CD Article: 2006 Porsche Boxster

[CD_Editor]

You may discuss our cover story of the day in this thread....
Winter Test:

How does a Porsche Boxster perform in the sub-zero temperatures and icy conditions of an Ottawa winter? Everything was fine, says Paul Williams, until the Boxster was subject to "a Canadian climatic nightmare called 'freezing rain'."   More...

[mdxtasy]

Porsche's are often stored for winters.  However, a lot of Porsche owners do drive their cars year round.  With a set of good winter rubber, they aren't that bad....from what I've been told.  Aside from the odd horrid driving conditions, a Porsche would be able to handle most of the winter weather and road conditions.  I rarely see Boxster's in the winter though, I've seen a yellow one and a black one tooling around town in the winter months.  I do see a few 911's (oddly enough, 996's are more common in the winter with a few 993's thrown in with very few 964's) driving around. 

If I had a 911, I'd drive it in the winter when it isn't too horrible out there.  On the icy days with bad weather, I'd keep it inside the garage.  But that's just me dreaming right now. 

[wing]

Hehe, this was the vehicle Grant drove to windsor, it was in his driveway last weekend, I said "Trade you my subaru for the porsche"   Didn't work out hahaha

On a related not, the other day we had some freezing rain as I was getting to work there was a boxter coming the other direction with his 4-ways on.  First time I've seen one in the winter around here.

Ok, now I read the article, that was pretty humourous   

I remember the ice day, I met Paul at a Tim Horton's the following day now less.  My vehicle was a mess of ice about 2 inches thick.  Certainly I was glad it was not a boxster that day 

[dbeler]

Dear Mr. Yap,

I always enjoy your articles, from the enthusiasts driving perspective.  You make several good points in your article "Why you should drive your sports car in the Winter'. I always have driven a  sports car, in the winter, in Sask and Alberta, but there are a few hazzards you didn't mention: 

1. Low mechanical grip.  Because the suspension is stiff, the tires actually do not stay pressed to the road as well as a softer sprung vehicle.  The more bumps the worse it is.  The colder the suspension, the worse it is.  The lighter the car, the worse it is.

2.  Low lbs/sq inch on the contact patch.   The wider the sleigh, the fater it will slide.  Same principal.  Narrower tires will be more effective on snow and ice.  Again, the wider the tire, the worse it will be.  The lighter the car, the worse it will be.

3.  Corrosion.  You can wash your car, but it's hard to get all the knooks and crannies every time. 

4.  Ice dammage.  Scrapping snot and ice can inadvertantly damage the trim around glass, and sand trapped in or under the ice can scratch the glass when scraping.  Washing the car freezes the doors and gas filler shut, and can damage them when they are opened.  I always carry a hair drier in the trunk, but sometimes, that is stuck too.

5.  Sand blasting.  If you follow someone closely at high speed, they throw up stuff laying on the road, and junk falls off their cars and hits yours.  I have a clear bra on the hood, but debris not only damages the painted plastic bumbers, but eventually the windshield will get pitted.

My view is, after a few years, I need an excuse to upgrade anyway...

 

[mdxtasy]

Dear Mr. Yap,
...

Dear dbeler,

Paul Williams wrote the article.

[Scaerio]

Dear Mr. Yap,
...

Dear dbeler,

Paul Williams wrote the article.

In dbeler's defense, Mr. Yap did write an article on why one should drive a sports car in the winter, and since the editor did not set up a space to discuss it, maybe he felt that this was the best place to put it... 

[Giant Dwarf]

Dbeler, what sort of sports car do you drive all winter long?

I read both Mr.Yap's article (and your post here) with interest since I'm driving a sports car through the winter for the first time this year.  So far, the only complaint I have is how hard it is on the finish (the sandblasting my car takes on the highway is painful to me!). 

[wing]

I think it also really depends on what part of Canada you live in.  Ottawa is particularly bad.

Saturday we had 20cm of snow between 9am and noon, I would not have been able to go out and would have been home bound in my S2000 until about 7pm when the plow went down my street.

With all the freezing rain we have had, I have about 5" of ice on my driveway, some of the warmer days have allowed me to chip away at this, but I couldn't even leave my driveway with my car with a 5" bump, my car sits 5" off the ground.  On top of that there are huge ice chunks everywhere.

So I could drive it in the winter, but certainly REQUIRE a second car anyways otherwise on too many occasions I would be stuck.  Sometimes I would even be stuck at work   Now that would suck.

I've got to get a picture of my driveway right now it's insane.

[Arthur Dent]

I daily drove a Mustang GT through a couple winters - admittedly not a convertible and in the milder Lethbridge winters. Thinking back on it the ground clearance was pretty sedan-ish too. Drove my Spitfire once or twice in the snow - clearance was definitly an issue!

[safristi]

Dammit if I could get my new dream car, a Cayman, it'd be my daily driver as were all my previous sports cars.... why miss a DAY of FUN............

[dbeler]

I started in Regina with a 87 celica with 215 tires and and about 2800 lbs.  After struggling all winter long, unable to climb parking garage ramps and spontaneously spinning in circles after driving in icy ruts on unplowed streets, I drove my dads 1st generation Lumina, with sloppy suspension and skinny tires.  I could accellerate and brake twice as fast.

Then I got a prelude, with 205 50 tires, and more aggressive suspension, and went out and got 185 60 series studed winter only tires and put them on smaller, 15 inch wheels.   Big change.

Now I have a 04 TL, with 235 45 tires, but I live in Calgary, so I opted for winter tires of the same size.  The snow only lasts till the next Chinook, but look out for the pea sized gravel everywhere.

[wing]

dbeler, no offence but those aren't "sports cars", not in the sense Mr. Yap was speaking of.   A boxster is much smaller, a prelude is FWD although not a big deal it helps some in the snow because of the weight on the front wheels. 

Mr. Yap was talking Boxsters, Vettes, 911's etc.  much different animal. 

For example my S2000 has 5" ground clearance (A little less under the car with the exhaust about 4.5" it is RWD with no driving aids and it's light 2800lbs.

Big difference from a TL or a prelude, maybe similar to the celica if it was RWD?

[safristi]

Does LEASING preclude folk from using their Sports Jobbies year round?.............all my buds in TO had MGBs ,Camaros,Vettes,Spitfires,Alfas....ran 'em year round..OR are sport car owners (in General) RICH enuf to only have them as Sunday Summer runabouts and other metal in the garage does the heavy lifting..the Giant Dwarf must be a throwback to the Middle_AD_ages..!!!!...

[wing]

I don't think leasing a porsche has any restrictions about winter driving, they do restrict your mileage though.  Just like any lease but porsche I believe offers a very low mileage option because they realise many do not winter drive.

I see some C4S's around here, but I've never seen such a car on a day like we had Saturday, with 20cm of snow and drifts 2 feet high.  I was bottoming out in the subaru.

[safristi]

I don't mean "restrictions" on leases...more scared to take a chance cos it's NOT REALLY YOUR CAR and every ding will have it's day!!! ..or the fact that young FOLK1 thru 12 years OLD !!! ....20 somethings ...don't buy Sports cars as everyday transport(ie their ONLY CAR) these days....we MUST BE RICHER/SMARTER!!! less adventurous...Insurance rating SHY...WOT is IT...when 20 somethings wont ride
Sports Cars year round....!!!? ....(YUP on 20cm Snow Days..NO Problemo...public TransPO but otherwise!!!?)

[Howswedeitis]

Dbeler makes some excellent points and I do agree with the gist of what he is saying.
Clearly, driving a sports car in winter is a compromise. That being said, I have always
found that smaller front wheel drive cars make some of the best winter rides.
One 1989 Saab 900s with 185/65R15 Nokian Hakkapelliita tyres comes to mind.
Whilst there have been many others I've driven none has been able to
equal what 'she' could do. That's to say it's next to impossible to get a car
WITHOUT ABS brakes these days and let me tell you not having them
is a definite advantage in winter. I recall one event where I had to
threshold brake, lift off then steer in order to avoid having a 80kp/h
collison with some idiot who didnt bother to stop at a red light he ran.
Suffice to say skill / great winter tyres had something to do with avoiding this collision
but something tells me if the car was equipped with ABS brakes I
would have definately hit the guy. Here's something the people at
CDN driver should look into...why don't car makes have an on-off switch
for ABS? Audi did so in the 80's with their quattro equipped cars...

[Giant Dwarf]

Howswed, I recall discussing the ABS pro's and con's not too long ago here in another thread.  Basically, I would say ABS isn't defeatable in cars these days because with the exception of driving in deep snow or gravel, the benefits of ABS in braking control and often in stopping distances vastly exceed those without.  Can you imagine the first time someone unfamiliar with their car's ABS braking traits (ie. the pulsing / grinding pedal feel and noises) decides "oh, this isn't for me" and turns it off, only to lose control on the next wet road and not know how to properly handle their car?  I think we're all better off making this proven safety feature a widely-available component of most vehicles now. 


***


Back to sports cars in the winter...

This morning on the drive into work, I entered the QEW and as I came down the on-ramp, noticed a nice, black 911 (05 Carerra S) whizzing past.  I gradually managed to catch up to him to have a closer look and had to give him credit -- it was covered in all the same road schmutz and salt as every other car out there and he was happily cruising along enjoying it for what it is...  a great car, no matter the time of year.

Since he was apparently not in as big a hurry as I was to get to work, I passed him and went on about my travels.  Traffic started to heavy-up a bit (as it tends to closer to the Skyway bridge) and I noticed a taupe-coloured Saab 9-5 zig-zagging through traffic.  Next thing I know, the Porsche driver had had enough of this Swedish-meatball and pulled out behind him.  When he downshifted to show the Saab driver who truly is king of the highway, the explosive wailing roar of that flat-6 was so loud, immediate and exciting that it actually startled me!  The 911 rocketed past us more plebian vehicles and was gone.  Porsche... there is no substitute. 

[safristi]

Yah der eez UND Mitsu EVO err UND Subie Dooby Sti ......they would DWARF the PORCH sitter if the road was really messier!!! ...retire to the RIGHT LANE and wish upon a STAR.........

[mdxtasy]

Back to sports cars in the winter...

This morning on the drive into work, I entered the QEW and as I came down the on-ramp, noticed a nice, black 911 (05 Carerra S) whizzing past.  I gradually managed to catch up to him to have a closer look and had to give him credit -- it was covered in all the same road schmutz and salt as every other car out there and he was happily cruising along enjoying it for what it is...  a great car, no matter the time of year.

Since he was apparently not in as big a hurry as I was to get to work, I passed him and went on about my travels.  Traffic started to heavy-up a bit (as it tends to closer to the Skyway bridge) and I noticed a taupe-coloured Saab 9-5 zig-zagging through traffic.  Next thing I know, the Porsche driver had had enough of this Swedish-meatball and pulled out behind him.  When he downshifted to show the Saab driver who truly is king of the highway, the explosive wailing roar of that flat-6 was so loud, immediate and exciting that it actually startled me!  The 911 rocketed past us more plebian vehicles and was gone.  Porsche... there is no substitute. 

 

[Snowman]

I drove Mustangs and Z-28s all winter during my youth. This was in Northern Ontario with a “real” winter and +10’ of snow. That is the only way to lean how to drive