I really can't comment on how things work for each individual driver...but I will make this comparison. From someone coming from a 1978 930 (K27 Andial modified...the original widow maker #454 off the line) with obviously RWD....there is no comparison in handling. I have had the car to the track and the AWD definitely worked for me (I would have spun the 930 in 360's around driving the same way). I do not drive in the snow...that is for my SUV (not necessarily because the 996TT won't do well, but mainly because of the numerous other idiots on the roads).

 

wross, thats not because of the awd system, thats because of the rear suspension setup. 996's dont have a swinging arm or whatever theyre called on the 930's.

guys trust me
ive put 50k miles on my turbo, and a majority of that is from proper driving. our "AWD" hurts not helps. that sloppy feeling coming from the steering wheel, and that slightly delayed response is coming front the front drive...

why dont you guys just go to your mechanic, pay him $50-100 (about 30 min of work) to disconnect the center shaft. compeltely reversable... drive your car for a day.. ... psm still works 100% the same...


trust me bro's !



by removing your front drive entirely, you reduce drag (inrease power), have better braking, and MOST IMPORTANTLY the steering feel is completely different. night and day. look at it this way... a front drive removal serves the same purpose as the gt2 slave conversion... its for THAT type of driver ...
you guys get what im sayin ?

 

Love your passion. Don't agree, but love the passion.

I'm quite comfortable that my AWD pulled me up my driveway. Repeatedly.

Does it come on often? No, doesn't need to.

Best winter car I have ever owned.

 

yes. if you want to see for yourself. put your car on a lift. put it in first and let the wheels move.
then, call someone over... if its a grandma... tell her to put her hand on the front wheels... she should be able to stop them...

we did it to my car.. tim literally put his hand over them and they both stopped...

 

i drive 100 miles (each way) for raw goat and cow milk every month (and its $11 a gallon !!) for this stuff. goat milk is some of the best stuff you can put in your body.

 

I don't doubt my diff was probably shot, or pretty close, which motivated me to do the full RWD conversion. never looked back. Had plenty of AWD Winter vehicles. But it was a fairly low mileage car, so it seems inevitable. Like I said if it works now..you're lucky..probably won't soon.

 

take this for what its worth.. ive had to drive these roads to get goat milk. yr round. snow.
it snowed almost every week this winter in boston. all i had was dunlop winter tires. abs and psm wasnt working. never had an issue. the weight on the rear axle , with all the weight right sitting on those winter tires makes these cars handle better than most awd vehicles on the market TODAY.

check these roads out. these pics are from the beginning of april.. picture how it was in feb/march... rwd works

 

I've run my car in AWD, AWD with LSD, and RWD with LSD. I do not have PSM on my car, just ABS. I mainly track my car with very occasional street use. With a "functional" viscous clutch and most importantly the correct size tires (with the rear slightly smaller than the front) I was able to cord all 4 tires at the same time at the track after 28 sessions. After I converted to RWD (with everything else equal) I would get about 18 sessions before cording the rear tires with plenty of meat left on the fronts. This clearly told me that "my" AWD system was working and working pretty effectively. In my case, going from AWD w/LSD to RWD w/LSD was a very subtly change. Steering did become very marginally lighter and the car is more of a handful at the limit but more fun at the same time with no electronic baby sitter. My lap times decreased about 2 seconds on a 2 min lap with RWD and this was mainly due to the decrease in driveline drag and a decrease in weight allowing slightly higher corner speeds and later braking. I prefer RWD over AWD but the change is by no means huge. I also believe that the guys that feel like the AWD system is worthless either have a worn out viscous clutch or are using rear tires that are larger than the fronts. Since our cars have a 3.44 final drive on both the front and rear and if you have an understanding of how the 996tt AWD system works, well, you can do the math.

And yes, when I was AWD, with car warmed up car and on jacks prior to doing an oil change, I have put it in gear, and have watched all 4 wheels rotate with definite torque on the fronts. So if you can stop your front wheels by hand than your viscous clutch is most likely fried.

Additionally, If you like to push your car at the limit and/or like to track your car, I would never convert to RWD without adding an proper LSD at the same time. The added benefit of a proper LSD in getting power to the ground especially exiting turns is huge. RWD with LSD is fantastic in these cars. Just my $0.02....

 

^yup
as i said earlier, if it does work, its on the track.
and if anyone wants the math done.. the answer is stock miles 1 mile ahead of rear tires if cruising at 80mph.

so... now that we've all accepted this as truth... who's gonna be first to go rwd ?

 

100% the AWD system works!.....Steve whats the deal with this goats milk man? Are you sure thats all your drinking!?!! haha

It was always my understanding that by default the car has 5/95 power distribution (this is the same as you saying it doesn't work).... once the rear wheels spin enough, it then distributes to 40/60 (now its starting to work).... You can't put your car on a lift to test this.

Like you said its most noticed on a track. Its probably not going to increase the cars drivability in the snow BUT more for hard cornering when the rear wheels are starting loosing traction.

Now when you mention launching the car, actually Mark was the one who made me look into the AWD system when he asked me if I heated up the system before launching at E-Town. He told me to spin my tires leading up to the line so that when at the line ready to launch the car, the fluid would have transferred already enabling the car to use more of the front wheels to grip when launching.

All in all, its not for the snow, but more for performance.

 

Been there done that... and as was said, if you go RWD without a LSD, it will be fun, but you will have 1 wheel squeal...

 

From a guy that drinks goats milk...LOL

In any case, why are you trying to convince others? Why don't you just be happy with your set-up and let the rest of us be happy with ours?

You have, by the way, provided ZERO DATA for your claims...

If I wanted RWD I would have bought a GT2!

 

i couldnt afford a gt2. thats why i went rwd.
but yes, i have zero data to provide.

 

No disrespect, but why are you so hell bent on getting others doing this conversion? I know what I like but it may not necessarily be for others so why try so hard to convince others? The RWD conversion has been around for years so its not like you've stumbled upon something new. Again, no offense, I just don't get it...

I also don't understand the "stock miles 1 mile ahead of the rear tires if cruising at 80mph" explanation provided above....

 

AWD vs RWD w/or w.out LSD and... goat's milk! sounds a bit satanic, but.. i love this bar