As far as climate occasions are involved, a “bomb cyclone” sounds goddamn terrifying. It type of feels prefer it ought to be the title of a awful highschool metallic band – or ska, I may see it being ska – however it’s really the time period for a quickly intensifying storm. And boy did we get a doozy of a bomb cyclone final week. I made it to Detroit for my annual vacation go to simply earlier than the storm screwed up a enormous quantity of journey plans. But whereas my family and friends have been battening down the hatches, getting ready for what felt like impending doom, I used to be getting antsy. I simply needed to go for a drive.
Rewind a few weeks to once I requested Porsche if I may borrow a 911 throughout my keep in Michigan. I totally knew some type of mega snowstorm was in all probability going to occur. You would possibly assume Porsche would have stated “hell no,” however the firm’s response was the precise reverse. Presto, a Gentian Blue 911 Carrera was mine for the week.
See, Porsche is aware of what I do know: The 911 is a killer winter automobile. And I’m not even speaking about one of many many all-wheel-drive variants or the just-drive-over-it 911 Dakar. I had a base, rear-wheel-drive Carrera coupe and it was excellent. Of course, it got here with one essential improve.
It’s All About the Tires
I’ll shout this till I’m blue within the face: If you reside in a spot that will get legit winter climate, you want legit winter tires. All-season tires are crap – jacks of all trades, masters of none. Buy a set of winter tires as soon as and use them for years. Leave ‘em on steelies and look like a badass. However you do it, and no matter what you drive, winter tires are one of the simplest and most effective upgrades to keep you, your passengers and other drivers safe in inclement conditions. You cannot argue with me on this one. It’s a truth.
There are all types of snow tires optimized for all the things from previous sports activities vehicles to new SUVs (I’ve had good experiences with Bridgestone Blizzak and Michelin X-Ice tires on my private vehicles). The key advantages are that the rubber compound is healthier suited to remain grippy in colder temperatures, and the tread sample is deeper and particularly designed to expel snow and ice. Winter tires are nice for improved traction and braking efficiency. Go get some. Right now.
In the case of this 911, Porsche swapped out the usual Pirelli P Zero summer season tires for a set of Michelin Pilot Alpin snow sneakers. If it have been me, I’d have downsized the wheels by an inch, which is a standard change folks make when becoming winter tires, particularly since this 911 had the bigger elective 20-inch entrance and 21-inch rear wheels.
The reality is, I might relatively go headfirst right into a snowstorm in a two-wheel-drive automobile with winter tires than an all-wheel-drive automobile carrying all-seasons. Lots of of us learn about the advantages of front-wheel-drive vehicles within the snow, the place the burden of the engine provides you pure traction to speed up and steer. These causes are additionally why folks are likely to freak out about rear-wheel-drive vehicles in the identical situations, or why all my pals in highschool used to place sandbags within the beds of their rear-drive Ford Rangers. On the opposite hand, let’s not overlook the superior capability of the front-engine, rear-drive structure for whipping shitties in an empty grocery retailer car parking zone in your buddy’s dad’s 1992 Crown Vic that you simply completely had permission to take out that night time.
This is the place the 911 has a serious winter benefit. Its rear-engine design means there’s naturally extra mass over the pushed wheels. Plus, the Carrera’s rear tires are wider than the fronts – 305 millimeters vs. 245 – in order that they have a bigger contact patch. More weight, extra tire, extra traction.
The 911’s Handling and Balance Helps, Too
It’s onerous to fault the bottom Porsche 911 Carrera. Its 3.0-liter turbocharged flat-6 engine delivers 379 hp and 331 lb-ft of torque, and the 8-speed PDK dual-clutch transmission is an absolute peach. This setup gave me simply sufficient energy to make the 911 thrilling, however not a lot that the automobile would get away from me on a snowy street if I goosed the throttle somewhat too onerous. At no level whereas driving this 911 did I feel it lacked energy, and that features my time on dry pavement.
In the snow, the 911 was a hoot. Its rear finish would shimmy a bit as I set off via a neighborhood in packed snow, shortly righting itself earlier than I reached the subsequent home. Left flip on the cease signal, the rear finish got here round only a bit earlier than the traction management and a contact of countersteering whipped all of it again into line.
On wider nation roads with no visitors (or parked vehicles), drifting round turns was a cinch for these similar causes. Great steering with a number of suggestions and a splendidly balanced chassis gave me all the data I wanted in regards to the accessible grip at every nook. I may mainly steer with the throttle. It was rad.
Honestly, I actually needed to attempt to get the 911 to misbehave whereas driving via snow and slop. Packed snow on suburban roads was a cakewalk for the Carrera, and rougher situations like slushy, icy highways have been drama-free, too. I saved going out of my solution to take the good distance house simply so I may flick the Porsche via the snow. My feeble Californian chilly intolerance didn’t matter. I couldn’t keep out of the chilly.
Okay, There’s One Potential Problem
The single largest benefit that crossovers, vans and SUVs have over passenger vehicles within the winter is floor clearance, and that’s the one place the place the 911 suffered. Or, would have suffered, if the bomb cyclone had dumped greater than 3 or 4 inches of snow in southeast Michigan. I’m not making an attempt to persuade you {that a} Porsche 911 Carrera is a be-all-end-all winter automobile. There are clearly deep-snow conditions the place this factor simply received’t work.
Living with the 911 within the winter introduced out a number of different seasonal quirks as properly. When it will get tremendous chilly outdoors – like, wind chill under zero levels F – water and snow across the home windows can freeze. This occurs on all vehicles, however the 911’s frameless home windows require the glass to drop by half an inch or so whenever you open or shut the doorways. The window motors aren’t at all times highly effective sufficient to beat the ice. This simply means the 911 requires somewhat, let’s say, targeted scraping to verify the home windows work appropriately.
But you don’t have to fret in regards to the digital door handles succumbing to ice and snow. Even in frigid temps, the handles would break via the ice with a loud gunshot sound, like what you hear whenever you unlock a Mercedes-Benz G-Class, which is each superior and terrifying the primary time it occurs.
My solely different advice for those who’re going to drive your 911 year-round: Get the elective ($370) rear wiper. The again glass will get actually nasty from street salt and slush. Heated seats are normal now, thank god, however you’ll in all probability additionally need the $280 heated steering wheel. Oh, and excellent news: The seats warmth up fast.
When my time within the 911 got here to an finish, I swapped into a Ford Bronco Raptor for the remainder of my keep in Detroit. The Raptor was superior, after all — although it’s value noting, the chunky all-terrain tires on the Ford weren’t almost as grippy in snow because the 911’s devoted winter rubber, and the Porsche was extra surefooted than the Bronco when the truck was in two-wheel drive mode.
Man, I miss that Carrera. With the correct tires, Porsche’s legacy sports activities automobile makes each season a blast.
Source: jalopnik.com