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Old 11-24-2019, 07:46 AM   #1
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Should/Can you drive a boxster in the snow.

I planned too, but Iam not sure if it has the ground clearance that may be needed for a surprise snow storm of however deep,.?? How do you back east daily drivers do in the winter,..my tires are standard 17" street tires,...TIA,. Frank

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Old 11-24-2019, 08:12 AM   #2
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I drive my 986 in the snow, although not as much as I used too, mostly because I now have access to another car. I have never had a problem, but since the 986 has about 4" of clearance, if the road hasn't been plowed or you can't stay in the tracks of other cars you can get stuck if it's too deep (never happened to me). I have driven through about 2-2.5" of unplowed snow, and probably right up to 4" staying the tracks of other cars. It's doable, but I wouldn't call it fun, it's more nerve racking than doing it in a 4WD.

16" rims are best because they are narrower, allowing you to cut instead of plow through the snow, however they won't fit over the larger calipers on the "S" models. I have always used 17" rims with snow tires (search for info on the narrower tires, I run 205 and 235 now). Summer tires are a liability below 40° F.

If you take it slow, don't accelerate or brake like an idiot, and rev match fairly well you won't have an issue. That said, the 986 does just as good as any other car if you hit a patch of ice/black ice, which is to say not well, however I have never had an issue recovering, which is probably due to nearly perfect 50/50 weight distribution of the 986.
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Old 11-24-2019, 08:56 AM   #3
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I can’t even drive up a driveway with a 5 degree slope in the snow. No matter how lightly I feather the clutch, the tires spin.
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Old 11-24-2019, 04:00 PM   #4
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I run 18" Blizzaks in the winter and go when the snow is < 4". Never any problems on ice.

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Old 11-24-2019, 04:06 PM   #5
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Yes you can, I do it every year. As rick3000 said, that depends on how deep the snow is. I've driven in snow that my Boxster S was pretty much surfing on the snow and the snow clogged up my front radiators and made the engine temp shoot up and I had to stop driving the car and park it in a grocery store parking lot, get a ride home and come back to get the car. So I never made that mistake again. Get a set of Blizzaks tires on your car and it does just fine, no traction issues like a normal rear wheel drive front engine car with the weight of the engine over the rear tires like the Boxster has.
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Old 11-24-2019, 07:15 PM   #6
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Sorry husk but that just doesn't look right. Car cruelty is what that is 😱
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Old 11-24-2019, 07:54 PM   #7
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I run 18" Blizzaks in the winter and go when the snow is < 4". Never any problems on ice.

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My hero.
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Old 11-25-2019, 07:56 PM   #8
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My hero.
He's a Nebraskan...he's probably strongly considered boltin' a plow on the front of that thing!
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Old 11-25-2019, 08:54 PM   #9
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He's a Nebraskan...he's probably strongly considered boltin' a plow on the front of that thing!
Yeah, you're probably right about that but I still like his style!
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Old 11-25-2019, 10:10 PM   #10
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No V-blade but it's just the dual life of Sydney. She's my winter beater but as a reward for that duty she's my DE and car show vehicle during the summer. Those Texas stickers are from the 3 DEs I did at COTA (before the entry fee got INSANELY exp). The 613 was from my 1st DE at Indy. Also has a Kansas Speedway NASA sticker in the left corner.
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Old 11-25-2019, 11:43 PM   #11
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Yes, of course you can, with proper tires. There's snow in Germany too, you know. But if you should, that's entirely your own decision.

Yes, they do salt the roads in Norway, but life's too short. I could drop dead from a heart attack tomorrow, and if I don't I honestly won't lye on my death bed regretting having driven my car in the snow.



.... and it's fun as heck!!!
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Old 11-28-2019, 05:50 AM   #12
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When I lived in snow country, I drove a 68 Nova with studded snows in all 4 positions. Drove it only in the snow, didnt worry about rust and left the tires on year around. For 15 years. You could drive your Boxster in the snow and with proper tires it might do okay. With cheap winter car beaters around, why bother?

Especially in salt, that stuff gets everywhere!
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Old 11-28-2019, 06:25 PM   #13
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Yes you can, yes I have. It's MUCH better with proper snow tires and then the issue is limited clearance, not grip.

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