Chris from Cali

I decided to test the waters (or snows) with my C4S and its summer-only tires. Turns out they work pretty damn well. I can honestly say my RS4 with winters wouldn't have done much better in the conditions. Considering we don't get much lasting snowfall, and what we do get is plowed/salted almost immediately, I am not sure I'll need winter tires. My wife says I should get them, but I was very impressed with the C4S' performance in what is about the worst we get here.

Of course, ice is a whole different story, but even the RS4 with winters was pretty useless on the really slick stuff.

Getting the car tinted tomorrow - more pics to follow!

GreggT

Wow....good for you.
It's a personal thing....this winter driving.
I would not be caught @ 35 degrees, in the wet, with summer Z rubber (and a wider patch to boot)......and I really do enjoy winter Pcar driving.
But if they worked well for you....great.

Beautiful car you've got there.

Chris from Cali

Thanks, Gregg. Considering I grew up and lived in SoCal most of my life, I most definitely tread lightly (pun intended) when the white stuff comes down. The combination of driving within my limits and the PTM system seem to do a great job in the current conditions. Obviously, if I get any "whoa" moments, it's going back in the garage ASAP and I'll get my wife to drive me to work in her A3.

To say I'm ready for warm weather is an understatement.

docjohnM

That's awesome chris. BTW, did you feel any of the torque moving around through the differentials???
I understand that the Porsche system can do that in conjunction with the PSM.
My S4 with summer tires was pretty scary in the snow. But, it had open diffs with only the ABD to keep the car moving.

Chris from Cali

It was very controlled (I looked for icy/deep snowy spots in an empty parking lot). I didn't feel the system working, but I did feel the power get cut. My RS4 was a nightmare with the summers at the slightest hint of snow/ice. I still think I'm going to end up getting winters for this car next season.

CMOS

I also live in the DC area and enjoyed the snow yesterday in my 07 C4S. I got a set of Pirelli Sottozero 240s from TireRack, which are one some of their discount 18" wheels. It worked great today!

The only problem is the GT3 aerokit on the car. The front end is like a snowplow.

Anyway, to echo GreggT's comments, definitely get snows for next year! It's not just the snow accumulation that matters. It's the cold weather. At about 35 or so, those summer PS2s just get rock hard and are nothing short of dangerous - snow or not. 30 deg and freezing rain, and you are in big trouble.

You might as well wait until next season, at this point.

BTW, that photo looks just like HBL Porsche in Tyson's Corner! In fact, I've seen that leftover 08 ruby red cab there - looked great.

Chris from Cali

Yep - I picked up this car at HBL. I've bought 4-5 cars there in the last 3-4 years... They like me.

I am just going to take it slowly getting to work this morning. Once I'm on the main roads, I should be ok. No sport mode, both hands on the wheel, eyes scanning for reflections of ice, managing my speed... After today, I should be good for a while. The 10-day forecast shows 50s-60s in the next week or so.

Definitely getting winters next season - it's worth it for the peace of mind alone.

jlinmd

Glad you're having fun with your new ride!

Minok

I can only second the advice of others. Don't think of winter tires as for use in snow.. though if you have snow, you need them too for that (tread designed to dig in more there).

Think of winter tires as 'cold weather tires'. They work when the temps drop below 40 and still provide grip... while the summer performance rubber gets dicey to next to useless. I'll be putting on my summers again once the temps reliably stay above 40... which may be next week finally.

tooloud10

I wouldn't try driving a car with summer tires on a regular basis in the winter for nothing. Also, if winter tires on an AWD car didn't work very well, there had to be something else wrong.

That said, running summer tires in winter and vice versa is a good way to wear them out about twice as quickly.

Chris from Cali

Guys, I've had winter tires on all my cars here in DC (Evo, S4, RS4). I know about temps, wear, etc.

My ENTIRE point with this thread was that I was genuinely surprised they did so well.

Minok

Understood, Chris.

It wasn't clear at the beginning what you knew about, and this thread and its contents are not just for you and what you know in your head, but also for others that may find it via a search and not know what you know. Thus its usually best to even state the obvious assumptions in a thread... just in case. I think we have all bases covered.

My Targa 4 with winters did superb. The only issues were the fat wide tires on the front not cutting into the snow to make sharp turns.. nothing can be done there short of narrower rims for snow driving.. or just not trying to take a 90 degree turn on 4 inches of packed snow at 20mph.