996 as a winter car?

I am considering replacing my Lexus and my 993 with a 996 c4. My motivation is to get down to 1 daily driver that is both comfortable (35 mile commute in Chicago traffic), but still fun to drive. The 996 appears to be a good fit, but I have a couple of questions. 1. How does the C4 perform in snow and ice? (I would purchase a separate set of wheels and tires) 2. Is the 996 really fun to drive? I have read all the threads where the 996 is called everything from a luxury car to sterile. I have test driven several 996's and found them to be a blast to drive, but I would appreciate some comments from those of you who have had your 996's for a while and use them as daily drivers. A few pics wouldn't hurt! Thanks...

I just purchased a 996C4 cab so I can't comment on snow and ice, however many on this forum have commented that it handles very well with snow tires. I can't comment on ice, because I have found that 4WD trucks with chains don't get enough traction to be safe enough for me on ice. As far as being fun to drive, that is very subjective. I only had previously owned trucks and a Camry so you can bet that I think it is a blast to drive. If you have found that you enjoy driving it and you have a 993, then you have more sports car experience to compare it to. If you are in a lot of stop-and-go traffic every day for many miles, you may want to consider a tiptronic. I was in bumper to bumper for 40 minutes plus in San Diego with a manual transmission and vowed never to purchase another manual. However, since I moved to the mountains and have almost no traffic, I decided to get a manual and have no regrets. Just food for thought. Good luck!

I also only own my 996 C4 since a few month ago. I did a lot of research, and yes! The C4 with snow tires handles as well (and sometimes better) than AWD SUVs - except for clearance. If there is 1 meter snow - forget it. So I actually look forward to testing it this winter - I plan to use it as daily driver in the winter too.

My 2001 C4 and my 2004 C4S Cab both get lots of winter driving time. I commute 110 miles a day to NYC. Winter tires are a must. I use 17" Dunlop Winter M2's. The car is worthless in the snow without them. I brought my 2004 C4S home from the dealer in Jan. and I couldn't get all the way up my driveway with the summer tires on. I feel safer in my Porsche than I do in my wife's 2004 Lexus RX-330... but I hate that car so maybe it knows it. Rob

I drive my C2 in the Canadians winters with no issues. As long as you have good snows,the C4 vs C2 is soo much better for winter driving, which is hard to imagine because I pull away from 4x4 trucks in snow.

I drive my 996 365 days a year-almost 20k miles a year-in southern wisconsin-with blizzaks-oh yeah-only a c2

I also drive my 996 year round. Snow tires are a must (I use the Blizzak LM-25's). With the proper tires it is a great winter car. As for the ride/handing. Drive and decide. I am former 993 owner also. In comparison to the two, the 996 (in stock form) does not have the aural sensations of the 993. There are not has many mechanical whirling sounds coming from behind and when the throttle is opened up the frenzied sounds of the 993 are not quite there, although the 996 does produce its own type of scream under wide open throttle. However, the 996 has a flatter feeling real world torque curve and power delivery. The car is quicker than the 993 and is less �twitchy� under many circumstances. Which is the better car is very subjective so you will have to drive and compare. While the 996 offers a more comfortable ride than the 993 do not mistake the 996 as a �luxury� car. It may seem that way initially, compared to some older 911s; however, living with it on a daily basis will quickly reveal that it is not a Lexus. Bumps, rough roads and expansion cracks can be felt and heard. That said I find it the perfect car for me as a daily driver. As for sterile, I am not convinced of that either. Yes some of the aural sensations of the 993 are muted and some the ride is somewhat more comfortable, however, it still has excellent feedback through the steering and chassis. It does not have that modern BMW slickness and numbness that I equate with sterile. Compared to the GT3 yes it may be sterile but compared to 95% of the cars on the road. As fun...yes it fun, I smile after every drive. Oh, one other thought maintenance on the 996 is sooooo much easier to perform than on the 993.

Not a fan of those either. but it's funnier hearing it coming from someone who actually owns one.

The thought of sitting at a stoplight, in the winter, in my C4S as some wigger driving a Altima with spinners with "50 Cent" blastin "Get rich or Die Tryin " cd as he slides ever so slo mo into my quarter panel is enough to make me want to spit up.

Good thing you live in Key West then, huh?

C4S cab with snow tires is unbeatable in the winter. The only problem is when the snow on the road is higher than the lip on my front spoiler--which is rare. As far as fun to drive, you must be kidding! I commute 40 miles a day and come home with a smile on my face every time.

Have an '03 C4S. Just ordered snows and wheels and intend to drive it year 'round. Goodbye old Jeep.

This topic comes up regularly. I think the consensus is that with snow tires, and when driving in less than 6" of snow, an AWD 911 is excellent. Check out these previous threads: https://rennlist.com/forums/996-forum/102809-great-winter-porsche-story.html https://rennlist.com/forums/996-forum/147234-c4s-and-snow.html https://rennlist.com/forums/996-forum/155728-winter-tires.html https://rennlist.com/forums/996-forum/181364-omg-drove-my-car-in-the-snow-yesturday.html

My C4 saw 3 Boston winters and more snow than you could believe! They're amazing with snow tires on them. I used 18" Dunlop Winter Sport M2's. To give you an idea of the conditions I drove my car in, see the pic below.

Look at my avitar! Taken in February in Northern Vermont, after a storm. MUST get 17's and winter tires, but but beyond that, you are golden. That said, your sunk if the snow is deaper than 5 inchs or so.

riad....come storm season I head up north in search of the purrrfect twisties for the P- car and the S -bike.

If you drive safe then you have no more or less to be worried about than driving any other car. This will be my 5th winter with 911's without incident. I'm just more aware of my surroundings, if something should happen, then it happens. Drive, enjoy, and feel lucky to be one of the few people in the world able to own these incredible cars. Rob

I live in Sweden and winters here can also be tough. Winter tires is compulsory. I had my first winter with the 996 last year. I was surprised how secure I felt behind the wheel. With PSM, there is nothing to worry about, except ground clearance. Body is galvanised and there are no signs of rust on the cars of friends who also drive theirs in the winter. The only thing that I am not too fond about is that they put sand and/or gravel on the roads when it is too cold for salt to work. This can be projected on your car. Just drive longer behind the car that precedes you. The 996 is truly an allyear round car.

What's a wigger?

Pick up the May 2005 issue of Total911 (sold out but can be purchased from them in PDF at www.total911.com ) and look up a story titled "Snow Patrol" (sorry, shameless plug for the magazine and my article). You will not regret using a 996 in the winter (properly equipped, of course).

What's the scoop with 17 inches Vs the regular 18 ? Is it that you can get narrower snow tires on the 17 (which is more favorable than wide ones) ?

Alon...........You in the 996 forum? jk I'll see you friday night..... 9ish??

RLandis...picture a male between the ages of 16 and 45, wearing his extremely baggy jeans down below his buttocks while exposing his boxer shorts, baseball cap visor at right angles to his dew raged head, with optioinal corn rows. one or more visible gold or jewel encrusted teeth. Large 7-12lb neck chain displaying dollar sign. Favorite quote envolves "bustin a cap or bitch slap'n his ho." And before he changed his name to" DeAndre" it was something like" Todd Wolenakowski III."

Cause I bought one today

That's awesome TCR! Post pics when you get a chance.

PICS!!! (Post them in a separate "I got myself a p-car" thread) ;-)

Does this answer your question? I come from the "I bought it, I'm going to drive it" school of thought. These were taken with my camera phone last winter. I've also got three little videos of me driving with snow flying over the car if someone can help me figure out how to post them.

I used my 996 Targa All Winter Long (Providing the Snow was not higher than 5" - With Snows it is not a problem.

With the AWD of the C4, I wouldn't monkey around with different tire sizes than stock. The system is designed to work with specific sizes. Most people don't use the same rims since taking the tires off and on multiple times isn't good for themm though I never had any problems. I'm not sure why you'd go with a 17 instead of an 18 except to protect the rims more by having a higher sidewall. It's harder to prevent damage to your rims when you can't see the road as well.

17� wheels were the factory standard equipment on the C4 (narrow body not C4S). They should not cause any problems at all with the awd system. In general and under most driving condition, the narrower tires on 17� wheel work better in snow than the wider 18� tires. The reason is the narrower tires does not have as much resistance to cut and/or plow through as snow as the wider tire. Less resistance makes it easier to move through the snow. Additionally, the narrower tire allows for tread lugs (with the sipes) to dig down to the road below to gain traction better than the wider tire which is more likely to �float� on the snow (especially the deeper it gets). Works similar to knife�it is better to cut through something using the narrow edge vs. wide. Of course these benefits are seen the deeper the snow gets. Any width of dedicated winter compound is going work on light dustings, but the deeper the snow the better the narrower tire performs. Does this mean the 18� are horrible? No not at all. However, on a car in which 17� were standard equipment the preferential wheel/tire combo in snow is the 17�.

I'm well aware of the advantages of a narrower tire in snow. 17" wheels shouldn't cause any issues with the AWD system as long as you get tires that are the correct factory widths for a 17" wheel. I wouldn't monkey around with different tire sizes than stock on a C4 or C4S.

Yeah, the snow tires for 17 inch wheels are a little narrower than those for 18 inch wheels. My C4S' owner's manual, which also covers C2s and C4s, lists the difference as 255 for the 17s and 265 for the 18s. Another benefit of buying the 17s is that both the wheels and tires are cheaper. I would have saved something like $50 per tire and $50 per wheel (approx. $400) had I purchased the 17s. The problem was that Tirerack told me that 17s would not fit on a C4S. They were wrong, however, as at least one of the other Rennlisters was able to put 17s on a C4S by using the proper spacers (btw I had to use wheel spacers for the 18s also). I should have called Wheelenhancement.com (as other Rennlisters have), they really know what fits Porsches if you need fitment help.

The reason for preferring 17" over 18" wheels is obvious when given the information that narrower is better in the snow. The factory sizes that came on the 99-01 C4 are: 205/50-17 front 255/40-17 rear and 225/40-18 front 265/35-18 rear BTW Fishman makes a good point. Wheel Enhancement is much more knowledgable about offsets and fit issues as they relate to the various Porsche. Tire Rack is great for tires but they lack some knowledge when it comes to the nuances of the offsets of wheels when comparing something like a C4 and a C4S.