francisluu

check the poll!

Bridgestone RE980AS, high-performance all-seasons are now available in our sizes. The safer, more practical option but would I regret the difference in performance and feel as compared to, say, the Michelin Pilot Sport 4S? I will admittedly be trading daily-driving duty with a Golf so the GT3 will be staying home in inclement weather. Mostly considering the ability to drive reasonably in moderate rain and cold (down to the low 40s).

Alan Smithee

Curious as well...I'm currently weighing the same options to replace the PSS on my Mercedes. It doesn't see ice or snow either, but thinking the Bridgestones will be more quiet and comfortable than the PS4S without too much loss in handling.

evilfij

francisluu

I love the proactiveness.

typicaltrabes

Used to drive on PSS tires in the winter in NY. If it was anywhere near freezing the tires had no grip. I was fine 99% of the time. Until i need to stop in a hurry once and the car didn't have the traction to slow down.

All seasons in a place where a mild winter is normal should be fine. Anywhere where you see snow on occasion I would have a dedicated winter tire.

aruisdante

I think the question you need to ask yourself is, how likely are you actually to drive the car in bad weather when you have an alternative?

I daily my GT3 in Pittsburgh (and will continue to do so until my girlfriend gets her new car and I can take her old one as my winter beater). It's averaging low 50*'s to high 40*'s right now. The Sport Maxx Race 2's certainly aren't happy (1st gear is pretty much useless), but they still function well enough once they get some heat into them.

Do you really think you'll drive the car on a rainy, 40* Seattle winter afternoon when you have an alternative? Do you think that probability is high enough to justify the cost and hassle (and risk of damage) of swapping all-season rubber onto the rims, or buying a $5,500 set of Turbo S rims to go with the winter rubber, itself likely a $1500+ investment?

If in reality you're actually going to only drive it on the odd 50-55* sunny winter weekend, then you can probably save yourself quite a bit of coin and hassle by skipping winter rubber altogether.

box986

francisluu

I live in Seattle proper so the stories I've heard of the east side foothills I luckily don't have to deal with

I've already got a second set of rims in the works (a whole 'nother topic but let's just say once I saw the 991 Speedster Concept car, I wanted those wheels...) and figured a set of rubber that was a bit more capable in our winter months seemed reasonable to explore. Again, the choices are between great summer tires that aren't the Cup 2s or great all-seasons. When I had my Turbo S, I drove it all the time in the winter and would want to be able to do the same in the Touring.

GeoJoe

I'm happy to give your non-Seattle worthy tires a good home in Atlanta. I'm always looking for cheap tires to beat on the track....year round down here.

francisluu

These are for a second set of wheels, so keeping the Cup 2s with the OEM rims

wmond

evilfij

PorscheFrank

I decided to go with the Bridgestone 980AS myself. Having them mounted on the stock wheels tomorrow. Here was my thinking:

1) No one makes a dedicated set of winter tires that will fit the stock .2 GT3 wheels. You can find the sottozero 3s in 305 for the rears, but unfortunately they aren't available in the 245 size for the fronts. Sottozero 2s are available in 245, but not in 305. Mixing tires is not advised. Some people here have gotten away with using 295s on the rear 12 inch wheels, but others have advised against doing so, claiming that 295 is far too narrow for a 12 inch wheel. My dealer wouldn't install 295s on the rear saying that they were out of spec

2) I have no plans to drive in snow and probably not even in rain, but wanted something with more suitable rubber for the cold sunny winter days here in NY. The Sport Cup 2s would obviously not cut it

3) Didn't want to get another set of wheels. Considered the Turbo S winter wheel set but the $8k cost turned me off.

Don't know if it is true but someone posted in another thread that if you don't plan to drive in snow and rain, that all seasons are actually better than dedicated winter tires because the sipes in the winter tires (for providing snow traction) actually impair performance when it is cold but dry. Can anyone verify?

One note on the Bridgestones; talk to Damon at tirerack and get on their list now. Availability seems to be a challenge with these tires in the 305 size.

fbroen

After reading as much as I could find, and via process of elimination of what fits w/o stretching boundaries, I just ordered the Michelin PA4s in OEM winter sizes and a set of Oz Ultraleggeras mimicking the Turbo S wheel sizing front and rears (Oz rears have a slightly different offset).

What frustrated me in the search is the generalizations on temperature ranges. Nobody seems to state with clarity an upper level of useful temperature range for Winters. Lower temp stuff is stated pretty clearly indeed for the Sport Cup 2... Why not give an upper temp range for the winters?

I am likely to be in a wide range of temps over the winter, and know that some of that will be way below Sport Cup 2s, and even Super Sports (from experience) -- and assume the PS4s will be close that level of hard and slippery in colder temps.

Special thanks to 1963SWC and Evilfij for the oh-so-important question of whether the Oz center lock trim rings are interchangeable in colors. ;-)

PorscheFrank

Haha, I was wondering about the OZ centerlock trim colors as well but was too afraid to ask. So how do you change those out and where do you buy the alternate colors?