Hey, northerners: Part time winter use?

Just wondering if anyone uses their Porsche like this, or if I'm out of my mind: I've had a '00 C2 for about three months. It replaces a roadster that I always stored in the winter. The P-car came on a fresh set of SO3s. I've got a couple of other vehicles to use when the roads are sloppy here in Toronto - both on snow tires - but rather than store the C2, I thought I'd leave it in service and drive it when the roads are dry. I'm well aware that the tires will have a lot less grip in the cold, but for commuting I think I can finesse that. Anybody else use their cars that way? I just can't make sense of the cost of four winter tires when I have a perfectly good Mini Cooper with winter tires and my trusty Rover with the same. Stupid plan?

Live in Northern Ohio, I have done exactly what you propose with various Porsches since 1994. Drive then when I can (roads dry) in the winter time, take it a little easy given the cold, hard tires. I do overinflate the tires to prevent flat spotting while the car sits in the garage. I find I can get the car out several days each month and keep the fluids moving, and the battery charged, it works for me...good luck.

I drive my 996TT with summer tires year 'round in Chicago. Snow and all. It drives fine. Granted it's AWD, but I have driven all of my toys year 'round in Chicago including Corvettes, etc. The only time I have problems is when it snows more than 4-5 inches as the car is too low to the ground. When I know it will snow a lot I head over to Enterprise Rent a car and get the $30/day special for a day or 2. Good luck. Adam

I use Perilli Winter sports "18 last year, with no problems, providing the snow is not over 5" with PSM the handling is great, better than most would think. As a test I had my summers on last year during a light snow storm, I could not get up my driveway, I mounted the Winter Sports and Up I went. :-) If it is really bad, I simply hop into the Rover and Off we go !

That's what I do here in MA. I figure it's better to keep it running once in a while than to keep it off the road for 3 months.

I also live in Chicago, and it seems that when it snows, the roads usually get cleared right away. So, usually, the road is not snow covered, but iinstead, usually wet. Which makes me think that I don't need snow tires, per se, but that I need performance tires for wet/dry. I've never had snow tires and I have driven many different cars in light, moderate and deep snow, only to find out that, although snow tires might make a big difference, they don't seem necessary... But Car & Driver, as well as many other car mag nuts, continue to say that snow tires in the midwest are a must. So I want to know "what gives" and why the constant preaching about snow tires...

i live in NJ. try to drive my car in the winter when the road is clear, no snow, not wet, no solt. i don't have winter tires, and i just drive it slowly. nothing bad happens.

"But Car & Driver, as well as many other car mag nuts, continue to say that snow tires in the midwest are a must. So I want to know "what gives" and why the constant preaching about snow tires..." I think I can answer that one: Back in the day, snow tires were distinguished only by their tread. Today, they're also distinguished by fancy rubber compounds that remain supple and sticky when they're cold and some that even 'stick' to ice. By contrast, performance rubber becomes quite abruptly hard as a hockey puck when the temperature approaches freezing (I read somewhere that my SO3s, for example, experience this change at about 5 degrees celcius). So, someone like Car and Driver is going to assume aggressive driving on the part of their readers. And I can tell you from experience that driving performance tires aggressively in sub-zero weather, even on dry pavement, is a bit too exciting (don't ask). In deciding to drive my C2 in the cold, I'm just assuming I'm going to have to calm down versus the way I might drive in the summer. ; )

exactly, i am not looking into max. the performance when driving in the winter; heck, i can't even do that in the summer; i merely want to give a the car a good run once a while to keep all seal nice and tight.

Well, I drive my car, let's say, just a little harder, but still don't need maximum performance. So will a good set of all-seasons still perform well for me? I know, I know, call up the TireRack.com and ask them...which I will do...

Four season tires are called four seasons because they're mediocre in four season. I was amazed how quiet my winter tires are. The tread AND the compound makes buying them a no-brainer. When you think of it the cost is not really an issue as when your summer tires are in the garage they're not getting worn out. Lastly, the idea of keeping summer tires and using the car on snow less days is great as long as you trust the weather guy (or gal). Two years ago there was an unannounced snow dump and I was 45 minutes (by highway) away from home with no chance of getting a taxi ride...took me three hours to get home and had a few close calls...got winter booths the week after.....my 2 cents...