My 996 and the snowy commute this morning

Well I woke up this morning to 4-5 inches of snow on the ground. Now for those in some parts of the country that is nothing, however, in Southern Indiana that amount of snow is something. One factor is the area really doesn�t know how to prepare and/or maintain the roads during these conditions and secondly the drivers really have no clue what they are doing. Having lived in the northern part of the state for many years (ever hear of lake effect snow?) snow really doesn�t bother me. However, this is the first year I have decided to drive the p-car all year. I put on Bridgestone Blizzak LM-25 last night on my c2 with PSM. The drive to work was completely uneventful. The car handled wonderfully. The combination of rear weight bias on a rear wheel drive car with winter tires resulted in virtually no tire spin when accelerating from a stop with the proper amount of throttle. If too much throttle is applied the PSM takes care of things. The weight bias does offer some disadvantages while turning but when utilizing the proper snow driving techniques there really wasn�t any problems. My biggest complaint was the wipers. The snow was really coming down and the it kept accumulating on the wipers and causing them to not clear the windshield properly. I had to stop and �bang� the ice accumulations off them for them to perform well. I experimented a little with PSM to see how it reacts. Stabs at that throttle while driving in a straight line resulted in just a ever so slight wiggle of the rear with PSM stopping it before any slide is induced, then basically shooting the car forward. The yaw sensing on PSM is good, but not nearly as intrusive as DSC in my wife�s BMW, in that while taking a corner to quickly and using to much throttle will result in a slight �swing� of the rear end, however, PSM will cut the throttle input before allowing for a complete spin and with a little corrective steering you can easily �catch� the car sort of rally drive it around a corner. Conversely, DSC on the BMW will cut the throttle much more quickly and will not allow much swing at all. The DSC is probably a better system for winter driving especially for inexperienced drivers, however, the intrusive nature of the system limits the ability to use the throttle to get out of the way of things for those with the ability to correct steer a slide. It is fairly evident that PSM is really intended as an aid for higher performance driving in that it will just catch you from doing something really stupid, while the DSC of BMW is really intended to make the rear wheel drive BMW behave in a much more subdued manner without any driver input. I look forward to seeing how the car handles without the PSM engaged also. The Bridgestone�s performed very well. It would like to go home and take the BMW out to try and compare the Dunlop M2�s that it has on it under the same conditions. I really liked watching the SUV�s spinning their tires while trying to take off from stops while my Porsche exhibited virtually no spin. People in this part of the country really don�t understand how important the proper tires are for the conditions and the need for a light touch to the throttle. Over all I was very pleased with the C2�s performance and handling the snow. It is a very capable snow car and I really don�t have any reservations about taking out in these conditions. The only limiting condition I can see is the ground clearance, however, I still think the car more than capable under all but the most severe conditions. The snow continues to fall and we are suppose to have an accumulation of 9 inches by 5:00 o�clock, so I will get to see how the performs with deeper snow, however, I don�t anticipate any problems.

Welcome to the winter Pcar driving club! While I'm not a 996 owner, our cars behave very similarly in winter conditions. Weight over the rear wheels allows me to take off (almost) like any other day. Neutral handling allows me to cruise down the road w/o fear of "spontaneous sliding". Cool. I don't have PSM, but the more rudimentary TC, but it behaves similarly. I think I remember Porsche intentionally made their TC/PSM a little "slower" to react to allow the sports cars to maintain a more sporting feel/driving style. The back end of my Boxster will kick out noticably before TC kicks on. On the one hand, I like it that was because I know when I'm reaching my true limits. On the other hand, when I start to feel it go, I'm expecting it to do a little slide that I can catch... ZAP! ..TC kicks on just before I'm about to react. It almost feels a little disruptive. But I'll take the safety (and I can always turn it off!) Deepest snow experience was about 6" of unpaved powder. No real problems to speak of. Never got stuck. Did a fair amount of bob-and-weave as I drove over unplowed "ruts" in the snow...but kept on truckin'. FYI I'm running Dunlop Wintersport M3s. I don't really have anything to compare them to...but I love 'em.

Brian, I'm on the North side of Indy, and still no snow! I'm sure it's coming, though. Anyway, your comments hit home with me. I don't drive my 996 in the snow, but I have a couple of BMW's that I drive in winter, and you're right on about the differences between DSC and PSM--DSC takes all the fun away! I often turn off the DSC when there's no one or no thing around to run into, and practice skid and spin recovery. You're also right that people around here don't understand the importance of proper winter tires. They're far more important than the type of vehicle, or which wheels are driving the car. Andy

I have the M2's on my C4S. I have only taken out for one short spin in the snow so far - and it was pretty light snow at that - but the car handled great... Paul Frere had the following to say about the PSM in his book Porsche 911 Story. "Many sports car drivers like to control their car as much as possible themselves and often like to deliberately create an oversteering situation. Porsche has chosen to tune the PSM so as to give such drivers a fair margin to exercise their skills, before the PSM intervenes to help."

Doug or Julie Great picture. I need to take one like that tonight when I get home.

You are much braver than I am. I have a c4 and if it lands in the snow, it is by accident. At 50K miles, mine is far from a garage queen but when it snows, the car stays at home. Not worth the personal risk (yes I know, "they are great in the snow.") and when I head out in the SUV, I know what I am dealing with. M

You guys call that snow?????? I live in Canada WE GET SNOW. and Oh my point is the P-cars are great in snow!

There was about 9 inches when I went home. They are calling for about 15 inches in the morning. The more I drove the car the more I appreciate what it can do (with the right tires of course). Here are some pictures...

Brian: I'm glad you made it home in one piece. Unlike this other poor dude who wasn't as lucky or as prepared as you were. http://www.wreckedexotics.com/newpho...1108_001.shtml

I've got M2s on my car, but I don't have PSM. If it snows heavily I'll take the wife's Range Rover; however, if I get caught in a small storm I think I'll be ok.

bet, you're killing me! I put my 996 C4 into storage again this year with some hesitation. It's far enough down the depreciation curve that winter driving wouldn't be such an issue any more. Now I'm kicking myself. We just got a nice bit of snow here in TO and you're talking about how much fun it is to play in your Pcar. I won't make this mistake again. My little WRX is a blast in the snow but its no C4. JD

Good on you guys. I wish I had the *****. Mine's locked up now until winter's over.......hmmm is that possible in the UK?

We got some flurries today.

Thanks to snow followed by freezing rain and sub-zero temperatures, my driveway is now a 90 foot long ice slope. I think that I'll leave Precious parked in the garage, nice and safe from the idiots on our roads.

Just be sure to keep those brake lights clean! We don't want to give "the other guy" ANY excuse to hit you! Truthfully, my winter driving in the Pcar is more out of necessity...my Boxster is my only running car. If I had my options, I'd have another Subaru for winter. But the Boxster would still get plenty of exorcise even then!