Sure, I want something inexpensive, but I'm not going to do it at the expense of putting the wrong wheels or tires on the car. I never bothered with winter tires on the car before because I always had my 4WD F250 to drive in the winter, but I think I'm going to be quitting the job that provides me with the truck, so I better figure something out.

Are the Tire Rack scratch and dent deals available online or do I have to call? I wonder if Damon could help me with that...

 

I wonder if your specs are correct on option #3?

Original equipment on a 996NB C4(at least mine) is as follows:

Front: 17" x 7" rim with 50 offset and 5x130 bolt pattern and 205/50/17 tires
Rear: 17" x 9" rim with 55 offset and 5x130 bolt pattern and 255/40/17 tires.

I currently use this setup for my winter wheels and it does quite well. The idea that the marginal loss of contact area from 18" to 17" wheels somehow makes the car dangerous is imagined, at best.

+1 on the 17" winter wheels and tires being cheaper and easier to get.

 

Just put on Bridgestone LM60's on my C4S.(275 rear) What pressures are you running on the snowtires?

 

gaspasser and fbgh2o are both right about the narrower wheels. The 65 offset is for a 10"wide wheel. If you use a 9" wide wheel then the 10mm difference between a 55 and a 65 offset is "offset" by the narrower width.

Here is an offset calculator that will allow you to see the differences in inner and outer clearance.

http://www.1010tires.com/WheelOffsetCalculator.asp

 

Snow tires should always be run at the full pressures recommended by the car manufacturer. On my C2, for example, that would be 36f/44r.

 

I'm running my snows at 36 front; 42 rear.

 

They could be wrong...I've since passed on these setups because I don't want anything that isn't going to work 100% correctly and I don't want any stories from a seller.

Thanks for everyone's help so far...