What is the advantage of all wheel drive on the 911?

Hey there, So im 17, and while I have been very lucky to drive some beautiful cars thus far, I still have not driven an All-wheel drive automobile. When I first became so sincerely addicted to Porsche , I noticed that they manufacture all wheel drive 997's, Like the Carrera 4, Carrera 4S, Targa 4, Turbo etc etc. When I asked my father (Who owns some notable sports cars) why someone would want an all wheel drive Porsche , the only rational he could come up with is that someone along the east coast might need it for the winter monthes. Now that is all fine and dandy, if those people I suppose are driving their babies in the snow (which seems crazy). However, I live in San Diego and there is zero snow here. However, I do often see people driving all wheel drive 997's here. Why would someone buy an AWD Porsche in a sunny locale? Even more interesting is that all Lamborghinis have permanent AWD as well. So I suppose my question is.... What is the advantage of AWD on a sports car, such as the 997? Thank you for your time guys.

Traction, traction, traction. I would guess better cornering abilities too, less under/over steer, if not negated by the extra weight. Did I mention traction? P.S. Why are rally cars AWD? Evo, Sti, etc...?!

Improved handling & traction. And, trying to get our Turbo up the steep driveway (20% gradient or so) from a sloping street, it is easier to angle in. The frame is so stiff, one of the wheels will actually lift off the road. Car takes it all in stride.

You don't hydroplane. It can handle puddles and slick roads as well as a rear wheel drive car handles normal conditions. It's a life saver if you live in a place where it frequently rains. I haven't driven it in the snow yet so I'm curious if anyone knows what will happen or has any experience with this??

I used to drive my C4S in the snow when others wouldn't get their Porsche 's out of the garage. If you put good tires on the car for winter driving either snow tires or good all seasons you might be surprised at how well it can get around. Will it save you if you do something stupid? No, but it can certainly help in some situations where rear wheel drive only would struggle.

Sure you will hydroplane. it has nothing to do with AWD but with the tires ability to let water drain away. Reaching 50MPH most tires lose the ability to drain water fast enough and start to hydroplane, depending on the amount of water on the road. AWD has the tendency to understeer (push over the front wheels), however by simply accelerating the AWD will transfer more power to the front wheels and pull you back into the turn. Here is what AWD does The full results were published in the October issue of the German magazine, Sport Auto. Stock 0-100 km/h: 3.1 s - Porsche 997.2 Turbo PDK, 500 PS/1606 kg 3.2 s - Lamborghini Murcielago LP 670-4 SV, 670 PS/1751 kg 3.9 s - Gumpert Apollo, 700 PS/1148 kg 3.9 s - Koenisgegg CCX-R, 806 PS/1473 kg 3.9 s - Wiesmann GT MF5, 507 PS/1421 kg 4.0 s - Porsche GT3, 435 PS/1453 kg 4.5 s - Aston Martin V12 Vantage, 517 PS/1709 kg 4.7 s - Cadillac CTS-V, 564 PS/1955 kg Tuners 0-100 km/h: 3,0 s - Cargraphic-997 Turbo GT RSC 3,6 s - Geiger-Ford GT 3,6 s - MTM-Audi RS6 R 3.6 s - Ruf Rt12 S, 685 PS/1608 kg 3,7 s - TechArt GTstreet RS 4,3 s - Geiger-Corvette Z06 See the cars the stock 997tt beats with lolely 500hp.

You can put power down earlier and harder coming out of corners and not experience the kind of tail snaping type of action of many rear wheel drive cars, especially the 911 with the rear weight bias. Just look at the comparison between the GTR, GT3 and the M3 by chris harris on youtube it well help you understand...

+1 on all of the above, not to mention those wide hips on the C4:hilarious:

RWD with LSD on a sports car is fun fun fun...RS4 quattro I had felt like I was being nannied. Certainly a different driving dynamic.

I live in San Diego and own a 2009 C4S. Take a drive through the local hills and mountains with AWD in San Diego County and you can feel very secure twisting and turning. It's amazing to see Corvettes try to keep up with you on corners with their 2WD. They simply can't. They just don't have the control the 911 AWDs have. You don't have to be in bad weather to enjoy an AWD 911 .

Many good points, but I believe this is the one that most closely highlights Porsche 's decision to put all wheel drive into the 911 chassis: The Porsche 911 has always been know for TTO, Trailing Throttle Oversteer. It's a drawback to the rear engine layout. When you have all of that weight in the back, if you lift off the throttle in a hard turn the resulting change in weight distribution causes a reduction in traction in the back and an increase in the front. This sudden change sends the car into snap oversteer followed by the car spinning and sliding off the road backward. Let's try to understand why. Imagine that you're under a thick glass table looking up at a 911 that's on top. You will see the contact patches, the areas of the tires that are pressed against the surface. On a 911, where 60+% of the weight is in the back, the rear contact patches would be bigger than the fronts. If the car were to accelerate, you would see the contact patches on the rear tires get even bigger and the contact patches on the front tires get smaller. That's because under acceleration the vehicles weight is being shifted to the rear. If the car were to decelerate, the weight would transfer forward, having the opposite effect. Under braking, you'd see an even greater transfer to the front. If you entered a turn under acceleration in a 911, the weight transfer to the rear you would give you great traction. If the back end started inching out and you got spooked, what would you be most likely to do? You'd either lift off the gas or even worse, hit the brake. Well, if you did either of these you'd send all of that weight and traction up front and spin the car. The right thing to do in this situation in a 911 is to nail the gas pedal to the floor and hang on until the car is straight. This takes a lot of skill and a lot of balls, something that not every 911 owner has. So Porsche installed all wheel drive. With all wheel drive, the weight transfer under acceleration and deceleration is still there, but it's significantly muted. This makes for a much more predictable, much less scary 911. Under competitive driving conditions, this can be an advantage or a drawback. Most race drivers posses the skill to use weight transfer to their advantage, so most race drivers would prefer the reduced weight and reduced drive train loss of rear wheel drive. This is why the GT-3 (the most track oriented 911 model) is rear wheel drive.

AWD gives you better off-the-line acceleration and better/easier cornering. Now easy cornering doesn't necessarily make it more fun. I hear that AWD inherently gives the car an under-steering character, thus not as much fun as driving a RWD car when cornering.

+1 I have driven a GTR and a 997 Turbo and they both give you the sensation that they are "clawing their way" around a corner. It is a cool feeling. Not what a drifter is after, thlough. The fun of controlled oversteer is great, but AWD gives the average driver better control. They are easier to drive hard around corners up to a point. Of course, "inspiring confidence" + "17 year old" = "sideways into a ditch". LOL. :hilarious: Be careful young man. Oh yeah...stay in school and don't do drugs. LOL.

No advantage at all, it really takes all the fun of driving a P-car away.

Gator Bite did a great writeup on handling. Thanks. Ed