As the tempatures approach 100 degress, why not talk about winter tires? I have a 2005 c2 and I am thinking about getting 18" rims and tires for the winter. I looked at Nokian tires, but the biggest size winter tire is 245/40/18. I can get a Nokian all season with a rear size of 295/35/18 and the tire has received great reviews. Do you think that the 245/40/18 is too small? It will fit on a 9.5 wheel.

 

I'm going to mount Michellin PS A/S on my 18" wheels. We don't get that much snow in DC so those will be good for winter. I've them on my CLK and they were pretty good.

Guido

 

I am in DC as well and was well down the path of looking at snow tires and an aftermarket set of rims. Was leaning toward the new Michelin Alpin which has the N1 designation (last year's model was N0).

I decided this week to explore a different route; instead of mounting the snow tires in November and riding around on them until March or so I am instead now thinking of just keeping the OEM setup (PS2's) on year round and just parking the car when it snows. My concern had been that the summer tires become hockey pucks when it goes below freezing. I have been told by several tire experts, however, that our OEM tires are perfectly fine in cold weather as long as the surface is dry and you don't try anything stupid.

I have the AeroKit so clearance issues would've had me parking the car anyway if there was any accumulation whatsoever. If it's snowing (or going to) I'll just take the wife's SUV and leave the PCar at home. What do you think?

 

After driving into the winter with oem tires, I'd have to disagree. I had a few twitchy moments in the cold, no snow or ice and bought the Continental TS 810S which are Porsche approved and was very happy all Winter long.

 

Frino: I would be very hesitant on driving summer tires below 40F.... if you dont want to change tires, you might want to just go for all-seasons... my .02 Ross

 

The only all season that I've found is the Yokohama. Pirellis and Michelins A/S don't fit anything close to a 235/265 18" set up. Any other ideas would be appreciated.

I remain leery of driving summer tires in the dead of winter...the alternative, driving on snows knowing that I won't drive the C2S when there is snow on the ground, is sub-optimal as well.

Still trying to figure it out. Please know that the opinions of my fellow 997 drivers count as much if not more than the so-called experts. TIA

 

Dont think of winter tires as "snow tires" think of them as tires for cold weather. I think the michelins come in that size, someone mentioned it on the 996 board. Also- winter tires are a lot cheaper than summers... you can get ~30K miles out of them.

 

I am looking at the Nokian WR, which is an all season tire, but it rated for snow conditions by the Canadian government. It has received good reviews as a winter tire.

 

I went with these winter tires (Porsche approved) and had a great winter with them. As others have said, it really is about temperature not ice/snow. However, I drove in the snow a bunch of times and it was fine.

235/40VR-18 Continental ContiWinterContact TS810 S N0 (Porsche)
265/40VR-18 Continental ContiWinterContact TS810 S N0 (Porsche)

 

I'll agree 110%, Frino. I drove the C4S in March - dry, sunny day - but zero degrees F. I came out of a heated garage, so no issues whatsoever... then I parked at work for a couple of hours. My parking is covered, but outdoors...

...it took a half hour of careful driving for the tires to become "round" again. D'oh - won't do that again.

Not pretty. And if you encounter any ice or snow with the max performance summer tires mounted, you'll be screwed - AWD or not.

Winter compound tires are the way to go - and with them mounted, any 911 can be a spectacular winter driver.

Good luck!

-don

 

For about $2100 you can buy a set of 18" winter wheels with Winter Contis from the Tire Rack - mounted, spun, and delivered. I used them last season with great success. You will want to add the Porsche 17mm rear spacer set to make the f/r tracks align better and to make the car look 'proper.' Sontact Damon at Tire Rack if you're interested (damon@tirerack.com).
See these posts:
https://rennlist.com/forums/showthre...ht=winter+tire
https://rennlist.com/forums/showthre...ht=winter+tire

 

I also used the Continental ContiWinterContact TS810S's last winter on my C2. I drove it to vermont to go skiing several weekends and the car behaved beautifully on snow, ice, and in sub freezing temperatures.

 

I suggest that you subscribe to Christophorus (the factory magazine). Each year they have an extensive article on snow tires and winter driving,--particularly on the latest models, of course. It's very useful. That article may be out in another month or two.

 

Did you get those from Tire Rack? How much did they cost? I need these size tires for my CaymanS this winter.

 

Great insights...agree on how big of a pucker it would be unexpectedly hitting the isolated patch of ice on summer tires.

Thanks to all for sharing their views. I'm not going to f ' around on this issue...winter tires on aftermarket rims is the smart way to go....