Optical TDI

You could consider 17s for winter...that's the setup I have and they work great. Hopefully we have a long fall and they won't need to go on until December. They won't go on until the snow starts coming down. Summer tires on cold and dry pavement are fun.

alpine003

From a fellow Chicagoan,

Even if you put winter tires on, it still won't stop stupid Chicago drivers from running into your baby or the occasional salt plows from spitting up snow/salt rocks.

Even if that $1600 budget grows a bit more for winter tires/battery/winter maintenance on a beater, it could still be hell of a lot less than if your porsche got crunched(both in repairs and later resale if given salvage title or unclean carfax).

If you're all on vanity and have to look great all the time, I'd say go for it. If you're more about practical sensibility, I would think about it.

Just my $.02

AndyK

I think it's key to know that winter tires aren't only for snow. They are softer, and don't turn into slippery rocks when the temps fall. When it snows, my car sits in the garage waiting for the all-clear!

BruceP

Agreed. This is a widely misunderstood thing. Winter tires are all about the compound. Summer performance tires start to lose some adhesion as soon as 10C, and harden up quite suddenly at about 5C. Without intending to slag anybody, I think that driving on summer performance tires in the cold is irresponsible even if there's no snow at all.

For the kind of use most Porsche typically get in the winter, deep snow traction seems much less important to me than good ol' friction does. I run the Pirellis in the winter on 18" wheels at the OE widths. Given my winter use is almost all urban, I am far more concerned with water management and adhesion (hence the contact patch) than I am with cutting through deep stuff. It's all about the right tool for the job.

RF5BPilot

I run PS2's on 18" for the summer and have 17" Blizzaks for winter. While I think the choice is a good one, I'm impressed at how much less stable & planted the car seems on the smaller snow tires. I was thrilled to take them off in the Spring.

larry47us

I would love to run Blizzaks on my car, but when I ask for tires for 17" wheels, the only ones that Tire Rack gives me are the Pirelli Winter performance tires. These give up performance in snow and ice to provide high performance running in cold weather on dry roads. I am more interested in traction than high speed runs in the winter.

What size 17" wheels are you running? (what width)
What size Blizzak tires are you running on the front and rear of your car.

Maybe I need to back into the size of tires, and rather than letting Tire Rack propose a size, I need to tell them what sizes I want.

thanks

larry

tooloud10

An accident can happen at any time in any season...if you're uncomfortable with that, you shouldn't be on the road regardless of what you're driving.

+ a million

Winter tires aren't all about driving in the snow. Sure, they're good for that, but the tire compound is what makes a winter tire a winter tire. I cringe every time I hear someone talking about how the tread pattern is the difference between summer and winter tires...not even close.

larry47us

That's what I love about this forum. I learn things that I never expected. That's another thing to put into my car-memory-bank.

And, I concur about accidents at any time. I enjoy driving this car. I LOVE IT!!! Any opportunity to continue driving it all year long just continues to reinforce why I bought it. When I had Kermit, the winters always seemed long and longer, because it was a Garage Queen, and I only drove it on occasion. This car, I drive on all occasions. I even find short errands that I wouldn't drive on - just to have an excuse to drive the car!!! Like I've said, my biggest complaint right now is that I don't have a longer commute.

larry

Barn996

My Blizzaks are 205/50/17 and 255/40/17 from the TireRack purchased 12/08.

alpine003

I understand that but you obviously have never lived in Chicago lately. Chicago takes idiotic drivers to another level and then increases exponentially in the winter. Found out OP is living in the burbs so he should be fine.

Topaz330ci

I personally wouldn't drive it.

Matt F.

Hello, since I'm a new Porsche owner (4 days as of this post!), I plan to regularly start my beauty ('87 928 S4 auto- amazing condition!) and drive it when roads are clear and dry throughout this winter. Will I need the winter tires or can I gingerly use the performance tires on dry, clear roads? The plans are for cruising semi-regularly and some trips to/from work which is only 5 miles from home. My regular auto is a Pathfinder so that will be used all other times when the weather/ roads are inhospitable here. Please give me feedback as I am very concerned that I might be doing the wrong thing.

Thanks,
Matt

larry47us

The misunderstanding of winter tires is that the only advantage that they provide is traction in snowy conditions. In doing a bit of scouting on this topic, I have discovered that there is a totally different rubber compound used in summer as opposed to winter. The difference is that the rubber on summer tires becomes hard when the temperature drops below 30 degrees F, and makes stopping very problematic.

Winter tires use a softer rubber compound that stays soft even though the temperature drops into the teens or lower. That enables you to stop more quickly, even on dry pavement. Of course, the tread design also helps you in snowy or icy conditions.

larry

ILikeEsses

DRIVE IT ALL YEAR.
Life is short, and smiles are worth more than $$.

If Porsche can run one in the Decar Rally, I can run mine in the snow!

Get a set of snows and separate rims, and drive it!!!!!!!!!