Do you drive your modern Porsche in the winter?

[BigCat]

I really find this quite fascinating.
Why is a late modern (997, 991, 992) Porsche 911 any more unsuitable for winter driving than a BMW, Audi, Toyota, Ford etc, that do not have winter tyres fitted either? If the forum is anything to go by, the majority of 911 owners seem to regard their cars as so precious that they can only be used for driving in dry summer weather and must never exceed a few thousand miles a year.

I personally think it's a complete load of spherical objects, the 911 is really no different to any other car in terms of materials used to build it and it should be able to withstand our climate, just take a look at all the You Tube videos of the winter road testing that takes place prior to launching a new model. Yes stuff will corrode but it can be replaced/repaired so what is the issue?

As for myself my 992 GT3 is now 12 months old, 6600 miles and will be driven every month of the year unless there is a snow on the road and that's only because it doesn't have winter tyres and with such a low ground clearance would be a rather useless snowplough.

 

[geedee]

B.C. I find the variety of Porsche owners ideals interesting, but not at all surprising.
I suspect primarily much may depend on one`s financial standing relative to all the costs involved in running a Porsche and trying to balance those costs against ones other financial priorities in life, which for some may be a somewhat complex balancing act at times..?
Since the advent of easy money it seems many who may run a Porsche might never ever own it and may not expect to have the wherewithal to do so, but can sample that which a Porsche provides for a limited period of time based upon their financial situation for a period of time and the terms of the agreement under which they borrowed the money required..Such agreements may be dependant on value retention dependant the miles covered during the "rental" term and of course the condition of the Porsche on it`s return..as there is bound to be higher cost implications for the "renter" involved if the terms of the contract have been exceeded by any margin..?
Then there may be those Porsche enthusiasts who have set their sights on a particular model and may put a lot of time and effort into research to imagine their ideal spec before setting out to find their Porsche, which ideally they intend to keep long term. Again dependant on their financial standing etc, that which is tied up in their Porsche financially could represent a high percentage of their possible disposable income, or indebtedness, or a mix of both, and as ever markets will play their part in determining the possible alteration of value of a Porsche with the passage of time..? Part of the evaluation process will be the miles it is reputed to have covered, it`s history and of course condition...? Thus if some sort of negative change in the "owners" financial standing comes to pass, the Porsche can hopefully be turned back into cash to help bridge any gap in finances, and as such the Porsche might be considered as having some sort of financial investment potential at the time of initial purchase, though the ideal was long term ownership..?
Then there are those who might see a Porsche as a hedge on inflation with better options than a drawer full of expensive watches or whatever else might take one`s fancy to invest in..? That being the case, again usage and condition would seem to play a part in value retention/maximisation of possible returns on investment, and in such a case the Porsche might rarely see the light of day...if ever..?
I suspect there are many other examples of the unfortunate way the manipulation of finances might be forced to play a primary part in prioritising the condition of one`s Porsche in terms of the "ownership" experience, so much so I suspect even those who might actually buy a Porsche as basic or fun transport with what they might consider to be pocket change, and thus use, perhaps even abuse it as suits their personal ideals, might still have a degree of interest in whatever value it has retained when they decide to change it for something else..?
Other than all that, scrap yards would perhaps perhaps have had as many Porsches piled on top of each other over the years as there have been BMW,Toyota, Ford etc.. ?
I think Porsche Porsche at one time made a claim that perhaps 60% or some such figure of 911`s ever produced still exist today..? Given all the above... is it any surprise..?
It would seem there many and varied ways in which to gain a sense of returns from running a Porsche... Each to their own works for me..(-:

 

[Wollemi]

The only thing limiting winter use is tyres. High performance summer tyres, such as Michelin PS4S are not happy in ambient temperatures below 10° ( don't believe the oft pedalled myth that the fabled MPS4S is all season tyre. It isn't.)
A small slip or slide in your Porsche sports car will be a lot more expensive than collecting another dent in an old daily driver. ( 11 year old Land Rover in my case).
Put a set of winter* tyres on though and it's another matter. safe and secure in cold and wet conditions. Thats what I will do in December. Probably won't take it out deliberately in the snow - as you run the risk of being hit by all the people who think driving in snow on summer tyres is a good idea. Better they do that when I'm in the Landy.
* winter tyres are for all conditions below 7°, not just snow.

 

[Wollemi]

 

[checkers]

I was interested in hearing from owners using their car year round since as stated in my previous posts this is what I have always done
largely as a result of being the only vehicle I own but also the two 911's previous to my present 992 ran up 50k miles without much trouble and stayed parked in the road . I would admit that OPC trade in probably resulted in a lower offer because of rectifying paint
chips but thats just normal on todays roads in the UK.
How owners use their cars is a personal matter and I am in no way critical, but for me the most cost effective way of getting value out
of the 992 is as a do everything and enjoy the moment sports car
PS Christmas tree fits perfectly into the open sunroof !

 

[Chris_ABZ]

I am never concerned for those "poor" EV driving people! Ever!

 

[geedee]

Cracking pic Wollemi, thanks for posting..

 

[pse_SC]

I personally think it's a complete load of spherical objects...

Agree entirely. They are great all year round, just as much for those who have the have the means to buy and easily maintain such fantastic new cars... drive it, enjoy it, take care of it, appreciate it for how good it is

 

[MarcusValente]

I’ve had my 992 a little over a year and cover around 500 miles a month all year round.

I‘d wanted a 911 for around 20 years and was adamant not to just leave it on the drive to look at []

A good ceramic coating and watching out for bad conditions and she’s just as great as in summer.

 

[turbo jonny]

I only drive my 911 in the winter on occasional dry salt free days. Mainly because it is 30 years old and unusually well preserved. My 981 Boxster on the other hand i do use as all year round everyday car. Winter tyres are now on. It seems to have thrived with regular use and there is no corrosion and only regular servicing needed in my 6 years ownership.

 

[mikegibson]

I use my car all year round. It's a cabrio and it lives outdoors; it's great to get the roof down on sunny winter days. Prior to my 992 I had a 997.2 cabrio which lived for 10 years outdoors. Again, it was used all year round and did a lot of winter motorway driving. I never had to have any suspension components, or anything else for that matter, require replacement as a result of corrosion and that's with full OPC maintenance and we know how "fussy" they can be about any issues identified. I like a shiny car but I also like to drive it, which coupled with my not having a garage, means I have to accept that it just looks crap most of the time over the winter!

 

[lem]

The only weather I don’t use mine is super heavy rain and snow. The heavy rain just seems to mean the rear intakes pick up lots of small stones, and snow / heavy ice is more due to other road users.

Too much cash invested in it to not use it. Am on 4k miles since March. It’s not a daily driver but for instance I’ve driven it for 4 days this week, mixture of motorway stints and country roads.

PPF and coating means it does not take long to look pristine again and protected but I did pick up a windscreen chip tonight that will need sorting. Hopefully a chip fix as I’m not keen of the thought of a new windscreen!

 

[geedee]

As this question was posted in the 992 section, there may be little or no concern at this stage of the usual corrosion on exhaust pipe clamps and fixings that in time can become a real pain to resolve as the result of what seems like poor material choices by Porsche..? Poor choices..? Well I guess everything is relative as my 991.1 is 10 years old circa 45k miles and the exhaust fixings are still (just) capable of performing their task, they do look hideously corroded, which is kinda disappointing on such a high quality machine..?
Other than the above I still think it wise to use my Porsche in Winter on chosen usually dry days when if there has been salt in use, I tend to wait for a dry day after it has rained enough to wash the salt off the road surface.. The thinking behind usage is to reduce the chance of tyres developing flat spots from standing in the one place for months, the other is that suspension seems best exercised than sitting in the one position which may effect the rubbers to some extent, also oil seals do not have the same opportunity to dry out. Perhaps a bit like us it may be best to exercise rather than sit too long..? (-:
According to a recognised Porsche expert engineer, it is thought that there is a chance that stored Porsches may be at more risk of suffering ill effects ,than those used at least once a month in order to avoid the inevitable drain down of hot/thinner oil when initially parked up and possible drain down continuing over time, which can relate to lack of lube in some locations on initial re-start, all of course dependant on the length of time the car has been laid up.
It is also suggested that if storing is the preferred option, then to avoid oil drain down, and if the fuel pump can be disabled then spinning the engine on the battery every so often will cause the oil to recirculate, though battery condition and charge also play a part in that line of thought..?
On the other hand I have read where owners of air cooled Porsches are happy to just jump in fire it up and drive off after Winter lay-up having apparently done just that and over many years and happy to continue to do so.. Each to their own.