For those of us who are unfortunate enough to live in places graced by massive amounts of snow, what do you guys do? Do you have a separate skinnier set of tires to throw on in the winter months? Have some kind of contraption to rinse down car (and underside) after driving? Do you throw any of that fog-ex stuff on the windshields, etc?

I'll most likely be taking delivery of my car in the middle of the winter, so at the very least, I'll have to drive it home. While I don't intend to drive it during or for a few days after any snowfall, once in a while (hopefully more often) on a nice dry day I do intend to go for a spin. I just don't want to find out the hard way what I should have done to prepare.

 

I would definitely recommend snow tires. The stock tires become ice skates below 45. Please give me a call if I can help.

 

I have a winter car, Porsche comes out when the weather allows.

 

I drive with snow tires - and it's a blast!! It has driven in up to 4" of snow without a problem.

I wash it when I can, but don't do any special treatment beyond that. When I buy a GT3, this car will become my winter car.

I bought my Porsche to drive it, not store it in my garage.

 

CTT for winter use with 18' wheels and Pirelli snow tires.

don't usually have chance to rinse the car as outside temp is below zero.

 

I bought my car to drive as well, taking it out in the snow does not constitute driving IMO. Besides in Vancouver (last winter not included) there are very few days that would be days I leave it in the garage.

 

It has been said before, but bears repeating: do not drive in the cold without snows (regardless of road conditions). Snow tires are for the cold, not just the snow. It is a safety issue. If you are not going to get snows (which is a big mistake in my opinion), get it delivered and don't look at it until spring.On the other hand, if you actually want to use the car, buy yourself a set of snows on dedicated rims. While you are at it, get a jack and torque wrench (it is a lot easier to change them yourself than lugging 4 wheels and tires to the dealer 2x a year). Personally, I run 265s on stock 18" Carrera IIIs in winter and 305s on 19" Turbos in summer. With snows, the car goes great in the slop and the looks you get as you drive by people in Highlanders, etc with all season (code for not real good during any season) tires alone make it worthwhile. By the way, the car will get dirty, even filthy and you won't be able to do anything about it. But, then again, who cares? Remember, it is a modern, mass-produced car, not a Matisse. Enjoy it.

 

Drive audi all winter and wax the porsche for the special days (above 40) save on buying snow tires

 

I was thinking about that, but this past winter, we had plenty of absolutely frigid days where the roads were bone dry.

What's the cheapest someone could get away with a set of snow tires and rims for?

 

Check Tire Rack - they worked out great for me!!

 

+1, in fact email or PM Damon who was the first to respond to the thread. Great guy, and a board sponsor.

 

I have winter wheels (18" with Alpin Sport winter rubber) that get mounted when the temps drop in late November and I drive the car through the winter season. Driving in the snow is part of the fun, especially for the awd variants. Beyond that, nothing special. No anti-fog or other magic juice needed .. its a modern car.. its not going to melt if it gets cold and wet.

If you don't drive in the cold and snow, how can you truely enjoy the wonder that is heated seats!

 

IMO I feel that driving the car all year allows you to enjoy all aspects of the driving and makes you a better driver when you are able to know the limits of the car in a diverse range of conditions. Snow tires are great for the winter months because they provide awesome traction and predictability. You are able to really drift the car easily when you want to!!

 

Before I bought my 997, I drove an Infiniti G35 coupe for a few years. The first year I had the snow tire/wheel package and drove a few times in snow (or tried to). The issue was not (really) traction, although even with trac control (on or off) that RWD car still slipped and slid. The issue became one of clearance - I encountered snow banks and piles above the rockers. You just couldn't be sure that you'd safely get from A to B under even moderate wintry conditions. So, I bought a 10-year-old SUV and just banged the heck out of that for a few years. It also came with the significant (at times essential) benefit of being able to haul way more than my coupe ever could.

Fast forward to 2008, I upgraded my winter driver to an 01 MB E320 4Matic wagon, a car I had no objection to driving at all. And I bought the C2S cab in July. Snows were not needed because it hardly left the garage from Nov-March, except on those rare days when the temps were above 40 and the roads dry.

We all know that 2 vehicles is a significant extra expense, but in my case (and probably many others') you get certainty in winter, cargo space for Home Depot runs or kids' college moves, and better protection for and fewer miles on your P-car. And I still put 12K miles on the cab in under year - minus the winter months. So it gets driven and it stays looking good!

Gene
2005 C2S cab

 

I snow drive mine, no use keeping it in the garage... The Audi is reserved for days that might have ground clearance problems (10+cms).

As stated before, DO NOT drive the car even on dry asphalt unless you have snow tires. The stock tires are useless in the snow, even with an AWD.