Winter (not) Driving

Winter.

That means a few things to us salt-averse Porschephiles here in the nation's capital, chief of which is the storing of our beauties for the duration of the dark, cold months. Notes from last year show I didn't put 'Red' away until November 25 last year, and got her out the following April 17, almost 5 months hibernation.

This year, however, might be a little longer, as we had our first dumping of snow here on November 7th (11.7 cm) and the city quickly saw fit to dump several metric tons of sodium chloride all over our roads.

Now there are those out there who are lucky enough to live in parts of the world that do not see the kinds of winter weather we do, and many are the folk who also put winter- or performance all-season tires on their 718s so that they can enjoy them year-round.

The forums abound with comments like, "These cars should be enjoyed year-round!" or "Don't be such a wimp - get winter tires and DRIVE!" or "Garage Queens should be banned - Porsches are made to be driven!" (ok I made that last one up, but you get the idea).

Problem is, for those of us like me, for whom a pristine piece of mechanical artwork is something we intend to own and revere for the rest of our days, the pounding our cars take over the Canadian winter months is just too much to bear.

The combination of freeze / thaw and the preference of municipalities to dump salt on the roads at the slightest inclination of freezing temperatures means we have a perfect storm (see what I did there?) for deterioration of - particularly - our undercarriages.

Take a look at Exhibit A, if you will: my Dad sent me a video recently of the four rear toe-arm bushings he'd replaced on his Subaru. The destruction of these parts is all too clear to see.

The Subie is driven all year-round, and kept well-maintained (washed regularly, serviced appropriately), but there's not much one can do to stop the insidious creep of rust to those not-so-delicate suspension parts. They hang there under the car, nakedly exposed to the natural and man-made elements for nigh on five solid months of snow, ice and salt, every single year.

It's a testament to Dad's care and, I guess, to Subaru, that these lasted as long as they did (12-ish years I think), but I shudder to visualize my Boxster's suspension in the same state.

And so November rolls around every year and I rush around in the waning days of autumn, getting the last few rides in that I can before the snow..err...salt flies. With my toque on, the heated seats cranked, warm airflow from the upper and lower vents, and the heated steering wheel doing its thing, I have found the 718 cabin to be a delightful place to be, all the way down to 5° C. Problem is though, before the salt hits, the summer tires start to be not so happy - not so grippy.

So, even though I'm toasty, my tires are not, and since I also I live each day in the fears of the first real snow dump, it's time to settle things down for the hibernation. Much as some forum-istas cry foul, when the plows and salt trucks get unleashed on a goldfish-memoried Ottawa public (what? snow? now? how can this be?), I have to get a final wash in, back the Boxster into the garage, and settle down for the duration.

It's ok though, as it just makes the anticipation of the ending of the long, cold winter that much sweeter. Like there's a beautiful, red, shining post-winter-blues-beater present just waiting for April to roll around.

A last quick photo before the snow falls, with the fall colours still present on the trees is a great way to burn the image into the brain, though I do confess, I'll be unable to resist peeking into the garage every so often over the next few months, just to make sure she is still there - waiting patiently on the battery tender, anticipating the early, cool (salt-free) days of spring almost as much as I am.

Maybe earlier than April 17th this time around!

Here's hoping.

~ Luke 

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