Ascetic

Hi All,
Can any of you help me with winter tire options for my .2 T4S? I bought a separate set of wheels for winter under the impression that I'd be able to find some 235/40/18s and 265/40/18 Michelin PA2s to put on (after some reading that this is a good snow setup). The wheels are 18x8 and 18x10. I am not able to find any tires in that size anymore. There are 275/35 Blizzak LM-32s, but no comparable front tires to keep the F/R diameters close to stock. I really don't want the 295 Pirellis, and would like to be 275 or less in the rear.

So, question, has anyone run 255s on the rear of a widebody? Is that way too skinny? Does anyone else have any other advice as to what tires to get for the wheels I have? I'd love to get some Blizzaks or Nokians.

Thanks!

kisik

You are right. No clear choice for 235/40/18s and 265/40/18. I have found plenty of Blizzaks in 225/40-18s. Would rather drop the fronts to 225s then rears for 255s for your wide 4S

Ascetic

^ Yep... Have you done, or heard of anyone running 255's in the rear of a widebody?

alexb76

Wouldn't these work? I have 235/265 in 18s and they work great! I however have some spacers that I use for the rears (came with my OEM Carrera Sport wheels) that makes it look much better.

I'd go for these, N1 Porsche rated and on close-out sale!

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/TireS...e&autoModClar=

Ascetic

I'd rather not do the Pirellis based on what I've read about them.

BillNye

Looks like they've been discontinued, hence only having 1 front left in stock and the 2013 production. Probably more headache than it's worth if you end up needing one replaced.

I dont know what you've read about the pirellis but id think it's less "bad" than running 255s.

I noticed a similar issue while looking for tires this summer. The only things that run these sizes are 997s and options are slim.

Ascetic

I've heard people running 265s on .2 widebodies without issue though. I can't imagine 255s would be catastrophically worse. My goal is to maximize snow traction as I will be taking the car up to the mountains.

alexb76

What did you read? Reviews here are all positive?! https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...RatingsReviews


NO Porsche approved winter tires are as great in snow as Blizzacks, since they compromise snow performance with high performance driving and 200 Km/H speed rating. Mine's been great, and not only do well in snow, they're fantastic on dry and WAAAYYYY BETTER than any other standard Winter tires I've ever used.

I personally could NEVER drive my Porsche on crappy snow tires with no dry grip, have had them on my Audi and they suck. These and Michelin PA2 I had before are a great snow and performance tire combo. They're used in all of the Porsche snow driving school classes and track days, so can't be that bad! I generally feel people have a biased against Pirelli, not sure why.

Ascetic

Again, I'm trying to maximize snow and ice grip. I will not be going faster than 100mph on these tires, nor will they see much dry in the Seattle area.


This was for the Sottozero 3s (no 265), which are most likely a lot better than the 2s (with 265s)
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests...y.jsp?ttid=181

I'm not a Pirelli hater, I would love some Trofeo Rs for my track car. Just not for snow driving.

alexb76

So you rely on Michelin promotional video on how Pirellis do? I've had BOTH, Michelin PA3, and Pirelli Sotozero, BOTH do equally well in snow, not as great on ice, AND both handle great. You live in Seattle, it's not like you'd be in deep snow everyday (I am in Vancouver). Both do great in rain as well (here it rains even more than Seattle).

Overall, I recommend either and maybe would pick PA3 over Pirelli for dry/rain handling but on snow both are equal, but they don't make PA2 anymore (weirdly PA3 not available in our size).

alexb76

Now, I am also curious WTF to do when I am up for new Winter tires... cannot find anything in 235/265 18R, any brand (apart from that one set of Pirelli). So weird, why?

Ascetic

I realize that was a promotional vid, I guess I'm gullible and have had a poor impression of Pirelli for some reason... Regardless - Neither are available in our size. There was only one left of the fronts of the Pirellis. I don't daily drive. The car is going up to the mountains... hopefully a lot.

I think I'm stuck with 255s for the rear, and was mainly looking if anyone had experience with those.

scorcherjf

If your intention is to drive up the mountains in snowy conditions, don't get any "performance" winter tire like the Pirelli Sottozero, Dunlop Wintersport 3D, or Michelin Alpin PA4 (basically what Porsche recommends). They're great on cold and dry pavement and decent in freezing rain and very light snow, but they suck in real snow and ice. I personally use the Sottozero Series 2 but I still recognize their weaknesses compared to my other cars which are on actual studless winter tires like the Blizzak WS80 or Nokian Hakkapeliitta R2, both amazing in deep snow and ice but quite squishy in dry cold pavement.

If you're well versed in winter driving, 255 in the rear isn't going to be a disaster. I've run 225/265 on a C2S before and it was fine, so 255 will probably be okay as well if you mate it to a proper rim.

alexb76

EXACTLY, that's the whole point of these high performance snow tires, it's a compromise, being Michelin or Pirelli.

alexb76

Yeah, problem is lack of availability which is crazy, I'll be in the same boat when replacing mine too. Totally strange!

255 should work OK, BUT they will look narrow on wide-body, if you care must get a spacer.