Really a C4?

So its snowing here in Vancouver, and i take my 02 c4 (auto) out for a quick spin. I head to the inlaws where its about a half a foot of fresh snow on the road, park it. Then after the visit, head home. Start the car up and head off, but it goes no where. The back wheels are spinning i'm sure, but my fronts are doing nothing. Its barely an incline on the street. My back end starts to slide, my PSM is kicking in. So i'm not sure what is going on. Even starting it ever so gently, the car still is going nowhere. Now i'm not sure if i got it going when i turned off the PSM to get all the wheels kicking in? or if I really do have a C4. Any thoughts? BTW, i have brand new Pirelli Snowsports on all tires, maybe 200 miles now??

Your post is funny! You don't know if you have a C2 or a C4? Look in your trunk, there you see the difference. Below pic shows a standard C2 trunk. All C4 have reduced trunk space for the AWD system where the spare wheel is on the pic. Seriously, the multiple disk clutch for the AWD system might be damaged but I guess you'd then have other issues. BTW, the new snow tires might be too new. You need some 500-1000 miles to get good grip on tires.

Haha, the question was more of a frustated opinion of the awd system. I have driven other awd and know that the fronts should be helping pull the vehicle. But it seemed like it was doing nothing, so i figure the PSM was holding it back, which is why i figured i got it going by turning it off. Just wondering if anyone else has had that experience. The car only has 18k miles on it, so I would hope there wouldn't be any major issue like that.

Alright, I thought so, but with only 3 posts and you could have been a woman

That's gonna leave a mark...

Out and about in Vancouver huh? I'm in Portland, Mt. Scott to be exact. Hardly had a dusting. Don't know if I have the nerve to take mine out, altough I am curious to see how it handles in the snow. I live on a fairly steep street, so if things go bad, they go real bad.

Anyway........C4s with winter rubber are great fun in the snow.....wish we'd get some.

Well, I just went out again to play around. All seem to work fine this time. I do think it was the PSM kicking in and holding the fronts from slipping from a standstill start. However, with that said, yes I do agree its quite fun out in the snow with and without, though i do agree I wouldn't drive without the PSM. The rears like to wiggle its **** too much And no, i'm not a woman, not to say they aren't good drivers, cuz there are lots who are much better then men! I just choose to read and do more research before posting :P Since i'm new to this club, here's my pics of my new baby. Hope this works and those aren't its plates anymore

Um.. Couldn't get the pic to carry over but.. your spare is in backawards. The tools are to face the rear of the car, likely so they don't become projectiles in the trunk if you brake too quickly. Then again, maybe you knew this

It's very possible that your viscous coupler is shot; if you (or the previous owner) has spun the car, it can break the coupler, or dragstrip style takeoffs (rev it high and drop the clutch) can also cause it to break. If it does, the car reverts to rear wheel drive. The easiest test is to put it on a lift, and spin one of the rear wheels by hand. If the front turns slowly with it, the coupler is okay. If the fronts don't move, the coupler's shot. Lots of people are driving Carrera 4's that are really Carrera 2's, they just don't realize it. Most of the power is going to the rears in dry conditions anyway, so the car really doesn't feel any different. That's assuming the AWD is the same as on the 993, which I believe it is.

front plate's gotta go

i wish i had a C4.... although i am in California.....really don't need it......

Why on earth do you want a heavier, slower, less fun to drive car?

Thanks all for the input. Front plates, required in BC, but those were the old owners. Planning on painting the calipers next week, so i'll give the tire rotation a test when i have the car jacked up.

Here's a pic of my C4S in the snow in Vancouver. You need the rears to start spinning before the frts do anything because it's a viscous coupling based AWD system.

You're right RACER. This was the only pic I have of my trunk and it was made by the previous owner in 05 when I bought it. He probably didn't know about the spare and tools and I don't care because the first thing I did was to remove the whole stuff to get a clear trunk and a lighter car, even with the risk to get stuck somewhere without a spare.

Hey Jury_ca, that was the problem, the rears were spinning, but the fronts didn't seem to get going. But since then, i've tried it again, and it seems to be working now. Maybe the tires did need to get broken in

Can't the center diff burn out if you have the car towed with the rear wheels rolling on the ground, while the fronts are elevated?

Tim to get rid of the pumpkin look and get some clear sidemarkers!