Driving on icy roads

Have to say, had to drive home today after it had rained/hailed/snowed for about a total of 1" of accumulation. Going downhill, the anti lock brakes started to engage so I let off the gas, brake, everything and slowed until I came to a stop. Continued home, the road was flat and straight at that point. Slowing up for a red light, took the foot off the pedal so I could coast to a stop and the rear end kicked around on me so I was perpendicular to traffic, (note, no cars were coming so I didn't get t-boned). Had the final small hill to go down to get to my house and the thing handled like a sled. Even tying to nurse it down the hill, creeping along as slowly as I could, I would pull off the brake a bit and the car would just start to slide sideways. Finally left the car parked in the street about 100 feet from my home and went back later when the snow had melted to pull it into the driveway. Close one...more than a few times today.

Porsche does make chains specifically for our cars. Might be a great investment.

Glad to hear you and others on the road were fine. Proper tires are much cheaper than body work. Just drove mine at 10000 feet with blowing snow and ice. Had my blizzaks and the car behaved like a mountain goat.

Which ones do you use? There seem to be 4 different Blizzaks.

Had them all on different cars. Blizzaks are not my favorites actually. These l22s were so cheap and came with wheels so I have to use and get through them. My favorites are nokian wr. Also heard vredestein (sp?) are supposed to be great. I had great experience with Michelin x ice on my previous mini cooper. Tires make all the difference in snow and ice when it comes to safety and not which wheels are driven. Had a boxster with a ski rack and nokian before the Carrera. Got some odd looks up in ski country in a boxster. Hope you find a set you will like.

Any dedicated winter tire is going to be light years ahead of a summer performance tire in those conditions. The differences between 'favorite' winter tires are minor in comparison. Even on dry roads in the winter, the rubber compounds of dedicated winter tires stay softer and grippier when it's cold.

It would be interesting to know if the car is C2 or C4. I have a 99 C2 and last year (not on snow tires) the rear end slowly decided it wanted to go first and did so at an unbelievable 30MPH on a slight up hill, slightest of right curving, slightly cambered on ramp. No more than a quarter inch of freshly fallen unsalted pebbly style snow was freshly on the surface of the road. Needless to say the car very slowly slipped from the road, **** end first, into a barrier. I had all the time in the world as I tried to drive into the skid under slight acceleration and drag it out but to no avail. After that episode I decided NEVER to drive my C2 in ice or snow EVER again winter or summer tires. I limped my 10 miles home at no more then 30mph and all the time the back end was trying to slip away even in a straight line. IMHO the C2 is lethal when snow or ice is on the ground because of the power of the engine and the engine being at the rear of the car. I have to add that I did not choose the road conditions. I was caught out while inside a restaurant. Nice and dry when I went inside. Slight snow as I was leaving and the gritter was also caught out that day. I would have NEVER left the garage if I had thought that snow was in the weather forecast. .....

I'm trying to figure out why your antilock brakes would engage while your foot was on the gas pedal...

I'm guessing it wasn't the ABS but PSM kicking in. These cars are great fun to drive in snow...with proper tires.

Summer performance tires and cold weather do not mix. This isn't a C2 or a Porsche problem, but a physics lesson. Without friction, all bets are off. You will not have friction without proper tires. Simple investment in winter tires and you're set.

Why do people try to drive cars in the winter on summer performance tires? If it is less than 40*F and you have summer tires, leave the car parked otherwise you will slide off the road. That kind of practice is dangerous for everybody out there, please be more responsible.

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Great question! These cars are very good in winter conditions with proper tires. There are lots of people out there either don't know how much it matters or think it's okay to drive on summer tires as long as you have AWD. There is also a group of people who believe that they hardly ever drive in snow and ice so they are willing to risk it and leave summer tires in place because they don't want the expense or hassle of changing their wheels and tires. Finally, there seems to be a group of people who think that winter tires are some kind of a scam and that they don't do anything except sell more tires. Anyone who has personally experienced the difference will use tires that are appropriate for the weather.

Just last month when I was at Pocono my C2 Cab handled horribly. It was almost totally un-drivable!?! I couldn't keep up with the other instructors in the red run group. The car kept sliding off track into the grass and I couldn't get through the bowl at more then 80mph without the rear stepping out and the front pushing badly, I was almost into the wall at every turn. Additionally my Blizzaks were ruined, chunked and blistered, after only two DE sessions. I'm listening to Hurdi and never taking one of these deathtrap Porsches on the track again!

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Well said Dennis

1" of snow and recommending chains and winter tires.... Aside from significant snow accumulation and ICE (could have been your issue), summer tires are fine if you get caught in unforeseen dusting of snow (or light accumulation). I've been caught in snow on summers in Viper, Lambo (AWD & 2WD), built GN, 996C2, M3, etc. aside from utilizing car control and understanding what's going to happen when you turn, power and brake; it's not an issue. If you want to drive like it's dry out, you're going to have a bad time. PS2's are better than PZero Rosso's and BFG KDW's in snow. But if you plan on driving the car throughout the winter, get snow tires or at a minimum all seasons.

All seasons are actually just 3 seasons.....no replacement for dedicated winter tires....ask me how I know.

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Actually, the season I would skip would be summer. Lots of the high performance all season tires are actually quite capable in the winter and the wet. Something like Conti's DWS is pretty capable in the winter but gives up lots of summer performance. Always best to have the correct tires for the conditions. Suggesting driving around in freezing temps on 1" of snow is OK is just a bad idea. The manufacturers will specifically tell you this is a bad idea. They publish such information for a reason. The tire compounds do not grip when it is cold.

I would argue that Conti DWS are not very capable in winter conditions. My experience is that they are passable at best in snow. If you're driving on a flat road in light snow, they're okay. I used to run those on our Cayenne. It couldn't get up our driveway (slight incline) in snow or ice. With proper winter tires, the car drove up the driveway like it was dry pavement. Tires are all round. They will all roll, even in snow and ice. If you are super careful and drive super slowly, you will probably be able to reach your destination in winter conditions on any tire. The differences in cornering grip and stopping distances are quite dramatic comparing a summer tire to an all-season tire to a winter tire. In the real world, you're looking at the ability to stop at an intersection as opposed to sliding into traffic. Personally, I prefer to have the best possible grip for the weather conditions for me, my family and for other drivers on the road.

My C4S DD with Pirelli WinterSport never complained once last winter in a good amount of snow and occasional ice - was actually having an easier time of it that many "SUVs" that were shod with all-seasons. Take the advice and get the snows. Well worth it below 40 degrees - intact continuing to drive the dry weather in the cold temps could cause damage to them in addition to the whole car when they let go.

I took my C4S up to Paradise at Mt Rainier National Park last Thursday. It was well plowed but pretty snowy. The car never skipped a beat. Maybe it was the all wheel drive. Maybe it was the Michelin AS/3s. Maybe it was years of driving in New England storms. My wife captured an image of me from the National park web site. Carrying chains is required in the park. I have fabric Autosocks which are approved substitutes. I also have them for my BMW and they are easy to put on that car. The clearance on the Porsche and the wide tire makes it hard to get them on so I hope never to have to use them for real.

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I would have to add if you are super careful and drive super slowly *and are super lucky* you will probably reach your destinations on any tire. I've driven my Boxster a couple of times in pretty bad snow conditions on Pirelli high performance tires and while I managed to make it though a horrific snow storm I had some pucker time. About 8 hours' worth as I drove from Ft Smith Ark. to Butler MO. At one spot on 71 highway the Boxster actually slid down a banked turn and I actually had to let it slide/roll down onto the shoulder of the median where the gravel gave me some grip in the ice that was under the snow. Even then I had to rock the car to get it going again. I'm currently in the mid-west with my 996 Turbo and on summer tires. I was out today and the temperature was 19F. No snow but it was cold, cold, cold. Tried to find a set of snow tires/wheels before I left CA. I was going to have them shipped to a dealer on my way back east and then on the way east stop and have the dealer swap wheels/tires but couldn't find a set before I had to leave. So far all I've encountered is cold rain and very cold temperatures. Tonight it is supposed to get down in the low single digits and remain quite cold all day long tomorrow.

i think the original poster learned something today. so it was a useful day out there in his 996.

snow or no snow...anything under 40 degrees, i switch to snow's even though I'm awd....it's just not worth it...

As long as there is no salt, I really enjoys 911's in snow. Used to drive my '87 regularly. Now starting with the '02. The key, as noted in this thread is winter tires. Brand is less important than having them on both axles. Too cold for PS2 is about 40 degrees F in my experience. They are fun, if you like either tiptoeing or sliding Did my winter tire swap yesterday and had a chance for a test drive right away.

I have C2 -00 as a daily driver here in Finland with studded Hankook iPike RS's, Defa electrical engine heater and PSM. At the moment we have 4 inches of snow and we are expecting more. PSM is nice and necessary but switching it off makes driving great fun. Ofcourse, I have to be careful.

What model of Defa engine heater do you have installed?

Last year I got caught driving in sub freezing weather with summer tires on (wasn't planning on driving the car in the winter, but other car was in the shop). Even though there was no snow on the streets, I was sliding all over the place. The reason is that the composition of the tires are different. A summer tire in sub freezing weather turns into hard "ice skates", which means minimal traction even in dry conditions. Winter tires remain pliable at low temperatures.

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This is the model: http://www.defa.com/file/dc2599c19907/411575.pdf Little bit pricey, 500 euros but worth it, i think. Easy to install, only problem was that the cable needed some extra heat protection because of exhaust. The outside plug is placed under the rear shield.