Winter Weather

Well Chaps Took the better half to the shops today and decided to take the C2. Although cold (-1C) the sun was shining and all was well until the return journey home. By that time we were experiencing sleet and snow and temp had dropped to -3ish. What a nightmare, car was almost unmanageable on the ungritted twisty A/B roads. Did not enjoy the drive home at 30mph max. Maybe I'm a wimp but I've never driven a rear-engined car in the snow before (at least, not since a 1972 Skoda that went to the breakers in 1980). Don't think I'll be doing it again soon. Its a shame really because we were going to visit Cornbury House tomorrow. Anybody else feel the same way? Regards

If its any compensation, all rear wheel drive cars are terrible in the snow.

So all BMWs, Mercs, Porsches in Germany? Old Volvos, Saabs, Skodas.....[8|] Plenty of RWD cars have come from countries with far worse winters than we ever get. The difference is that they have winter tyres as standard, and are experienced in driving when conditions are poor. Witnessing a Transit tonight driving at around 80MPH in the snow-filled outer lane of the M40, you do wonder how natural selection resulted in him getting to the age where he got a driving license! [&o] One of my most frightenting drives was as a passenger in Prague, an old Fiat driven by a complete loon. After a few minutes on icy cobbles and tram lines I realised studded tyres are very different to our summer tyres.

Tyres make all the difference it seems. 4wd helps too. On summer tyres at the first sign of inclement winter weather my 944 stays in the garage. Its not just you!

today in wales we had about 3 cm of snow , saw a ambulance answering a 999 call, it had got stuck on a side road with a incline of about 25% ,it called for another ambulance that also got stuck(ambulance was rwd ) in the end a gritter lorry towed them out and gritted the road . luckly i put new tyres on the focus yesterday ( summer tyres) and with it being fwd ,and a diesel it performed well in the conditions today, if we had really deep snow i would have used my enduro bike.

Strange but I know several people who hate to drive FWD even in snow due to a lack of feel. As Paul says lots of RWD cars come from countries with far worse winter weather than this little bit of snow, winter tyres, studded even better are a good recent innovation but a light touch on all controls is still necessary even with them fitted. Of the Porsches I've driven in snow the worst was a 968 with Tiptronic and a 986S fitted with Pirelli summer tyres. Temp when I went out this morning was -5C Rear engine will be a bit more difficult if it breaks away so be light on everything. Only an idiot expects to drive as normal in such conditions RWD or FWD. If it gets too bad I'll get the skis out.

I don't know if you change tires for winter, if you don't I can understand if you struggle. But on winter tires (studded or not) RWD is no problem, it's actually great fun. But if you only have 5 days of snow a year it's hard to practice I guess.. You should join one of Tuthills Norway Ice trips, that looks like fun. Here's one from Germany: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zirXvjxXqzw

I was stuck on a closed M25 last night for 5 hours - it took 9.5 hours to travel from Essex to Dorset. I was travelling in the daily driver C Max with traction control, which had no difficulties whatsoever (driven in a circumspect manner, of course). Once we got moving, the roadside was littered with abandoned vehicles - the vast majority of which were artics, BMW's or Mercedes. Watching the antics of some, RWD cars were far more difficult to control but I guess the abilities of some of the drivers had to be questioned...I assume that none were on winter tyres or had LSD's fitted.

I would have thought traction control helps too, i remember a video of a jag on top gear trying to get up a small icy incline once, with TC off it couldnt get up but once it was switched on there was no problem. Its amazing what all these little gadgets do. Also psm makes a big difference if youve ever been to you drive at silverstone.

Hi all, we run a fleet of old Merc W124's and dirve down to Austria every other month or so. from Nov to March you have to run winter tires. So this last night I took the Merc insted of the 996 to drive down to Hinhead from Guildford. The winter tyres make so much difference, the Merc weighs a few tonnes but is rear wheel drive and automatic but just sits there without any deviation. If I had the funds I would definately buy a set of winter tires for the 996 and proceed with caution, there is aways something magical about driving in the cold weather...winter tyres are a lot cheaper in Austria but stil a bit of luxury as UK is only snowed up for a week or so a year. Bst Andy

Electronics on = no drive in snow. Electronics off = easy peasy in snow.

I would have thought that being an auto, its the worst kind of gearbox to use in winter but i suppose with your winter tyres it makes all the difference.

Last year when I had my 996 C2 it was downright dangerous in 4cm snow and could not get up the 10 degree incline of my drive! I had good summer tyres on so I guess that was the main problem. When I eventually got it in the garage it stayed there until the snow cleared. The 3.2 I had years ago was just as bad too. Since I got the 997 I put on a set of winter tyres (and wheels) on in November because I don't want to have any more heart in the mouth experiences. To date we have had no snow in the Fylde Coast area of West Lancashire so I can't tell if there is any benefit yet! But at least I am prepared this time.

previous years, never been able to get my wife's rwd cars ( BMW's etc ) off the drive in Snow ... even my ML has struggled due to daft tyres that are on it. This year, fitted some winter tyres to the wife's Merc C-class as she has a 100 mile round trip to do each day. What a difference .... good layer of snow up here in North Yorks & not even a bit of wheel spin or slippage at all. Can't believe I've not gon e down the winter tyre route before. Of course today we have sheet ice everywhere & the A1 is closed due to ice & accidents [ ] ... dont think winter tyres are going to make a massive difference when on an ice rink

Not knocking winter tyre's but most people you see stuck in the snow in there BMW or Merc have still got ESP, ESC etc still on! Or tyres on a 911 are a little wide for any surface contact obviously Switch it all off and you will get away will using your all year tyre's. Its not like we are in Canada is it.[8|]

I agree-I totally disengage DSC in the BMW (hold in the button for over 16 secs until the yellow light goes out) then drive in Steptronic manual keeping it forced into 5th if possible-however it is still difficult getting started in snow over frozen ground or ice on even reasonable inclines,although I apply the handbrake a couple of notches to try to limit rear wheelspin. If all else fails,open the drivers door,keep the front wheels straight,engage Drive,jump out (don't slip),& push to get the car rolling then jump in quickly(don't slip)-or let your wife/girlfriend etc take charge .[8|]

LOL Love it.

In the snow & ice on our 120d Msport with daft big wheels .... didn't make any difference wether esp etc was on, semi on , or fully off .... it was crap in all cases [ ]

James , Agree about a 120d with the big wheels-our daughter has one & it is difficult-I think it is the "big" wheels that cause the problem-narrow wheels with narrow tyres certainly improve things.

If you get a set of winter wheels and tyres best to have the smallest and narrowest option available, as for electronics off/on well my brother in law can't get his Merc up the drive with it switched off. It would help if he had the patience to clear the drive though.[8|]

This shows the difference.

We have been very lucky here in the Fylde as Peter has already said. No snow at all but freezing rain on Saturday. We went up on to Blackpool Promenade to watch the Legendfires North West Stages Rally. At one point they nearly cancelled the stage as three cars had turned over in Fleetwood and the Lower Promenade between Cleveleys and Norbreck was like a skating rink. After the best part of two hours delay the event went ahead. There were no actual accidents but many close calls. The cars were travelling at about 80mph within inches of the sea wall on a surface that was almost impossible to stand on. Fantastic viewing for the spectators but very few people envied the drivers. I can't remember the last time I felt so cold.....it took all night to thaw out. Fast forward to Monday. It was foggy this morning, but it cleared by lunchtime. We walked up to the Promenade again this afternoon in glorious sunshine, and it was so warm we were able to sit on a south facing bench without coats. Eeee! It's grim up north.

Ooh-you soo--o active these days -almost like spring chickens, Mac & Sue. Irene drove up to our daughters near Morpeth this morning in the newly washed grey 924S leaving Formby in sunshine,stopping for a coffee at Westmoreland services after thick fog & in 3" of snow-came out of the fog just after Haltwistle & then coped with deep snow as she traversed cross country via Stamfordham & Belsay,driving in the tractor ruts into Whalton where there was virtually nothing. Needless to say,it will need a good wash next weekend-but good example of how practical the 50/50 balance of the 924S/944 chassis is for all year round driving as it comes up to 97,000 miles without missing a beat. Can't say the same for Irene-she said she felt "shattered" & that was before grandchildren.

I love this thread. Great reading. Picked up this bit of advice from another marque forum "put 2 space saver wheels on your car". Yep, I'm going to do that, aren't I? By the way, how often do you check the pressure in your space saver? Mine had 18 psi in it when I first bought it. Had just passed an MOT too.............

[/quote] I would have thought traction control helps too, i remember a video of a jag on top gear trying to get up a small icy incline once, with TC off it couldnt get up but once it was switched on there was no problem. Its amazing what all these little gadgets do. Also psm makes a big difference if youve ever been to you drive at silverstone. [/quote] If my memory serves me correctly, I seem to recall that when I drove a Cayman up the Ice Hill at the Silverstone Centre with only the n/s wheels on the slippery surface, the car felt more stable with PSM turned off , although traction control was still operating. Jeff

In order to drive fast or get going in the first place on snow and ice you need to "break" the friction, in other words spin the wheel. As all nanny-systems are designed for the opposite they don't work very well in that sense. Good example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgTu4aZ3cEc

Snow not so bad so far this year... My daily runner had decided to die last year... So 996 C4 (tiptronic) it was. It handled no problem, even with half worn summer tyres. Only problem was the 'Aerokit' front splitter! Acted as a snow plough and lost that after about 10 mins. At 150 quid (then spray) to replace its staying in the garage this year! On the subject of RWD in the snow.. It dont matter how good a driver you are, its the others you have to watch for! Thats how my M3 ended up 2 inches shorter than it should be!

Definitely agree about the "others" so many these days think they can drive in any conditions the same as in the summer, usually in FWD which is not as good as they think and so they turn and go straight on into whatever is directly in front! It's the one thing that makes me think twice before driving anything in the snow. Fresh snow, no traffic, not concerned.

Having used winter tyres each winter for the last 3 years I'm completely convinced. It doesn't have to be icy or snowy. You get the benefit in any temperatures under 7. My RWD LSD Merc auto goes further on winter tyres than my friend's A6 quattro on summer tyres. It's a pain to store the extra wheels, but it's more of a pain making insurance claims etc. GT3 and M3 go into hibernation each winter[ ] storing 2 sets of extra wheels is more than enough.

Understeer is a problem on FWD cars in the snow / ICE. Most people understeer, head towards something, then slam the brakes on and continue on their path into a kerb or object! RWD is fine as long as you don't hammer it around at least you can face the front of the car the right (or wrong) way, but all in all, lets be honest, if you are driving on a bed of snow or ICE in a sports car, neither makes much difference, you'll be sliding everywhere at the slightest touch of the throttle. Oh and no my 996 doesn't even come out in rain lol, I hate to have to get under her and clean all the gunk off all the time