Why do you put your car away in winter?

For us Northerners, winterizing and waiting is a fact of life what I want to know is why don't we drive them? Stone chips? Sodium phobia? As for me, I'll drive mine until I can't get into the neighborhood. Calgary doesn't normally have severe winters from a snowfall perspective and so the side streets dont' get plowed. I simply can't get to my house. Others?

Hi neighbour. You never know what to expect with winters in this part of the world. Although I'm not putting winter tires on mine, I will have it "ready to go" on those clear and dry days. This topic has been discussed many times and there is no reason why these things can't be driven year round. The only issue I can see is the lack of ground clearence on those day with a big snowfall.

My car is my 'Sunday' nice weather car. It doesn't even see the rain let alone winter!

I've got a Cab so I put on the hardtop and wait for the nice days (also when I can get out of my street!!). My big deal is avoiding the stupid rocks they spread on the road.

Quotes source post: 8034582

+100!

Do they still use stones on the roads in winter out in Calgary?

Too much gravel on the roads out here in Nebraska. Plus I don't think -20 degrees is good for her either.

i dont because i dont want rock chip or that crap they put on the roads or the fact that ppl around here cant drive in in-climate weather.

The roads turn to crap, people drive like morons and it just takes the fun out of it.

Quotes source post: 8034766

Yes, unfortunately they still do. Rock chips are inevitable and then in the spring it seems to take forever for them to be removed. I really have to pay attention when I take the motorcycles out. How long have you been away???

Oh but a set of snows and you will leave the SUV's in your wake.

Unfortunately winters here are 6 months long ...

This will be my third winter NOT putting my Porsche away, but using it once or more every week with 4 snows mounted.

Quotes source post: 8034920

When Gretzky still played for the Oilers.... wait......when Gretzky FIRST started playing for the Oilers... I remember as a kid piling the pea gravel into dams on the side of the road in front of my house.... I lived in Lake Bonavista..... Who knows what the neighborhood is like now. But I do remember sitting in front of the TV watching Benny the Bear and CHIPS and thinking.... "Damn I need to move down there where those cops are.....it's fricken warm down there."

C4S + narrow rears + NJ + climate change = 12 month driving surfer161

My car is a veritable snow-mobile! I love it in the winter. After next weekend's track event, I'm going to put the snow tires on.

I don't. I dont drive it as often but it never get put on mothballs

Yeah, rocks out here are my biggest worry....It's actually kind of ridiculous...thanks for the replies guys!

I'm driving mine all winter!

Quotes source post: 8035711

The front of my car is peppered from chasing guys on the fun runs around here. It is what it is. It's not a painting it's a car, enjoy it, get a bunch of chips then respray....

I drive it, sparingly, all winter. Unless there is salt and wet snow on the road, then I wait for the road to clear and keep the car in the garage. But there are plenty of nice, cold, sunny days in the winter that are great for driving. If you don't drive it all winter, and don't drive it in the rain, you limit your enjoyment of driving a Porsche!

if its snow drive it!! if sushy mush mixed with sand... wait a day or two... stay WELL back of the car in front of you rock chips are real (esp for black paint) who said "becisde I dont think its good for her <thinks> yea, those Germans designed a car that can't be driven in cold weather.... typical of them **** on it, I was going to post a pic, but I am over on my storage??? I deleted over 500 pics (some really "good ones" too ) and now am down from 30 pages to ony 5.... still no room to upload????? I wont delete the ones I left as most are DIY write ups....dont know when we lost our storage space for pics,

Ed, Did you try to log out, and then back in?

I'm driving mine all winter. Just got a set of wheels and snows. Mounting them next weekend. I didn't wait three years to buy a DD so that I could only drive it for 7 months out of the year. I expect that there will be rock chips. I was going to put a clear bra on to protect the nose, but ran out of money this fall. Then again, what the hell? It's only a car. My wrench said that the winter takes a toll on the car, the coils, the distributor, the exhaust (but it's stainless) and just about anything that is under the car. He said that I'll pay for it in greater maintenance over the years. OK, I get it, but what about the fun quotient over the years. That's my payback. I'll spend another $1000 a year to be able to drive it in the winter. Now, if I had a "special" model - maybe I'd garage it. But mine is a "standard" 2004 Targa. Nice car, but certainly no garage queen. And I remember winters in Nebraska. The biggest problem was the freeze thaw cycle. They never really plowed the streets, they just moved the slush around so it would melt. And then it froze - iced streets. A bit treacherous. larry

Most of us seem to go till we 'can't'. Ed - you're right on, don't get crazy (slushy etc.) and use common sense - stay back but still, let's drive 'em! Ground clearance is ultimately my enemy. There will come a time I just can't get out of the subdivision....

I drive mine less in the winter but she definitely stays in the rotation. It is, after all, just a car....but a fun one

Quotes source post: 8036528

yup... I deleted over 500 really nice photos and still am in the red... I have 80 attachments....I guess they want us to host our own pictures after paying for a membership - I wont be re-newing this year so anything that's left when I vacate will be fair game for them to decide "worth"

I made sure tha the car I bought already had a chipped windshield and chips in the paint. Got me a better deal on a car with only 34K miles, and it helped me through the recent Acorn season. That's right, Acorns! Hundreds of them falling from the trees along the street to my work. They make the loudest sound when they hit anywhere on the car, sounded and looked like a classic Hitchcock movie. The aftermath looks like bird droppings. But, I do live in Achtung's neck of the woods here and in Portland they use stones on the roads whenever they see three snow flakes having a meeting. Honestly, in Oregon they still haven't discovered sand. I finally gave up having windshields replaced on my other cars because within a week the new one would have lovely stars in it. I will keep driving in the winter, but will wait a couple weeks after each time they 'stone' the road. I think the worst part is that the rain mixing with the brake dust makes a mess that is a pain to keep cleaning off the wheels. Any advice on dealing with break dust mud would be appreciated.

I'm driving mine all winter, like usual. I bought the car to enjoy driving, not because I needed something to look at in the garage. It's going to get some rock chips and probably see some salt. I'm OK with that. You guys with the garage queens, remember to take real good care of these things. When I wear this 911 out, I'm gonna need a new one.

My P-car gets driven 12 months, just like her designers intended.

No need to. I put winter tires on my original wheels and it is fine but the license plate has happened to fall off becuase of the snow plough effect with the snow getting trapped behind it and forcing it off in really deep snow. My backing plate is cracked where it screws in so it isn't being held in by anything to substantial. I have clear bra on my front bumper, I don't get and chips even on salt/sanded roads now but my windshield has been sandblasted and could use a new perfect one.

I don't even change to a winter set up anymore, It's a car enjoy it.

Quotes source post: 8038634

[Image-only post; no author-written text. Original image references:] https://rennlist.com/forums/graemlins/roflmao.gif

Buncha drivers here, huh?

Why do we have heated seats and all wheel drive for?

Quotes source post: 8044795

To improve dealership profit margins and increase resale value?

Last time I drove my 2000 996 in the winter, we had an ice storm in Northern VA (DC Metro). Heading down a 4 lane, saw headlights pointing at me in the right lane. Winter in my 2000 911: With my 2002 996, I have too much money invested to have someone crash into me. This summer someone bumped into me sitting at a red light. I just park it, do some maintenance and wait for the thaw. MY 2002 911 will wait out the winter like last year when I did the LN Engineering IMS upgrade.

I have started a Thanksgiving tradition at my place: Eat some turkey, hard top goes on, 18's come off, 17' w/ Blizzaks go on. Bring the winter on! Drive it everyday.

The other day I was looking at a 997, must have been driven last winter break calipers where shot, rims were a mess.

I don't put mine away for the winter. Drive it year around. I have been driving Porsche's for 37 years and everyone of them has been driven year round.

Quotes source post: 8046410

?????? that's not a very good way to gain weight, you should sleep after a big meal work on your car, boy, the nerve of these Porsche guys!!

I bought mine thinking i would drive all winter with four snow tires and a ski rack... My crazy mechanic logically explained the would be great in the snow, and shouldnt have too many porblems other than heavy snow falls... The only problem is the amount of salt they put on the roads in Montreal, causing many corrosion related problems with fittings and coils under the car. Also taking the car in and out of a heated garage accelrates the effects of the salt as the car comes in from the cold the salt attacks with a vengence. If i lived in an area without mega salted roads, i would drive it for sure...

I drove in our first significant snowfall today. It wasn't really anything major - just a couple of inches - but it was snow! The C4S performed well, as always.

I am driving my C4S all winter. Snow tires, narrow rear rims, All-Weather mats... and a folding shovel in the boot! It'll be a blast, I can't wait.

Quotes source post: 8049204

In Calgary, we don't salt, we just gravel! So I've got the 3M on my car...

I don't drive mine in the winter but I do take the cover off on a regular basis to look at it. Does that count?

Nope, that does not count!!

Quotes source post: 8050202

Cheeky bugger. I'll let it count as long as you fantasize racing down the road when the weather breaks then do so in reality. The cars do have galvanizing on the bodies which is way better than anything else sold on the market. Is Porsche the only maker galvanizing their bodies? Then there is the cosmolin at least on the engine. I previosly posted last year a cosmoline aeosol link so guys can increase protection. I'll try again. http://www.schafco.com/cosmoline.asp http://mil-specproducts.com/productP...showEquiv=true http://www.steelerectortools.com/cat...66/6234586.htm These are all the aerosol variety. I would pull the wheels and do triple applications in the directions of road sprays on the springs and such. You can always use rubber gloves with a rag and paint brush to apply thinned cosmoline grease. Don't forget to use a particle mask if aerosol is your choice. Back to the lunacy of things. Living in Hawaii we have more rust than other places due to salt spray and mist all year round. I don't park my car all year round.

I've got 115k miles on an '03 Infiniti. There's no rust or corrosion under it. My '99 Porsche has 55k miles on it, and there's also no rust or corrosion under it. I'm not sure what you guys think will happen if you drive your cars in the winter, but both of these cars have been driven every winter and it's simply not been a problem.

Coffee doesn't compare to my predawn commute on snowy/icy roads with the PSM off!!! I'm giddy just thinking of it. Can't wait. Just put on the snows on the turbo last night only for my wife to steal it for a weekend get-away to the Green Mountains. Not a lick of rust on the car after many salty winters here in the northeast. I can't say the same for the Porsche ski rack! The posts on the damn thing have nearly melted. Porsche dealer won't do a thing about it.

Winter? What's that?

She's my DD in Chicago. C4S plus snow shoes means you can rock all year long. Haven't gotten them on yet, but soon the snow will fly and the fun will commence!

Cleveland winters suck. In the end, the V10 Touareg is just plain easier to drive.

Winter in SoCal means more driving with the roof of the cab open, 'cause the weather is even better than the summer! Have to put it up occasionally if it rains, but the fun continues year-round . . . . (I also lived in Calgary and Ontario, so I know how painful it is for Northerners to read stuff like like this. Driving in the snow is a ton of fun, just not commuting daily through the slop for four to six months.)

Audi A6 > 996 C2 for winter driving..

Quotes source post: 8053847

I'm with you man. I've had the -15 days and 150+ days but lavish in paradise for now.

I put mine away then took it out again yesterday These are my "for sale photos" (makes me not want to sell it!). 65 outside. It was 72 today. I might go to Palomar tomorrow again too. The air was so clear you could see the coast all the way up to Rancho Palos Verdes.... Maybe we should set up another wine tour.... I know it's poor form to gloat but I did the -40 winters for a long time...