Gulfster

Hey folks,

You all were really helpful in my other thread. Thanks!

Some recommended narrower wheels for the winter. How narrow are we talking?

Is 8 in front, 9 in the back too narrow? Found some 18" Cayman S wheels nearby for a good price.

Thanks!

JohnCK2014

The fronts are fine. The problem is the backs. No one makes an 11 inch wide snow tire. So what I did was pick up a set of wheels for a 911 Carerra. The front wheels are the same and go right on. The backs are I think 9 inch and will also go right up but look kind of odd if you just put them straight on. You can solve that by getting a set of one inch spacers that push the back wheels out an inch and make them look better. It still doesn't look as good as your 11 inch wheels but it is hardly noticeable.

You can buy winter tires for the 9 inch back rims and the front rims whatever those are.

kisik

Typical winter set up is:
Front: 8" rim: 225-235/40-18
Rear: 10" rim: 255-265/35-18
Nokians are best there are. Narrower is better. Adjust offset if needed.

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997.1 C2S

vern1

I run 235/40/18 and 265/40/18 on 8 and 10 rims

the problem is availability as discussed in a very recent thread. only tires in that size are Pirelli's

mander

That is an excellent way to go. Another way is 19s but then the rears are 295. Of course it floats a bit more than with 265s but I find clearance more of an issue than traction.

Gulfster

Seems like 9" in the rear should be safe if I get spacers, but does seem a little TOO narrow for a 4S ...

vern1

Too narrow or "safe" depends on the tire not the rim. What tires are you going to put on? If your going to put 265's on a 9" rim check tirerack or somewhere to make sure that combo works

Dennis C

If you decide to go with a narrower rear tire than Porsche recommends, then you should check the load rating. There's lots of weight back there....

LastMezger

I'm running 295 in back ;-)

Dennis C

+1, per Porsche recommendation.

vern1

Sure, if you have 11" rims but there is no reason you cant go narrower with a smaller rim. There is no doubt a narrower profile performs better in snowy conditions

Dennis C

Agreed. I had 10x18 rear wheels on my 996 C4S with 265 width winter tires. Again, this was the Porsche recommendation for that car. That car performed a little bit better than my 997 TT with 295 width rear winter tires when driving in 4 or 5 inches of fresh snow.

The only concern that I would have with going with a very narrow tire is load rating, as mentioned above. I think you also need to consider how you plan to use the car in winter conditions. I spend more time in the winter months driving my Porsche on cold, dry pavement than I do driving in snowy or icy conditions. The 295s are a good choice for me.

I have another vehicle for sloppy, slushy roads.

Greg2010

The C4S already sits fairly low to the ground versus non 4S. Reducing the wheel size from 19's to 18s drops it even further...so not good clearance for unplowed snow.

19" diameter with 295 wide tires works well in Northern VA (i.e. the size recommended by Porsche) which typically gets a few inches of snow now and then, plus a few larger snowfalls that causes WDC to come to a grinding halt, but is usually fully plowed in a couple days. In this region, its more about driving in colder weather.

More often, I jump in the X3 when things gets bad!

TSP

I just bought a set of Pirelli Sottozero SerieII in 235/40R18 91V N1 for the front and 265/40R18 97V N1 for the rear of my 2009 C4S. I live in northern Wisconsin and intend to drive it through the winter here. I've been driving a Passat TDI without snow tires for the last three winters and always managed to get to work on time. I'll let you know come spring if I made a good choice or not, but the C4S is only an inch or so lower than the recalled Passat and it's all wheel drive. Tire Rack has them on sale and are offering a $50 store credit and a $50 prepaid visa or some such, so I just got the wheel and tire package that "fit". In the past, I've used Blizzaks when I needed winter diggers, but none fit. I looked at the Nokians as well, same issue and I didn't want to go the "narrow tire with spacers to fill the wheel wells" route. The studded Nokians are what the ice racers up here swear by for a road use car that goes out onto the frozen lakes. I'm no where near crazy enough to try that.

vern1

Those are the same ones I am running and they are the only ones available in 18's

You will get to work on time. Your only concern is other people without snow tires (like you last year ) running in to you

My 4S is also on H&R springs so even lower clearance but it was fine last year although we didn't have much snow