'96 C4 Cab squirrely in the snow

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Bill Strutton - 08 Mar 2004 01:21 GMT

Searching several sites & google did not reveal any info on this.
Maybe I'm the only one that's ever experienced the problem (not). If
you have a link to a good thread please pass it along... Sorry to be
long-winded too but trying to provide adequate info...

Background: I became the second owner of this '96 C4 Cab about 9 mos
ago & it has 45k mi now. Has clean carfax, clean pre-purchase
inspection at porsche franchise + clean inspection at my local porsche
shop. Stock wheels, tire sizes, 70% wear left on Bridgestone S-02s
all the way around.

I do not generally drive this in the winter due to the salt here in MI
& so don't prep it for winter driving. Took it out a couple times
this week during snap of warmer weather. Got caught out today with
about an inch of snow that dumped in a short period and that's where
the problems started.

Was running the interstate about 70mph in the rain when I came upon
the snow. The car literally felt out of control with much lateral
motion almost like driving on seriously grooved pavement. Best I can
describe it is 'twitchy' or 'squirrely'. It wasn't a little
concerning. It was terrifying & thought I was going to loose it. Had
to slow down to 30-35 on interstate. I exited & took back roads home &
even felt it at 25-35 mph.

I obviously know that the Z-rated tires aren't optimal in the cold due
to the compounds used, etc. I wouldn't have thought, however, that
they'd result in a terrifying, out of control experience. I don't
want to borrow trouble -so to speak but am wondering what other
mechanical / alignment / other type of things we might be looking at
here. As mentioned, the car got clean marks on pre-purchase & then
good marks (minus slight leak in steering pump) during another pretty
thorough inspection by a MI shop recommend by my local PCA chapter
-but we were not looking for a problem like this at the time.

Any insight as to what might cause this would be greatly appreciated.
I experienced a very simliar issue on a '91 talon awd turbo years ago
that was never resolved before selling the car.

Anyway, I just wanted to know

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RV WRLee - 08 Mar 2004 02:30 GMT

>Any insight as to what might cause this would be greatly appreciated.
>I experienced a very simliar issue on a '91 talon awd turbo years ago
>that was never resolved before selling the car.

I live in Ohio and have had a number of 911 configurations over the years
including a couple of C4's. I now have 2003 996 Turbo that stays in the garage
in the winter. First, the tires were never meant to be used in the snow and
regardless of tread depth, the tread clogs up very quickly in snow giving you a
"snow packed" tire. Second, the AWD system wasn't really designed for snow
conditions. The computer will keep shifting the power among the wheels as they
slip in the snow which is compunded by the tires not being in contact with the
road. Given the power and torque that your dealing with the AWD system is
constantly making corrections. Finally, you're in a car that transmits
virtually every little shimmy and slip right to the seat of you pants and to
your hands...that's what it's supposed to do and I think that it feels worse
than it is. My advice is don't drive it in the snow and if you do get
caught....shift into the highest gear you can maintain without lugging the
engine and try to keep the speed as constant as possible. Slow and steady.
This is at least my take on it having been caught in the same situation more
than a few times over the years. It can be terrifying!
Bi!!

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