Go Back   986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners > Porsche Boxster & Cayman Forums > Boxster General Discussions

Post Reply
 
LinkBack Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 02-17-2021, 12:32 PM   #1
Registered User
 
texomawaves's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Tx
Posts: 259
Do’s and dont’s of driving on snow

Please share. I have a 2013 S w/PDK and drove around for awhile just fine the other day on snow. Then for some reason my car seemed to be putting on the brakes or preventing me from accelerating. I was pissed! I ended up getting stranded. I was the only car stuck. I wasn’t in deep snow. The car had a mind of its own and suddenly my car shut me down. It wasn’t me I swear. I drive on slick roads all the time. I had been driving on snow just fine for about an hour before this happened. Please share what I should have done or shouldn’t have done. Of course sarcasm is expected. Lol Thanks.

__________________
Chris Dennis, Plano, Texas

'07 Boxster, arctic silver, Tiptronic, 106k miles, no mods
‘13 Boxster S, black on black, PDK, 27k miles, garage queen
‘66 Mooney M20E, hangar queen
texomawaves is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-17-2021, 12:40 PM   #2
On the slippery slope
 
JayG's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Austin and Palm Springs
Posts: 3,793
Garage
The best way to drive in the snow you are getting in Texas is to just stay f'in home. You note the car is a garage queen, don't mess it up in the snow
You have little or no snow fighting equipment there. I lived in Plano about 23 years ago, and I remember when we got about1/2 inch of snow and people had no idea how to drive on it.

All seriousness aside, sounds like your PASM was having fun with you
__________________
2004 Boxster S 6 speed - DRL relay hack, Polaris AutoTop DIY
2004 996 Targa Tip
Instructor - San Diego region
2014 Porsche Performance Driving School
2020 BMW X3, 2013 Ram 1500, 2016 Cmax, 2004 F-150 "Big Red"

Last edited by JayG; 02-17-2021 at 12:43 PM.
JayG is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-17-2021, 01:06 PM   #3
Registered User
 
BYprodriver's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: O.C. CA
Posts: 3,709
Garage
Quote:
Originally Posted by texomawaves View Post
Please share. I have a 2013 S w/PDK and drove around for awhile just fine the other day on snow. Then for some reason my car seemed to be putting on the brakes or preventing me from accelerating. I was pissed! I ended up getting stranded. I was the only car stuck. I wasn’t in deep snow. The car had a mind of its own and suddenly my car shut me down. It wasn’t me I swear. I drive on slick roads all the time. I had been driving on snow just fine for about an hour before this happened. Please share what I should have done or shouldn’t have done. Of course sarcasm is expected. Lol Thanks.
Snow tires helps !
__________________
OE engine rebuilt,3.6 litre LN Engineering billet sleeves,triple row IMSB,LN rods. Deep sump oil pan with DT40 oil.
BYprodriver is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-17-2021, 01:17 PM   #4
There Is No Substitute.
 
rick3000's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2007
Location: West Coast
Posts: 3,253
Garage
Snow tires, or at least all seasons are essential. Separate winter/summer tires make the most sense for a sports car. Take it slow, stay in other peoples tracks as much as possible, slow down as much as possible without braking and don't accelerate quickly, and if it's a manual try to rev match. If you do skid turn into it, and take the gas off, try to avoid jamming on the brakes. As stated by others, it's dangerous in a place that normally doesn't get snow because even if you know what you are doing, the chance of being hit by someone else is very high.

I rarely have issues in slow below 4" (ground clearance) with snow tires.
__________________
1999 Ocean Blue Metallic Boxster - blueboxster.com

Last edited by rick3000; 02-17-2021 at 01:23 PM.
rick3000 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-17-2021, 01:46 PM   #5
Registered User
 
911monty's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: California Central Coast
Posts: 1,476
Garage
Quote:
Originally Posted by JayG View Post
The best way to drive in the snow you are getting in Texas is to just stay f'in home. You note the car is a garage queen, don't mess it up in the snow
You have little or no snow fighting equipment there. I lived in Plano about 23 years ago, and I remember when we got about1/2 inch of snow and people had no idea how to drive on it.

All seriousness aside, sounds like your PASM was having fun with you
Plus one on this. I have a 4runner that did the same thing. Couldn't leave a stop light due to wheel speed difference and applying the brakes. Turned off traction control and back to normal.
911monty is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-17-2021, 01:49 PM   #6
Porsche "Purist"
 
Paul's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Wisconsin
Posts: 2,123
Garage
Did you try turning off the PASM?

Driving in the cold and snow with summer performance tires is a really bad idea.
__________________
1998 Boxster with 7.8 DME, 2005 3.6 liter/325 hp, Variocam Plus, 996 Instrument panel
2001 Boxster original owner. I installed used motor at 89k.
1987 924S. 2002 996TT. PST-2
Owned and repaired Porsches since 1974. Porsche: It's not driving, it's therapy.
Paul is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-17-2021, 02:54 PM   #7
On the slippery slope
 
JayG's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Austin and Palm Springs
Posts: 3,793
Garage
Quote:
Originally Posted by Paul View Post
Did you try turning off the PASM?

Driving in the cold and snow with summer performance tires is a really bad idea.
worse than a bad idea....

summer tires are like slick rocks when frozen
__________________
2004 Boxster S 6 speed - DRL relay hack, Polaris AutoTop DIY
2004 996 Targa Tip
Instructor - San Diego region
2014 Porsche Performance Driving School
2020 BMW X3, 2013 Ram 1500, 2016 Cmax, 2004 F-150 "Big Red"
JayG is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-17-2021, 03:00 PM   #8
Registered User
 
911monty's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: California Central Coast
Posts: 1,476
Garage
Quote:
Originally Posted by JayG View Post
worse than a bad idea....

summer tires are like slick rocks when frozen
Definitely worse! The rubber in the tire loses the ability to flex and cracks instead!
911monty is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-17-2021, 07:37 PM   #9
Registered User
 
Join Date: May 2017
Location: West Mi
Posts: 164
From someone who lives in a part of the country where it’s possible to have snow 9 months of the year, these cars have no place on the road once it snows. Sure you can do it but you are a hazard to your self and every other car on the road. With those wide rear tires you can spin out at any time. Id say go buy a sled if you want to play in the snow leave the car in the garage until better days. I’m hoping for May
MrBen is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-18-2021, 05:09 AM   #10
Registered User
 
husker boxster's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Omaha
Posts: 2,865
I think people mean PSM, not PASM. Changing suspension settings (PASM) would have no difference on driving on snow.

3 yrs ago I bought a base 09 Box in Tucson. I flew down and by the time I left Tucson, it was mid afternoon. The plan was to drive somewhere past El Paso and then drive to Dallas the next day and spend the night with my sister. Part 1 of the plan worked fine as I ended up spending the night somewhere east of EP. However, the next morning I awoke to freezing rain. It started out light but was going to continue all day in the direction I was headed. I beat feet to get as much road behind me as possible but took care on overpasses. Suddenly at 11am things came to a halt. The road was totally ice covered and traffic was going 15mph. My newly purchased Box had a set of older Mich PS2 tires. As I crept along at that low speed, I waited for it to slide off the road due to the crown of the road. Didn't happen and even had stopping power on the ice. Drove like that for 3 hrs until the precip started to turn to snow on top of the ice. I wasn't going to make it to Dallas at that speed and I figured I'd already used up a day's worth of luck by mid-day, so I pulled off and called it a day. I was only 2 hrs from Ft Worth but not in the current conditions. Next day the roads were clear but the overpasses were sketchy. Spent the next day in Dallas as that storm cleared the area but had to leave the next day as another storm was coming thru the midwest and if I didn't make it home that day, I'd be spending 2 more waiting for roads to clear.

Bottom line, summer tires don't become totally inoperable in cold weather. The problem is people try to drive like it's summer and their tires won't perform to those levels. I've never been a fan of PS2 for street or track use, but they were stellar during my trip home. If texoma has to get somewhere, it is possible you just have to be very careful.

What it looked like when I left Tucson.


Next day at the hotel. The semi was stuck on the ice.
__________________
GPRPCA Chief Driving Instructor
2008 Boxster S Limited Edition #005
2008 Cayman S Sport - Signal Green
1989 928 S4 5 spd - black
1987 928 S4 - Granite Green Metallic (Felsengrun)

Last edited by husker boxster; 02-18-2021 at 05:15 AM.
husker boxster is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-18-2021, 06:23 AM   #11
"50 Years of 550 Spyder"
 
10/10ths's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: The Road
Posts: 918
Yeah......

.....You must turn off your stability control or else you will get stuck.

The car will auto brake and try to prevent yaw and spinning out, so you can never get momentum and it will prevent wheelspin, which you need in order to handle those conditions.

Spend some time and money on a driving school and read about vehicle dynamics.

And buy some Blizzaks.


And please let me know when you are flying your Mooney around so I can avoid that air space. ��
__________________
550 SE #310---"It's more fun to drive a slow car fast, than a fast car slow."

Last edited by 10/10ths; 02-18-2021 at 06:25 AM.
10/10ths is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-18-2021, 02:18 PM   #12
On the slippery slope
 
JayG's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Austin and Palm Springs
Posts: 3,793
Garage
Quote:
Originally Posted by 10/10ths View Post
.....You must turn off your stability control or else you will get stuck.

The car will auto brake and try to prevent yaw and spinning out, so you can never get momentum and it will prevent wheelspin, which you need in order to handle those conditions.

Spend some time and money on a driving school and read about vehicle dynamics.

And buy some Blizzaks.


And please let me know when you are flying your Mooney around so I can avoid that air space. ��
that's funny
__________________
2004 Boxster S 6 speed - DRL relay hack, Polaris AutoTop DIY
2004 996 Targa Tip
Instructor - San Diego region
2014 Porsche Performance Driving School
2020 BMW X3, 2013 Ram 1500, 2016 Cmax, 2004 F-150 "Big Red"
JayG is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-18-2021, 02:51 PM   #13
98 Arctic silver 986
 
tommy583's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Upstate, NY
Posts: 1,441
Garage
My Box stays in the garage while I do donuts in the parking lots in my Jeep Cherokee.

Really though for the do's and don'ts would start with not using summer tires when it is below 50 degrees. In my experience summer tires go from grippy to feeling like riding on bowling balls under 50 degrees.

Oh and during the first big snow of the year, the wife and I try to find an empty parking lot to do a few donuts in the Jeep lol.
tommy583 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-19-2021, 02:00 PM   #14
Seal1968
 
Join Date: May 2019
Location: Chatsworth, Canada
Posts: 137
When I was young, the best place to learn how to drive in winter was in empty parking lots on Sundays, especially if you had a front wheel drive K-car or something like that...reverse donuts are the bomb. lol
Seal1968 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-19-2021, 05:09 PM   #15
Registered User
 
Join Date: Apr 2016
Location: SE Michigan
Posts: 497
Quote:
Originally Posted by MrBen View Post
From someone who lives in a part of the country where it’s possible to have snow 9 months of the year, these cars have no place on the road once it snows. Sure you can do it but you are a hazard to your self and every other car on the road. With those wide rear tires you can spin out at any time. Id say go buy a sled if you want to play in the snow leave the car in the garage until better days. I’m hoping for May
I live in the same state but beg to be different... My Boxster with proper, dedicated winter tires and a hardtop is very capable to drive through winter and light snow, comfortably and confidently. I picked 225 width for rear tires, huge difference from 255 so called all season tires that struggle to push my car on slightly inclined driveway with sprinkles of snow. Very predictable and controllable handling if I push I bit too much, I definitely feel those overconfident pick-up trucks blasting on the road could do more harm to others.
__________________
1997 Boxster arctic silver/ red, XNE riveted mahogany/ leather steering wheel & 917-style wood shift knob, Ben’s short shifter, PSE, 996 TB, UDP, stereo/ center console delete, hardtop and speedster humps, daily driver rain or shine or snow!
Boxstard is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-20-2021, 01:50 AM   #16
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jun 2020
Location: Bay Area
Posts: 103
Best snow driving tips:

-Leave 986 at home
-Take 955 out

beater986 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-20-2021, 02:09 AM   #17
Registered User
 
husker boxster's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Omaha
Posts: 2,865
Quote:
Originally Posted by Boxstard View Post
I live in the same state but beg to be different... My Boxster with proper, dedicated winter tires and a hardtop is very capable to drive through winter and light snow, comfortably and confidently. I picked 225 width for rear tires, huge difference from 255 so called all season tires that struggle to push my car on slightly inclined driveway with sprinkles of snow. Very predictable and controllable handling if I push I bit too much, I definitely feel those overconfident pick-up trucks blasting on the road could do more harm to others.
+1



But it's dangerous and futile to drive on snow with summer tires.
__________________
GPRPCA Chief Driving Instructor
2008 Boxster S Limited Edition #005
2008 Cayman S Sport - Signal Green
1989 928 S4 5 spd - black
1987 928 S4 - Granite Green Metallic (Felsengrun)
husker boxster is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-20-2021, 03:44 AM   #18
Seal1968
 
Join Date: May 2019
Location: Chatsworth, Canada
Posts: 137
Quote:
Originally Posted by Boxstard View Post
I live in the same state but beg to be different... My Boxster with proper, dedicated winter tires and a hardtop is very capable to drive through winter and light snow, comfortably and confidently. I picked 225 width for rear tires, huge difference from 255 so called all season tires that struggle to push my car on slightly inclined driveway with sprinkles of snow. Very predictable and controllable handling if I push I bit too much, I definitely feel those overconfident pick-up trucks blasting on the road could do more harm to others.
Yup...a mid engine car is quite good in the snow with properly sized winter tires.

I drove Fiero GT in the winter years ago...it would plow through stuff. Just had to watch parking lots...low stance cars can get hung up.
Seal1968 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-20-2021, 05:18 PM   #19
Registered User
 
Join Date: Apr 2016
Location: SE Michigan
Posts: 497
Quote:
Originally Posted by beater986 View Post
Best snow driving tips:

-Leave 986 at home
-Take 955 out

I often pick my Boxster over X5, only limitation is ground clearance and family hauling ability

Name:  3FBBF427-0A8D-4578-BFAC-2CAC13A3CD47.jpeg
Views: 221
Size:  35.6 KB
__________________
1997 Boxster arctic silver/ red, XNE riveted mahogany/ leather steering wheel & 917-style wood shift knob, Ben’s short shifter, PSE, 996 TB, UDP, stereo/ center console delete, hardtop and speedster humps, daily driver rain or shine or snow!
Boxstard is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-20-2021, 05:30 PM   #20
Registered User
 
Join Date: Apr 2016
Location: SE Michigan
Posts: 497
Double posts deleted.

__________________
1997 Boxster arctic silver/ red, XNE riveted mahogany/ leather steering wheel & 917-style wood shift knob, Ben’s short shifter, PSE, 996 TB, UDP, stereo/ center console delete, hardtop and speedster humps, daily driver rain or shine or snow!

Last edited by Boxstard; 02-20-2021 at 05:36 PM.
Boxstard is offline   Reply With Quote
Post Reply


Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On




All times are GMT -8. The time now is 06:55 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Content Relevant URLs by vBSEO 3.6.0
Copyright 2024 Pelican Parts, LLC - Posts may be archived for display on the Pelican Parts Website -    DMCA Registered Agent Contact Page