First drive on ice

[spyderman]

Well, just icy roads of course, not what those nutty Scandinavian rally drivers practice on. I've never owned or driven a rear wheel drive car before, so it was a bit, er, entertaining. ABS certainly had something to say; didn't see any comment from the PSM, though.

 

[Rodney Naghar]

I remember driving for the only time in snow in my 2.5 Boxster up a steep hill. Overtaken by an Austin Allegro (it was a Vanden Plus I shuold add!) watching me try and work my way up the hill diagonally.....I promised myself never again to venture out in a Porsche under theose conditions! [8D]

 

[mascanes]

mmmmmmmm ................. wicked driving weather ........ on the flat with no other obstacles around though !!!!! It's very difficult to get a Boxster sideways even in the wet, so it was great to practice a bit of oposite lock driving for a while.... !!!!! he he he ..........

 

[JCB..]

ORIGINAL: mascanes

It's very difficult to get a Boxster sideways even in the wet

You haven't been trying hard enough! []

 

[Ian Mills]

I've yet to try my Tiptronic 3.4S on ice or snow, but I found both my 2.5 and then my 3.2S to be perfectly acceptable on snow. The technique seems to be to have faith in the traction control and keep your foot on the throttle, don't lift off at the first sign of wheel spin.

 

[mascanes]

hey John, your probably right ......... also probably need some instruction and bigger gonads [8D]!!! probably not fair comparison, just that I remember driving an friends MGF fairly hard one day a few years back ( mid engine as you know and no electroinic aids either) and it just went, rear end swung round no warning what so ever, unbelievable .....no damage done luckily ........ I have since heard that mid engine cars exhibit this charateristic......... assume the Boxster is the same??? ........ cheers Mike []

 

[Mark_Bennett]

Well, as the MG-F is set up to understeer, and it still came round unexpectedly...[]

As a rule, you get little warning with mid-engined cars. Don't be fooled into thinking PSM will save you either. "Ye cannae change the laws o' physics Cap'n" []

 

[mascanes]

nice reply .... made me smile, I will keep it in mind next time I'm applying pressure on the noise pedal !!![8D] ......must admit I thought the PSM might have kept me honest to some exstent.

I had and S4 V8 Cabriolet before the Boxster and took it on a Audi driving experience track day in France for a long weekend. I couldnt understand why I wasnt really enjoying myself that much when driving it hard into the bends etc. I went in to cool the brakes down a while and mentioned this to one of the Audi driving instructors, and he smiled, and said turn the Audi PSM off. I went out again, and my god, the car came alive, and so did all the understeer, great fun ...... cheers, Mike

 

[JCB..]

ORIGINAL: mascanes

hey John, your probably right ......... also probably need some instruction and bigger gonads [8D]!!! probably not fair comparison, just that I remember driving an friends MGF fairly hard one day a few years back ( mid engine as you know and no electroinic aids either) and it just went, rear end swung round no warning what so ever, unbelievable .....no damage done luckily ........ I have since heard that mid engine cars exhibit this charateristic......... assume the Boxster is the same??? ........ cheers Mike []

Good setup (030) [], concentration and decent tyres are essential when pushing on with a mid engined car.

The latter is why I have always sung the praises of Conti's. Not the grippiest of tyre but a real good communicator that lets you know a little sooner that a "new pants" episode is imminent! [&:]