Snow Beast!

I just read a long post on Mastiffdog's 911 997TT vs. C6 Z06 and it got me thinking. As much as I love my Porsche and try to keep it nice, I drive the snot out of it. I don't beat it up, still park away from cars when I can, and keep it clean and pretty. But I drive it almost every day as my Daily Driver. In Colorado (in the sun, the rain, the howling snow). I have previously owned the C5 Vette Convertible, but I couldn't drive it in the winter weather. I picked the Porsche because it could do it all. It's even MORE fun when the weather is bad! I realize the Corvette is a better "bang for the buck" in performance, but what car can compare to a Porsche 911 AWD when those tropical paradise roads suddenly are covered in two feet of snow with a cross wind. The look on SUV drivers faces when you drive by is priceless! Not knocking the Vette (like I said, I had one, it's a great car), but I know my "Snow Beast" has gone through the worst our winters can throw at it, then convert to a full on canyon carver with Summer tires when the summer comes. Thanks for bearing with me, this is sort of a "reverse rant". This car is awesome!

Woo hoo! Sample size of one!

Nope - there's my one vote (category 4) above!! But that's all going to change.

Daily - and why the hell not. She was born in Germany. A land of snow and ice... Don't forget folks. Ferdinand Porsche designed the VW Beetle. One of the best snow cars on the planet back then. C.

Daily driver. My everyday reward for working hard. Stefan

Daily Driver! Now, if I just had some place to drive to.....!

Used to be my sole daily driver but I picked up an LX450 for bad days.

Daily driver. Although I do drive my tundra on bad days. More for concern about the "other guy" than concern about my car or driving skills. I've had my Porsche since May 1st, and have put 14,000 miles on it! It's at 73,000 now.

Drove 55 miles into NYC today...where supposed to have 6" of snow so I'm going to try to bolt out of here around 3pm.

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*****!!!

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That's a new definition of the word "bolt." "Crawl" might be better. Hope your left leg doesn't get too tired.

No category for frequent/regular driver. My office is close to home & no protected parking. I'll drive my Ford Ranger for a short trip just to sit outside. But that doesn't mean the 996 won't be driven the same day or to a client's office.

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I'm wearing a pink shirt too I'm bolting... the car? Not so much.

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BWAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

She gets driven once a week usually... depending on weather... It also matters whether or not I have an appointement outside the office with a client... most of our clients would view our "proposals" differently if they saw me pull up in the p-car.... So for the most part she's gets driven less than 5,000 miles per year... even with the track miles... My daily driver is my tow vehicle unfortunately.....

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Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Left around 4pm for the 55 mile trek through freezing rain and snow and all I can say is that a 996 C4S with Pirelli 240 Snow's = awesome!! God, I love this car.

I had to travel from Rockland (just north of NYC) today to Albany and back home again...about 150 miles each way. if you don't know, we got hit with some snow today. My first real outing with my C4S with snows. I am floored at the performance. By far the best car I've ever driven in the snow. Thankfully, while the roads were fully covered all day both ways, it never really got higher than a few inches at a time. i saw 3 cars go off the road, and one slam into a center guide rail....not to mention dozens of cars already spun out and off the road. i took it easy...but never once lost control of the car. It's capabilities far surpassed my expectations and i was moving along beautifully. i got tons of looks as I drove by 4x4's. Easy rule....just take it easy....leave plenty of distance in front of you...and it will all be good. No heavy accelerating. Was a breeze. Goddam....i love this car (Edit...Riad...i made this comment before i read your post....same wavelength there!). J

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I envy you and Riad. I don't think I'm driving again until Spring:

If it's REALLY messy, I drive the Highlander . . . Otherwise it's a daily driver! (C4S with Blizzaks for winter) Only shock I had was adding oil--what's all this yellow foam! Made a few short trips and condensation built up, but my first thought was coolant . . . Thanks for the Search button

I wish it would snow here!!! I do love the few rainy days though.

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Oh stop it, you're depressing me. It's bad enough that I have to look at the lump under the cover in my own garage without looking at yours! I put the trickle charger on last night. It's so depressing.

Drove into the city again this morning... it's just evil how sure footed the car is. And I love people looking at me as if I were mad for driving a 911 in the snow, I bet that's until they see it move

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You forgot to type "God I love this car!"

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Glad you're enjoying the snow! I just came back in a few inches of it with ice underneath, great fun! (I know, I am twisted also). I never imagined the car would perform so well in the bad stuff. Glad to see I'm not the only one...

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Riad and others, do you have experience with other modern cars to compare it with? Is the Porsche that much better? Don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking the 996, and I'm sure it does great in the snow.. I'm just wondering if it's the Porsche in particular, or just more modern cars with computer controlled all wheel drive and active stability management control of various types.. The reason I ask is that, while I haven't taken the Porsche out in the snow, I had to drive my wife's 530 BMW (AWD) home a few miles in fresh snow the other night.. It was late at night, and there was no one on the streets, so I was playing a bit.. And it seems like modern cars are so freakin stable you've almost got to be an idiot to break 'em loose.. nothing like the old Plymouth I had in high school, where you just breathed wrong and your were in a skid (although that was fun, too ) -- the combination of computer controlled AWD, and anti-lock breaks, makes modern cars almost (note I said "almost") idiot proof.. So which is it? The Porsche in particular, or more modern AWD systems in general? - Nick P.S. The blizzaks on the BMW probably help, too..

Nick, We also have a 2004 Lexus RX-330 with Pirelli Snow tires. I would much rather be in the Porsche, it's much more predictable... Rob

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Hmm.. interesting.. maybe we're just lucky in that we've got two really good snow cars now.. In Colorado, especially when you like to ski, this is a good thing! - Nick

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The only limitations with the 996 is ground clearance... so if there's more than 4-5" I wont take it. Time for a Cayenne?

Nick....we had a subaru forester...and that car was fantastic as well. But i never had "snow" tires on that...just the stock all seasons. So, that's my main comparison. The Porsche does seem very easy to control. and the PSM coupled with AWD is unbeatable....IMO. But I've never driven a wrangler in the snow....that's gotta be great too I'd think. Is my 4 the best in the snow...of course not, mainly b/c of the clearance. But it's very easy to negotiate and I feel very in control compared to others. I also had a 3 series which was AWFUL in any snow, but the XI was not too much better with stock tires. I've had saabs, an audi for a while, ford probe....all front wheel drive or AWD's....this car is just sick in the snow. It will keep up with any other car on the road if not do better, so long as accumulation is less than half a foot....which in most areas never gets that high with plows. i'm basing this on over 300 miles in one day in a nasty snowy, icy, slushy storm yesterday. Roads were never fully clear once, and cars all over the place....crazy scene. The looks at the gas station and rest stops were priceless. I had one girl come up and ask me how I'm gonna move the car.....very funny stuff. It just goes without issue...at least thus far. J

My wife has a Forester XT and insisted we take it for a three day trip to Beaver Creek (up in the Mountains). I've noticed that with the Subi's big All Season snow biased tires it sticks like glue. So does the Porsche. I notice the difference mainly in acceleration and if the road is good enough to have speeds where a higher center of gravity makes a difference. I worked (briefly) as a Dispatcher for CSP in the Mountains. We had a lot of SUV crashes and roll overs, while the AWD Sports cars always seemed to fly by me during the blizzards. AWD Cars or crossover SUVs with the lower COG probably could come close to our cars, but I think the AWD Sports Cars still will edge them out in preformance. That's been my experience. Any thoughts??

Freedom! I dug out my p-car and got out for a 20 minute highway run to keep everything working. It was funny how the SUV-driving Back Bay moms wanted me to get out of their way in the narrow alleys. I'm basically driving a toboggan, and they're in Jeeps that could drive up a flight of stairs, but they want me to move. Sheesh.

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My car has no assists at all, and it's still fantastic. My theory is that there are basically two things at work: Weight over the drive wheels, and that magical rear suspension that seems to keep the tires planted no matter what. It's better than our FWD, traction control-assisted Mini, actually.