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-   -   Driving the Boxster in the snow. (http://986forum.com/forums/boxster-general-discussions/56168-driving-boxster-snow.html)

Retroman1969 03-08-2015 05:13 AM

Driving the Boxster in the snow.
 
http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/l...psxffbdoyt.jpg
http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/l...ps8bl5z5ga.jpg
http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/l...ps3jbwltj2.jpg
http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/l...pshyxmklcp.jpg

How these cars would handle inclement weather has always been a secret concern of mine.
The other day I was on a remote job out on country roads in the middle of nowhere and go caught out in a snow storm. The forecast was for possible light snow or freezing rain, but it hit quickly and heavily, accumulating fast.
I ended up driving a collective 70miles in the mess at night. While 4x4 pickups and SUVs were littering the ditches, the Boxster got me safely home without incident or even a white-knuckle moment. And I'm on Michelin Pilot Sports, not even all-season tires. She handled it just fine.
As a plus, I discovered that the fog lights and anti-lock brakes work fine on the beater. ;)

Timco 03-08-2015 05:52 AM

Anything more than a skiff or if it's frozen underneath, I'll take my Ranger any day. Hate the sound of snow chunks knocking around under me and in the fenders. The intake openings scoop snow well.

Wife's Touareg does very well.

cfos 03-08-2015 07:31 AM

Where you driving Timco? Aside from a couple of days, we've had it pretty mild.

http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps2pgvmuwr.jpg

M4SGK1986 03-08-2015 08:50 AM

If there is a chance of snow or frost the Boxster says on the drive. We don't get a great deal of snow here in Britain but when we do nobody has a clue how to drive in it, the roads come to a stand still and the chance of someone sliding into you is high! Oh and when its frosty i cant get in the damn thing because the windows freeze shut and the don't side down from under the top.

Joe B 03-08-2015 09:02 AM

Retroman, be really careful on those Michelin Pilot Sports. I nearly had my Boxster swap ends when I took my foot off the gas on a snowy, slight downhill while driving on Pilot Super Sports. I switched to Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3s which are much better. I'd use snow tires, but when the roads are snowy I try to only drive my F 250 4x4, or my wife's BMW 325xi which has Blizzaks and handles snow like a snowmobile!
Of course this winter I've been able to drive the Boxster nearly every day. I wish we had gotten some of the snow that they got back east this year!

Paul 03-08-2015 09:54 AM

Drove my 01 with snow tires and a hardtop most of the winter, no issues.

Timco 03-08-2015 04:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cfos (Post 439366)
Where you driving Timco? Aside from a couple of days, we've had it pretty mild.

http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps2pgvmuwr.jpg

Experiences from last year. I was out of town for the New Years storms then the car has been in the air for a month. No snow this year.

I'm by the U.

lkchris 03-08-2015 06:11 PM

Of course the drill these days is winter tires whenever ambient is consistently below 45 degrees F, regardless of moisture on the road.

And Porsche does sell a ski rack for these cars.

kk2002s 03-09-2015 04:48 AM

I've been caught a couple times in 5+ inches snow on my Summer tires. Car handles fine but I know I can't stop or make it up a hill from a standing stop.
Even Black ice on a 270 degree exit ramp, car's balanced handling and not panicking kept me off the curb and out of the alignment shop (It still didn't keep me from having to change my underwear)
I think the limited traction forces us to drive very conservatively and keeps us out of the ditches along side all the 4x4 trucks and SUVs (I have a 4x4 but I keep it on the road)

Retroman1969 - I notice 1500 RPMs on night picture (Should you really be taking pictures Driving, at night, in the snow) Sorry - With a manual, it would be hard to drive with rpm's that low

OklahomaBoxster 03-09-2015 05:39 AM

I'm pretty sure the freezing temps finally did my rough idling engine in, not driving in weather that cold ever again after it's fixed. Which sucks because it's my only car. Hankook ventus v12 evo's are also not suitable for icy driving at all, maybe snow, but all we ever get here is ice. Mid-rear cars also have something called snap oversteer, which means once you start to rotate, especially on ice, you're done, no countersteer can save you. Learned a lot driving the boxster on ice this last time. But hopefully, my area is done with it for the year.

Retroman1969 03-09-2015 07:20 AM

Yes, I kept the rpm's low on purpose to keep the torque from spinning the wheels.
Typical for Oklahoma, the jingle bell nightmare was almost completely melted and the main highways dry by 1pm the next day. I'm never driving my clean weekender Boxster in this stuff, and the Jeep is still broken, so this car it is! ;)

DrCactus 03-09-2015 07:32 AM

I live up in Canada and driving in the snow and cold here is next to impossible unless you buy some snow tires for the car and even then would be rough driving. I can barely get out of my driveway with my summer tires on. Took car out of storage Friday and barely got home in one piece. lol Was a fun ride home thats forsure.

Smallblock454 03-09-2015 07:42 AM

Wll i think it works with summer tyres, because he has the 16" rims with 205 tyres and it looks like the streets are wide and there are no pitches.

If he would have 18" rims with 225/265 tyres no way to drive even if there is very little snow with summer tyres. First hill with a snowy road and you can't get any further.

Over here in germany we have to use winter tyres by law when there is snow and ice on the road. Also insurance won't pay if you cause an accident. And you have to pay a penalty if the police catches you without winter tyres.

PaulDash 03-09-2015 01:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Retroman1969 (Post 439346)
I ended up driving a collective 70miles in the mess at night. While 4x4 pickups and SUVs were littering the ditches, the Boxster got me safely home without incident or even a white-knuckle moment.

Way cool.

I went skiing one weekend last month, taking the Box to the mountains. I overtook a Volvo XC90 with snow chains going uphill...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Smallblock454 (Post 439518)
If he would have 18" rims with 225/265 tyres no way to drive even if there is very little snow with summer tyres. First hill with a snowy road and you can't get any further.

...and I'm on 18" 225/265.

But hey, even my avatar has snow.

Giller 03-09-2015 02:26 PM

As much as I'd love to zip around in my Box all year - just too much risk up here in the Great White North. Wouldn't want to total my ride cause someone forgets how to drive in the winter and slides into me. Small accidents with these cars can be very costly.

NewArt 03-09-2015 02:39 PM

In Montreal, winter tires are mandatory from December to mid-March. Big fine if you're caught without! Although I can theoretically get my car out next week, today is the first day since December that it has risen by 1 degree above freezing! Still a couple of feet of snow in my yard so I think I'll have to wait a wee bit more! :(

WillH 03-09-2015 02:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Giller (Post 439588)
As much as I'd love to zip around in my Box all year - just too much risk up here in the Great White North. Wouldn't want to total my ride cause someone forgets how to drive in the winter and slides into me. Small accidents with these cars can be very costly.

Not to mention windows frozen shut,( dohh, can't open the doors), ice damage to roof and back window, sandblasting, calcium and salt, wheel well ice blocks ripping up the wheel wells or hitting the ones that fall off other cars...

j.fro 03-09-2015 03:18 PM

996 C4. ********************en snow Boxster!! Dressed with Conti DWS tires.

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads01...1425943080.jpg

desert_porsche 03-09-2015 04:19 PM

http://i.imgur.com/MnJb7FYl.jpg

Sucks to suck btchzzzzz

Joe B 03-09-2015 05:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by desert_porsche (Post 439600)
http://i.imgur.com/MnJb7FYl.jpg

Sucks to suck btchzzzzz

Yeah, yeah, yeah; who cares! Show us the temperature in July or August when it's 115°. If we wanted to live in "hotter than hell," then we'd all move to Tucson (I was born there and I couldn't leave soon enough :rolleyes:!).

Jamesp 03-09-2015 05:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joe B (Post 439608)
Yeah, yeah, yeah; who cares! Show us the temperature in July or August when it's 115°. If we wanted to live in "hotter than hell," then we'd all move to Tucson (I was born there and I couldn't leave soon enough :rolleyes:!).

Oh yeah!, well you say that now, but you have to drive around the Grand Tetons, and around lake Jackson, Yellowstone, and through the mountains and forests and grasslands, past moose, elk, buffalo and other world class natural scenery... and somehow I think maybe I'm not making my point... or maybe I am.

78F350 03-09-2015 06:49 PM

Snow covered roads in Oklahoma scare me. I grew up in New Hampshire and Maine, lived in Germany for six years (Bad Kreuznach und Ansbach), and spent a couple winters in the 'lake effect' by Tug Hill, NY.

A light snow in Oklahoma is worse. There are no fleets of snow plows and sand trucks. The base of the snow is usually ice. Nobody has snow tires and few people have experience driving in it. Every 'cowboy' (and Indian) with a 4x4 thinks he is invincible and has to get out on the road and drive like it was dry pavement in the summer. The body shops can't keep up.

Toppy986 03-09-2015 07:32 PM

With all the salt on the roads in SW Ontario, I have a 2 rain rule to wash it off the roads before I take my car out. This year it is looking like another 4 weeks at least

Retroman1969 03-09-2015 08:14 PM

It's the reason I have a beater-Boxster, not that I wouldn't still be upset if it got hit. Besides it just doesn't get that bad here. A week, maybe two at most of light to moderate snow per year.

j.fro 03-10-2015 01:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 78F350 (Post 439620)
Snow covered roads in Oklahoma scare me. I grew up in New Hampshire and Maine, lived in Germany for six years (Bad Kreuznach und Ansbach), and spent a couple winters in the 'lake effect' by Tug Hill, NY.

A light snow in Oklahoma is worse. There are no fleets of snow plows and sand trucks. The base of the snow is usually ice. Nobody has snow tires and few people have experience driving in it. Every 'cowboy' (and Indian) with a 4x4 thinks he is invincible and has to get out on the road and drive like it was dry pavement in the summer. The body shops can't keep up.

OK sounds a lot like VA.

Giller 03-10-2015 03:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Toppy986 (Post 439627)
With all the salt on the roads in SW Ontario, I have a 2 rain rule to wash it off the roads before I take my car out. This year it is looking like another 4 weeks at least

Bite your tongue lad, another 4 weeks.... Around town, the melting snow will take care of most of the salt - the highways might be a different matter though.

Xpit77 03-11-2015 06:43 AM

My DD.http://986forum.com/forums/uploads01...1426084998.jpg

Retroman1969 03-11-2015 11:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 78F350 (Post 439620)
Snow covered roads in Oklahoma scare me. I grew up in New Hampshire and Maine, lived in Germany for six years (Bad Kreuznach und Ansbach), and spent a couple winters in the 'lake effect' by Tug Hill, NY.

A light snow in Oklahoma is worse. There are no fleets of snow plows and sand trucks. The base of the snow is usually ice. Nobody has snow tires and few people have experience driving in it. Every 'cowboy' (and Indian) with a 4x4 thinks he is invincible and has to get out on the road and drive like it was dry pavement in the summer. The body shops can't keep up.

PS: That is all so true!

desert_porsche 03-11-2015 01:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joe B (Post 439608)
Yeah, yeah, yeah; who cares! Show us the temperature in July or August when it's 115°. If we wanted to live in "hotter than hell," then we'd all move to Tucson (I was born there and I couldn't leave soon enough :rolleyes:!).

This is my time to gloat! Allow me this pleasure :D

Of course from May through October is when it becomes severely unpleasant to be driving around in a black car with black leather seats. That's when it gets garaged and put on the battery tender.

M4SGK1986 03-11-2015 01:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 78F350 (Post 439620)
A light snow in Oklahoma is worse. There are no fleets of snow plows and sand trucks. The base of the snow is usually ice. Nobody has snow tires and few people have experience driving in it. Every 'cowboy' (and Indian) with a 4x4 thinks he is invincible and has to get out on the road and drive like it was dry pavement in the summer. The body shops can't keep up.

You have just described the exact same thing as we have here in the UK.:)


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