Snow chains or cables for 996 C2?

Going up to some local snow later this winter and want recommendations for what to put on the rear wheels. 17" OEM rims with standard Conti tires. I did manage to take my RS America up to the snow once but had no chains and barely made it out. But the last time I put cables on in the snow was in my wife's RX-7 and in my Alfa GTV6. The cables seemed tidy and didn't slap around and were easy to put on and take off. But they also seemed less sturdy. Your thoughts and experiences please.

The passes and National Parks in the Pacific Northwest require that you carry chains. I have fabric based chain substitutes for my BMW and am thinking about getting some for the rears of my C4S. They are an approved substitute for real chains and I have been told they work well. I put them on the BMW in the driveway and they went on easily. The hope is that they never leave the trunk.

Chains may not fit because they have too much slack and will contact the body. OTOH, if where you are going has specific requirements that say chains must be used, which Schnauzer mentioned, then cables might be out. I have not bought either chains/cables for my Porsches, but bought a set of cables for my Golf TDi because cables were recommended in the owner manual. I bought them (in Grand Junction CO on a drive back east in which I expected to run into heavy weather on I-70 closer to Denver) but never used them. Does your car's owner manual offer anything on chains vs. cables? Added: I found this: http://www.pcarworkshop.com/images/3...1998_64028.pdf Not sure if there is anything newer I didn't look any more. And I have not checked with my dealer's parts department to see if it has anything newer on this subject.

My comments don't directly answer your post but most commenters so far have mentioned that some places require chains be "carried" vs. "used". Most areas in CA that see snow require EITHER chains OR actual snow tires or AWD (the snow tire part is not heavily publicized). On top of that if the snow gets bad enough (in CalTrans's mind) to require chains often they just close the road anyway. Note than CA closes roads for snowfall levels that people in Vermont wouldn't even take their foot off the gas pedal in a 30year old Caprice with bald tires for... I would not PLAN on using chains on my 996 ever and not because I don't want to take the car in snow, I do. Sure, they exist, and yes the car can probably take them but from experiences using chains years ago on other cars there is this: A) Always the potential for them to come off or loose and cause damage to either parts on the inside of the wheel/axle or externally on the body of the car or the rim itself. On a winter beater or the family Minivan who cares, on my pride and joy, I care. 2. Every time I had chains on other cars it seriously upset the ride. With this suspension and these low profile tires I can't imagine planning to drive with chains on even at low speeds, the constant vibration/rattle would not be something I'd want to experience. Dry roads in the summer are bad enough. The only things I would consider is (and have done both): A) a real set of snow tires. You are probably not putting chains on the front tires anyway so have fun steering and stopping with your summer tires if it gets real bad. Put the snows on, drive to the snow, be confident and safe and have a good time. B) If you're only going once or twice and don't want the expense or trouble of dealing with snows, just rent a car. Get a Subaru or small SUV from Enterprise and call it done. Anything AWD with all-seasons satisfies CA's requirements even though it probably shouldn't. You'll still slip and slide a bit depending on what you get but it'll get you there and back in comfort with space for all of your stuff etc. You'll probably spend enough on lift tickets, food, lodging and all the other expenses that the added rental of the car won't be a big deal. And it certainly beats scrabbling around on the slushy ground trying to fit chains or cables.

I would not put either chains or cables on my 996 for at least a couple of reasons. -There is very little clearance between the tires and suspension components and fender/liners. Loose or failing cables or chains can cause immediate damage. -I have also damaged a fender when a cable partially failed and beat up the fender lip before I could stop the car. And if you drive on them long enough, they will fail. If I were forced to drive my Porsche where chains or cables were considered necessary, I would mount the best snow tires available and carry textile chains. I would even mount studded tires if the conditions required it even though I very much dislike them due to the damage they cause to roads. Really, my solution is to take an AWD SUV or a 4WD pickup if these conditions are expected.

Here is what I found regarding chain requirements in CA: http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/roadinfo/ChainRequire.pdf And this is a link to FAQs on this and snow tires: http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/traffops/en...ide/chains.htm If the OP is asking about driving into areas of CA where he expects to encounter snow then these links should answer some of the questions about what is required. It is best to know. I would imagine it would a bit of a disappointment to show up say with summer tires and chains and be turned around because summer tires, even with chains, was not allowed. Please understand I don't know that it is and even if it is allowed I'm not saying I'd venture into snow with summer tires even if I had chains and they were allowed.

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It still befuddles me on peeps that carry loads of lumbar, mount a bike rack, tow a car trailer, go off roading with their road Porsches. I for one prefer to use a hammer to drive nails.

http://www.porsche.com/international...=2013-02-15-01

I can't imagine any quicker way to turn a trip to the snow into a bummer than to put chains on the Porsche.

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Oh I don't know about that. While I wasn't in my Porsche I was in my 2006 GTO and on I-40 in west Oklahoma driving west into the Texas and encountered a real bad ice/snow storm. Traffic slowed way down and I along with many other vehicles moved over into the right lane. It was so slippery that taking my foot off the gas pedal, the resulting braking due to engine compression, was enough to lock the rear tires. (Oh, of course I was on summer/high performance tires.) Many vehicles in the left lane that passed me I could tell had chains on. I would have put on chains if I had them with me. Better to put on chains for the 10 to maybe 50 miles of ice ahead than to shun chains due to some misguided issue about a sports car and snow chains. Fortunately for me I was able to take the last exit after Shamrock and circle back to town on surface roads and get a motel room for the night. The lot was inches deep in snow by this time and in pulling into the parking lot I ran over something buried by the snow. I heard a loud noise and thought I had blown a tire. Turned out someone had dropped a shaving kit in the lot and I ran over the kit and popped the can of shaving cream along with a bottle of aftershave. No harm to the car's tire but the car's exterior smelled like a barbershop for awhile after.

Porsche has long offered chains as a factory part for 911's... Here's a clip from the Porsche 2003 996 Tequipment catalog but they go back much farther than that. That said, I think four dedicated winter/snow tires is a better solution than chains, though not as easy to swap out.

Thanks PFBZ...those are perfect. John

...not sure how easy they will be to find in the states. Might try Gert at Carnewal

Chains can be a necessary evil. Living in the mountains and being a snomobile enthusiast means I need to access forest roads in the winter, this often means fitting chains to the truck. My point being, fitting chains can be a very messy aggravating business on the side (or middle) of the road. You WILL get filthy doing it. Fitting chains just to the rear tires is going to seriously compromise your ability to steer on slippery roads too. Chains are a great tool for getting unstuck or getting somewhere you maybe shouldn't be going until the plow comes through. I pity the fool who fits them to his 911, the rental car sounds like a vastly better solution. I would also go with the fabric covers over actual chains should something go wrong, which happens almost everytime you fit chains. Chains come loose and as mentioned, the damage happens fast. Fabric sock comes loose, probably doesn't hurt a thing except tear up the cover. Yes to proper snow tires, yes to the fabric style chains, no to actual cables or chains. Can you fit them, sure, should you? I wouldn't. I also wouldn't just carry them to appease the authorities, you had better be prepared to fit them on the side of the road should they demand it. Just say no...