winter with the 958, I strongly suggest you practice your driving skills inside a deserted parking lot with the PSM button disengaged. It will make you appreciate the driving dynamic capability of your vehicle and better your skills if faced with a potentially dangerous situation.

race3

folks... regular street mode is fine and best for most snow driving. if the snow is very deep, try raising the vehicle first.

off road mode 1 does NOT affect any locking differentials
off road mode 2 locks the center
off road mode 3 locks the rear

Norsk

This morning we had about four inches of snow that was preceded by freezing rain last night. The traffic reports were terrible, lots of crashes and spinouts, etc. so I gave my wife a ride to our office in the p!g. I decided to take back roads since the highways were fubar and forgot my secret alternate has a very steep hill. As we got close to the hill there were about 20 cars in front of us waiting at the foot while two cars were sliding sideways back down the hill because they couldn't climb it. We watched one attempt after another as people took a run at it and eventually got turned around and came back downhill. People in front of us and behind us were making U turns as they saw it was futile to go further. My wife asked what I was going to do and I said "whats the worst that can happen? I'll just turn around like everyone else". So I shifted into mode three, and when we were at the front of the line I got up a little speed and went straight up, no slippage whatsoever - all the way to the top - mission accomplished. One other had made it up ahead of us, an Audi quattro. Keep in mind I have Nokian snow tires.

All in all, a great morning. Like the Porsche ad used to say: Happiness, The Kind That Money Can Buy.

Mike in CA

No snow where I live, but still enjoyed your story.......

w00tPORSCHE

Norsk, loved your story. The Cayenne and Minnsnowta are made for each other. I am curious when one would one use mode three ? I too do a lot of winter travel. This shot was taken this AM. See my thread for some other shots.

Norsk

wOOt, first time I have used it. I use mode two all the time, as I drive on a lot of gravel roads and want to keep rock chips from happening (by raising the body). The other thing to keep in mind is that by raising the body you create more clearance in the wheel wells when the snow is starting to pack in there. Otherwise, the tires will rub when the front wheels are turned. Up here in Winter you don't want anything larger than 18" rims.

Your pics are spot - on. I remember one hair raising trip some years back where I was leading a caravan of vehicles in a blizzard; the snow was level with the tops of the ditches, no lane markings whatever, I just split the distance between the utility poles for guidance. Thank God I had tire chains on that time.

See what all you Southern Boys are missing?

pdxjim

Norsk, studs with the Nokians??