earossi

Surprisingly, there do not appear to be any four season tires available for the 997 turbo on 19 inch wheels.

So, what does someone do, such as me, who lives in a cold climate (Chicago) but with little to no snow. But, really cold weather. Since we see about 6 months of weather each year that sees the temps drop below 32 degrees, summer tires can be dangerous (ask me how I know!) in below freezing temps. However, I probably have close to three months of cold when I would like to drive my car. I don't want to run on summer tires; which kind of forces me to mount snow tires, which really sucks.

I could move down in wheel size and find tires available as all season to run; but, that would be at a penalty to handling.

What do you guys do to use your cars in cold weather?

Dennis C

I bought a second set of wheels for my winter tires. It was the best option for the 997TT.

Quadcammer

I run pirelli sotto zero 2 on a set of forgestar wheels (19") during the winter months. Good in snow, don't get rock hard in the cold, comfy ride, and halfway decent handling. it's a pain to jeep an extra set of wheels but par for the course on such a car

Ruskiy

I am NOT suggesting that you run summer tires in the winter however, Michellin PSS in cold temps have been the only tire I felt safe enough with in temps below 32F. I can attest to that they feel A LOT more safe and pliable in colder temps than my old Continental DW, Falkens, BF Goodrich, Potenzas, etc. This Boston winter I spent in a 400HP RWD Honda S2000 with Michellin's SuperSports (now a PS4 tire) and I felt safe enough, but I didn't drive when it snowed. 997TT is AWD and has traction control, so that adds to safety as well compared to my crazy Honda.

Once again, I DO NOT recommend doing this, but if you need something that doesnt feel like hard plastic in cold weather, Michellin PSS (PS4 replaced it) did the trick. Sorry for the long winded answer.

JG 996T

Best bet is Dedicated winter wheel and tire set. Blizzak LM 60 or Michelin Ice X. I would run them on 18s.

earossi

So, 18" wheels will work on a 997? What sizes would you recommend for the smaller wheels?

Igooz

Yes, unless if you have PCCB then you have to be more careful about clearance on the front caliper. Some 18" wheel spokes curvatures on the inside rub against the caliper.

Also - look inside your manual and there is a section about winter wheels/tires/sizes. (I sold my 7TT or I would look for you).

eviligloo

I had the pirelli winter tires on my 997.1 turbo for 1 season. I run toyo r888 or bridgestone potenzas during the summer so in comparison the ride was way too cushy and soft for me having winter tires on it.

I didn't think the drop in handling was worth it to drive the 911 in the winter so now i keep my car in the garage instead. Just a different take for you to consider.

RJKflyer

Here's a perspective from the UK, where we don't have anything like Chicago temps, but we DO suffer from longish periods of predominantly damp/wet weather just above freezing.

My car came with Bridgestone RE050 and these (as they were on my wife's 120i cab) were useless in other than hot and dry, even with our AWD. I moved to PS2 and these were a step change and inspired a great deal more confidence but naturally still ran out of grip with 500 bhp behind them when conditions chilled down and got wet.

I run Pirelli Sottozero 240 Series 2 N-rated on a second set of wheels and they are far more secure. I'll let others chime in, but they are generally considered an ideal winter where snow is NOT your major concern. Of course they're not as precise as summers for very obvious reasons, but they make a very fast car much more secure in handling and braking in cold wet/damp conditions.

I have driven them in snow and the traction and (more importantly) steering/braking were remarkable compared with summers, which 99% of UK drivers run all year round - we're luddites regarding winter tyres. In any event, our cars are not really much good in snow except as ploughs, and for a very short distance...

On the relatively few occasions we get 'Chicago style' weather of e.g. 20degF and very dry, they again inspire confidence at appropriate speed.

My only issue is that doing low mileages, I will probably have to change them out due to age (the winter compound does age and lose its properties) well before they wear out. Unlike summers!

Unless you simply don't drive it in the winter, personally I'm not sure why anyone wouldn't get a set of winters to be able to enjoy such a capable car all year round.

JG 996T

Here you go bud. Porsche says 18. Or 19. As i said, I'd go w/ 18s. More tire choices and I think better perf in snow. I ran my 996 turbo for years on 18s and did not suffer substantial diminished performance. One of the best cars I've ever driven in winter in fact. Check for PCCB clearance as noted.

earossi

Thanks JG for digging out the tire and wheel data. Since there is ONLY one winter tire currently listed for the 19 inch wheels, I think that I should source some 18" wheels to have a choice of tires.

Does anyone have a set of 8 and 11 inch 18's with offsets of 57 and 51 respectively?