BillC3

My wife wants to be able to drive her '97 C4S over the winter. The car currently has Bridgestone KD tires on it, which are great in warm weather, but won't cut it when it gets cold.

What would people recommend for good, high performance, all-weather tires? I don't need a full-blown snow tire (like Blizzaks), since she won't be driving the car in heavy snow, just something for rain, cold, light snow, etc.

Thanks!

95C4VanIsle

Snow tires make a huge difference in tire grip when the temperatures start dropping, and when in rainy weather. That they drive well in snow is just a bonus.

I would definitely consider getting a second set of wheels with dedicated snow/winter tires.

I am sure others will chime in here.

Reddy Kilowatt

As far as I'm concerned, ANY snow dictates snow tires. Blizzaks are as good as any I've tried. Put 'em on some 16" or 17" wheels.

cp993C2S

Agree w/ the others...colder temps and any possibility of snow and you'll be in trouble w/ summer tires. Our 993 goes to sleep for the winter, but the BMW and Forrester both go onto Blizzak's around Thanksgiving. About $1,200 w/ tolerable winter wheels at Tirerack.

timothymoffat

EXACTLY!

bart1

I hav never really had snow tires, per se, but have run Mich Pilot Sport A/S on my 968 and they do great in rain and what little snow we see here as well as lasting forever.

Magdaddy

Nokians


---- for winter use. IMHO, nothing out performs, or outlasts them. I've run nothing but them for winter tires since the late eighties. I got almost 60K out of an old set of Hakka 10's, they were just getting to the wear bars-but suffered in deep snow.

They make a great severe duty all season tire also...kinda noisy though.

Spare wheelset with Nokians, confidence inspiring indeed

BillC3

Thanks for all the replies, but I was hoping to avoid dedicated snow tires. It doesn't snow that often here; I'm mainly concerned about cold and rain. Plus, I've heard that snow tires, Blizzaks in particular, wear out very quickly when driven on clean (no-snow) streets.

We already have an extra set of 18" rims, so the summer tires will go into storage. I'm looking for all-weather tires that come in (or close to) the stock sizes that won't hurt performance too much. The tires need to fit on these rims, since I can't afford both tires and rims (plus, my wife really likes her 18s).

I'll be researching on Tire Rack, but want some first-hand experience/recommendations if possible. Tire Rack seems to be a little biased toward only those brands that they carry (at least, they totally ignore everything they don't carry).

Thanks!

k722070

I went kind of half way winter with the michellin pilot sport as+ tires. a solid winter tire rated m+s, but does not have the snowflake symbol on it.
this suits my winter driving since I won't drive in the snow due to all the salt dumped on the roads(salt is free here), but I do want to drive in cold temps and some wet.
fun tire, lotsa grip at low temps, quiet and not too firm sidewalls when hitting bumps and holes.

the alpin pa3 is a true winter snow tire and was slightly cheaper to put on the merc 500 4matic. just crazy grip on the snow but kind of soft and sluggish compared to the pilots.

I have pirelli scorpion ice and snow tires on the cayenne, again crazy grip on ice and snow and it is a performance tire.

at the time I couldn't find a performance ice/snow tire for the 993 so I went with the pilots. it looks like tirerack has the pirelli winter snowsport(snowflake symbol) available this year, could be a good option.
having a winter performance tire means not giving up performance and still getting cold weather grip, best of all worlds.
I don't have any experience with the snowsports, so read the reviews, they could be noisey, wear quickly or just be crummy.

Makmov

I am kind of in the same boat.

We don't get enough snow really to warrent Blizzacks. It snows, but then it's gone in a day or two.

But I do need to get something soon. The tires on it are old, there is some tread left but the date code on them are 1997. The car has gone less than 20K in the last 10 years.

syzygy

It's not just snow that WINTER tires are for - they work awesome in rain and other less ideal conditions, too. At any temperatures below about 42-45 degrees, summer tires and even most all seasons are for crap. It's not lack of snow that wears winter tires, but rather warm temperature. If they last three or four seasons, that's good. I'll be time to replace the tires then anyway, regardless if they're worn out. It's cheap insurance, if you ask me.

jenskleis

Hi Bill,

I second Kevin. Winter tires are not necessarily for snow. It is mainly the rubber compound you want. Winter tires are softer than summer and all-weather tires, and thus stay flexible at lower temperatures, maintaining grip and traction.

I have been caught out in both my 993 and my S4 in low temperatures, rain and sleet, on summer tires. Trust me, it is not an experience you want your wife to have.

On the other hand, in January I took the 993 out of hibernation and kitted it out with a set of winter tires, in order to attend the Camp Austria snow and ice driving school, which is organized by Porsche Germany. (Fantastic event, by the way!!).

After covering 800+ km, driving from my home to the event in a blizzard, on a mix of Autobahn and a long stretch of winding mountain roads, I was deeply impressed. It is simply amazing how well a Porsche performs, even in extreme weather conditions, as long as it is equipped with the right tires for the job.

As for tires I can recommend Goodyear Eagle Grip. They are magnificent in rain and sleet, and pretty good in snow. And, importantly, if snow is not your main concern, they are not noisy on dry roads.

Take care,

Jens

bcameron59

If you absolutely must have just one set of tires for summer and winter, I'd look at these:

http://www.nokiantires.com/tyre?id=1...=Nokian%20WRG2

Might be hard to find your sizes though.

You might also want to consider buying 2 fronts and 4 rears, if your 993 is like mine - goes through a set of rears before the fronts are half gone. Just in case the tire / tread pattern version is discontinued before you need the second set of rears.

Personally, I'm a big fan of dedicated snows...

John H

Rule:

All season tires suck in all seasons. Buy true winter tires.

TRINITONY

My winter tires rocked this past winter in DC - unstoppable..lol. Not sure what I have, but I'll update the thread when I get home.