How are these cars in the snow?

[vdubr928]

I've been Pm'd and asked the question. Starting to feel winter coming on. My wife and I just split (gave her the BMW) which means I'm down to just the 928.... Do I need to be thinking about another car for winter? I had an 84 Camaro that was like a snowmobile when the deep stuff came down. Also had a 96 Mustang that couldn't get out of the driveway when we got a dusting.... Which catagory am I in now?

[Danglerb]

If I lived in a snow state, I would be thinking HARD about a beater winter car, like an old Volvo etc.

Three issues I see, traction, ground clearance, and wear and tear.

OTOH its a German car, made for German roads etc. and snow and cold are part of that.

Where do you need to drive it, and what are those roads like?

Do they salt the roads?

How bad would you feel if a car slowly slid on some ice and creamed your 928?

Do you have a good place to keep it?

How unreasonable is a second car or alternate transportation on the worst days?

[Mrmerlin]

If your going to drive during the snow i would suggest that you get a set of early wheels ( the narrow ones and mount Narrow Blizzacks on them ( all 4 wheels)keep a set of chains handy.
The car was designed to be able to fit chains, thats why the rear wheels have that sucked in look.
I have a few customers that drive year round and they dont have too many problems, they have fitted the narrow snow tires on all 4 wheels

[MPDano]

How bad would you feel if a car slowly slid on some ice and creamed your 928?

A Classic Slow Motion Nightmare. Brings a tear to my eye

[ice-hot]

Dano brings up a good point, just what happen to me with a 924.
Driving in a mall parking lot and someone slid thru an intersection and hit me at about 15 mph.
Nothing I could do, car totaled!
I live in ND similar weather but less hills, well...no hills...at all! But I still wont drive mine in the winter. I think you loose to much control of whats going on around you. You can stop ten feet back from the intersection to avoid the guy sliding thru, and then get rear-ended!
Thats giving up to much control for me.
Oh by the way my 928 is like driving a bus with 4 flat tires in the snow, cant stop and cant get going fast enough to avoid the white knucklers!!
My advice-get a cheap 4whd and park the 928 for the winter.
John

[vdubr928]

We don't get that much here in town. Maybe 10-15 days a year that are actually slick. No, they don't use salt in CO. Good to know about the chains and the early wheels. There is a set of phone dials in Denver right now on CL. Guy is asking 450 with tires. Seem reasonable? Thet are 15's. If I can run chains then forget the blizzaks (I had a set on a Mercedes and burned them up in one winter cause we don't get enough snow) I'll put studs on it. As far as getting hit.... That to me is what insurance is for. We all take that risk everyday we put the key in the ignition and if we streep park then even on days we don't. I would only be driving to work and back anyway so the risk factor (to me) is low.

I will eventually be picking up another Jeep but I want to secure the purchase of my second 928 first. I'm really hoping for someone who has driven one of these cars on some slick roads to let me know how it did. Like I said..... From my Camaro to my Mustang was night and day difference. My Camaro was a one finger slide around any corner 180 into a parking spot car. My Mustang was a white knuckle please lord let it be over soon somebody kill me experience.

[vdubr928]

We don't get that much here in town. Maybe 10-15 days a year that are actually slick. No, they don't use salt in CO. Good to know about the chains and the early wheels. There is a set of phone dials in Denver right now on CL. Guy is asking 450 with tires. Seem reasonable? Thet are 15's. If I can run chains then forget the blizzaks (I had a set on a Mercedes and burned them up in one winter cause we don't get enough snow) I'll put studs on it. As far as getting hit.... That to me is what insurance is for. We all take that risk everyday we put the key in the ignition and if we streep park then even on days we don't. I would only be driving to work and back anyway so the risk factor (to me) is low.

I will eventually be picking up another Jeep but I want to secure the purchase of my second 928 first. I'm really hoping for someone who has driven one of these cars on some slick roads to let me know how it did. Like I said..... From my Camaro to my Mustang was night and day difference. My Camaro was a one finger slide around any corner 180 into a parking spot car. My Mustang was a white knuckle please lord let it be over soon somebody kill me experience.

[DR928]

In the late 80s I used my then 84 S as my Ski car and had chains on it many times. Did great in the snow AS long as you drove with common sense and modulated the power like any V8 car in the snow. It certainly looked cool with a ski rack full of skis on top :-)

On the other hand I got caught in a freak ice storm in Atlanta one morning in my then 89 5-Speed and it took me 2 hours to get back home... only 2-3 miles away :-( But, it wasn't prepped for such conditions, i.e big tires/wheels. Lots of driving with 2 right wheels off the pavement to get traction and sliding completely thru a few redlights.... major pucker factor!

All in all there is no difference using the 928 from any other car in any winter conditions, as long as it is set up properly for it. But if you have another choice, it wouldn't be my first choice for obvious reasons.

[vdubr928]

Originally Posted by DR928

In the late 80s I used my then 84 S as my Ski car and had chains on it many times. Did great in the snow AS long as you drove with common sense and modulated the power like any V8 car in the snow. It certainly looked cool with a ski rack full of skis on top :-)

On the other hand I got caught in a freak ice storm in Atlanta one morning in my then 89 5-Speed and it took me 2 hours to get back home... only 2-3 miles away :-( But, it wasn't prepped for such conditions, i.e big tires/wheels. Lots of driving with 2 right wheels off the pavement to get traction and sliding completely thru a few redlights.... major pucker factor!

All in all there is no difference using the 928 from any other car in any winter conditions, as long as it is set up properly for it. But if you have another choice, it wouldn't be my first choice for obvious reasons.

Thanks, I will be catching a ride to the resorts this year.... But good to know it can be done.

Aspen... here I come.... Just waxed the board...

[vdubr928]

Originally Posted by DR928

All in all there is no difference using the 928 from any other car in any winter conditions, as long as it is set up properly for it. But if you have another choice, it wouldn't be my first choice for obvious reasons.

Allthough, I do disagree here. I would enter my 84 sport coupe against any proffesional russian ice driver any day..... My 96 Mustang is a sideline car...... There are major differences..... Wheelbase, Weight distro???? Come on now.... I was asking a real question......

[Danglerb]

Trick with the Mustang is to put 200 lbs of sand or kitty litter in the back, then use it as needed, and the rest of the time enjoy the ballast.

I felt bad driving a rental car around Pittsburgh, basically coated with salt slurry thrown up by other cars etc.

Insurance will NOT make you happy again, and its weakest area is a partially damaged classic car.

Weird thing is I'm in SoCal, no such thing as snow, and I am kind of missing our old Volvo.

Even rain makes me feel so restricted driving the 928 that I don't really enjoy it.

[Barbapapa]

Back when I bought my first 928, a record snow happened a few days later so of course I drove around.
The big issue was ground clearance. My 85's spoiler was like a snow plow. A 928 has less clearance than everything on the roads today. Fresh snow is one thing but plowing through the ridges of ice slush left by SUVs would be no fun.
Why not just park it when the snow is that bad? It's not like it's going to be 6 striaght months of that, snow is only that bad occasionally even in the NE.

[morriss]

It was me that asked you about it. We are considering moving to CO in a couple of years and I was just curious about how the 928 would do in the snow because I don't think I could stand putting it away for months on end each year. When we are up there it seems like everyone and their dog has an all-wheel drive Subaru (think Forester) as their DD. I was thinking about getting an old 4X4 Bronco II or GMC Jimmy for the snowy months.

[MPDano]

Originally Posted by morriss

It was me that asked you about it. We are considering moving to CO in a couple of years and I was just curious about how the 928 would do in the snow because I don't think I could stand putting it away for months on end each year. When we are up there it seems like everyone and their dog has an all-wheel drive Subaru (think Forester) as their DD. I was thinking about getting an old 4X4 Bronco II or GMC Jimmy for the snowy months.

Funny, my high school bud moved to Colorado from Sunny SoCal and he also has a Bronco 4X4. About the time he moved to Colorado, I moved to Washington State (Friday Harbor) and I had a 95 Mustang GT at the time. I ended up buying an island car (POS mini truck) for island driving only. Did I give up my 5.0 at the time (hell no). If I had a 928 at the time, the decision would have been the same.

I didn't last long in Washington State as they have way too many seasons. I love SoCal and the 72 degrees year round weather, I leave but always return

[BLK87S4]

I had an 85 928 that was my daily driver for two years in Germany including one of the worst winters for snow fall (winter of 2001). Snow tires were the key. Over there they were inexspensive and worked very well. I had two sets of rims and I mounted them on the 16" stock wheels. You shouldn't have much of a problem but drive it like you would any other car without traction control. Second gear is your friend. :-)

[Pauwl]

Winter tires work fine here as well, although not that much snow in Winter - but it gets -15 (centigrade), so there is a lot of salt used.

Suggest you try to get some slipping experience on wet roads before winter arrives, so that you get the good feel for the car, otherwise your first corner will see you heading the wrong direction.

As it gets wetter towards winter my wife and I 'practice' sliding the car at empty intersections - just to be safer during the winter of course.

[dr bob]

Vdubr928, there's a reason why you see a lot more Subarus ther as 4WD DD's, rather than big Broncos and Blazers. The Subaru is a lot more sure-footed in road snow than the big-wheelers, up to the point where the ground clearance is inadequate.

Also, as others have suggested, tire choice is extremely important on any car you choose as a winter driver. All-season tires are a compromise in real snow, but are a great choice if snow isn't deep and your speeds are kept low. For your 928, narrow tires will be a must, since wides won't clear their tread well. Blizzaks are great, but don't last at all on dry pavement. There are plenty of other choices, and places like Tire Rack offer ratings that aren't too far off. Make sure that the wheels you choose will actually fit over your brakes too. Not a big issue until you get to S4 brakes, which need 16" wheels minimum, or GTS/Big Red/Big Blacks that need 17" minimum.

Good luck!

[Griffinroydonal]

I drive in the snow but not anything Porsche makes ! I have a beatermobile for use in bad weather and places I don't want to park the porsches. We have places that sell used vehicles from fleet sales very cheap. I was there this morning and they had several vans for $1200 to $2000. These vehicles have high milage but have been cared for very well. This is a small price to pay for piece of mind. My driving in winter is not all that bad but I worry about the young, old , stupid drivers who don't slow down and use good judgement in bad weather.