Winter driving

[Peter Empson]

I can't believe the filth on the roads at the moment, in 3 days and about 50 miles my car has gone from being completely clean to the state you see below.

Not that I should complain too much, all the salt and muck on the roads has led to quite a few fun filled sideways moments which certainly enlivens the daily commute!

Apart from the odd 996, 986 and a lone 924 I haven't seen any other Porsches for weeks, so who else admits to subjecting their Porsche to this?

Peter.

 

[Guest]

so who else admits to subjecting their Porsche to this?

Me[&o]
After thirteen months of ownership, I have just started (two weeks ago) to commute 550miles a week up and down the A2.
And last week the car was as dirty from clean as yours. As I might being doing this journey for six months, I'm thinking of buying a car for this purpose and maybe treat myself one day a week in the 944.
Luckily I'm off for Xmas next week, which is good because as needed to use it a few things have happened.
Firstly, I had two rear punctures in two days. Pulled a two inch screw (cross head, counter sunk it was an eight) out of the near side on Friday evening. Completely flat, luckily was repaired. Saturday afternoon pulled out of offside a 5mm rivet complete with washer. This could not be repaired, stumped up for new tyre[]
My boot cable has just snapped, which I'll have to repair over the weekend. Otherwise will not be able to get suitcases in the back.
Last. I think my near side anti roll bar has just snapped.
Now I think about it... Don't talk to me about Winter or anyother driving...[]

 

[Diver944]

Me too []

I do 30k miles a year between our two.

I took a lovely picture of my black rear wheel this week which I was going to post in Fens 'which wheel' thread as an example of Anthracite. Trouble is it came out looking silver????? With my eyes it was jet black filthy.

Cameras [8|]

 

[Fen]

And me. 370 miles today with the top down the whole time.

 

[Peter Empson]

I quite like the effect I have on my wheels at the moment, see pic below

Oh and Fen, I know our heaters are good but that's really dedication, I only spent a few minutes outside today and that was more than enough for me!

 

[Guest]

I know our heaters are good but that's really dedication

Thats making the most of the last 24hrs of ownership (possibly)

 

[Fen]

Good heater, thick leather jacket with the collar up, fleecy hat and wind deflector - it's actually really cosy in there.

There aren't many mornings that I go out of the house to see everything completely dry, so at 6am yesterday down it went and because the car park is covered where I was going I even put the tonneau on and left it like that until I got home at 8pm.

I guess the auction could go either way. With 15 hours to go it's close enough to the reserve that anyone else bidding could well take it high enough. Sacry thought that it might be gone this time next week.

 

[Guest]

I'm averaging about 50 miles a day at the moment and am definitely seeing less Porsches than I did in the summer (before I got my 944). After spending the last two weekends Zaino-ing the car I've been pleasantly suprised that it's shiny blackness is still fairly intact.

I must get around to taking some photos straight after I detail it this weekend though.

 

[Guest]

I find driving in the winter a joy in the Civic. [8D]

 

[Growler]

I to use my 944 turbo for daily use. It is quite a lot of "fun" compared to my previous car (impreza) across the lanes I use to get to and from work.

I have managed to get on a VX220 skid pan/mini track day at Bruntingthorpe Airfield tomorrow. I think the drifting skills may come in handy as the road surface varies dramatically, and mainly from slippy to treacherous with not much in between!

I have attached a photo of nearside front after 10 days of use since last clean!

 

[wizard]

ORIGINAL: Peter Empson

Not that I should complain too much, all the salt and muck on the roads has led to quite a few fun filled sideways moments which certainly enlivens the daily commute!

This is my first winter with the car and I have had a few too many sideways moments (3)which took me by suprise as these were totally unprovoked i.e off boost. I have decided to keep her locked up in the garage where its safe as it did scare the sh!t out of me.

I am running Falken tyres all round - do these have a tendancy to slip? They are OK in the dry.

 

[usermjg]

i use to put the car away over winter, many years ago, but found that i would always find little problems with the car after leaving for periods of time, even if i started the car and ran it on a regular basis. So i decided that if im paying all that money for insurance, tax etc then im going to get the most out of my little car. I would say though you do need to drive in a completely different manner or it will bite back. As it looks like wizard has found out, but dont let the car scare you just get back out there and find what the car wants to do, and it soon becomes great fun. I too have found Porsche numbers on the road dwindling come on guys and girls get them out there it's what they want, and remember a Porsche is for life not just for christmas storage.

Marc[]

 

[wizard]

Marc - totally agree with you that the car is best used rather than left standing.
The weather has been pretty awful lately and I have adopted the required driving manner to suit. I don't use the car as a daily driver so getting used to it is going to take a bit longer, but like I said before, I have had a few issues even without provocation.
I think one of my problems might be the recent new Dump valve and boost enhancer. I shall be turning the boost enhancer down this weekend.[8|]

 

[steve 944t]

Mine is currently my only car, so is used in all weather. I have had a few slides pulling away from junctions (partly intentional []) but find it generally quite forgiving.
Wizard - I am surprised you are having oversteer even when not on boost. I generally have to provoke my car to get it out of shape. When cornering off boost it has a tendency to understeer if anything. I would say yours is possibly down to tyre choice and/or geometry. I am using Toyo T-1Ss, which are very good, although even the best road tyres are going to struggle with the roads as greasy as they are now.

 

[chrisr]

Hi Wizard, last winter was my first with the 944 and 99% percent of the days being damp I found that lack of respect meant trouble and did have a major spin that I got away with ( on a set of Falkens which I was never happy with ) maybe in the mind but Im a lot happier on Michelin Pro Sports all round ( also quite a bit poorer [8D] ) but still enjoy using the car 7 days a week - and would never dream of garaging it for the winter. Just looking in the mirror and seeing those wheel arches still does it for me - christ I need to get out more.[]

ORIGINAL: wizard

ORIGINAL: Peter Empson

Not that I should complain too much, all the salt and muck on the roads has led to quite a few fun filled sideways moments which certainly enlivens the daily commute!

This is my first winter with the car and I have had a few too many sideways moments (3)which took me by suprise as these were totally unprovoked i.e off boost. I have decided to keep her locked up in the garage where its safe as it did scare the sh!t out of me.

I am running Falken tyres all round - do these have a tendancy to slip? They are OK in the dry.

 

[lali]

Wizard - Which Falkens are you running on? How old are they?

I used to run my old E28 M5 ( The only REAL M5 ) on FK451's and found them to be stunning in all conditions, I even did a wet handleing course at MIRA on them.

I am waiting for an airfield day to trash what crap tyres I currently have before swapping to 451's on my S2, I've already swapped on the 968 sport and they feel great on that.

also might be worth checking the pressures cos as the temp has drop so will your pressure.

 

[Diver944]

ORIGINAL: Peter Empson

.....led to quite a few fun filled sideways moments

Peter,

Could this be down to your new stiff Leda suspension?

How does it compare now that it has been fitted a few weeks?

 

[Peter Empson]

Hi Paul,
If anything the suspension makes the odd <ahem> 'accidental' sideways moment much easier to deal with - previously the lurch as the weight moved on the suspension made for a less than tidy recovery unless you were really precise in catching it, but now as the car remains pretty flat this isn't an issue. It does break away rather quicker though, but not by a worrying amount.

The nicest surprise so far (in these conditions) is that I can now feel when the road lacks grip even when driving in a straight line, as the stearing becomes incredibly light. Previously I had to wait till turn in to find this out. On one road I use which is prone to icy patches this is a huge reassurance (I've already seen two cars in the ditch there over the last fortnight). I guess this is a result of the increased -ve camber, does that sound likely?

I'm itching to get it on track to really put it through its paces, but it's so busy at work I really need to wait till Feb/March. Roll on the new year!

Best regards,
Peter

 

[Diver944]

Have you played with the adjustability at all? I know they have a huge range. It may be worth turning them to the softest setting and seeing what the wet grip is like then.

Beverly from Leda is oragnising a trackday at Castle Combe in the spring (details on the 968UK forum) which I thought I might go along to

 

[Peter Empson]

Hi Paul,
For the time being I've left them where JZ set them which was in the middle of their range. I think it's probably a bit too high for the bumpy B roads I use daily, but it's certainly not twitchy or uncomfortable, but it does show up the odd squeak from the interior that wasn't there before!
The wet grip is still a league ahead of what I'm used to, although some of this may be due to the new Toyo tyres i'm running which are much nicer than the old Continentals.
Best regards,
Peter.