It's time for a new set of tires and I'm really struggling with a tire decision. I'm in the NYC area and I've got 18" wheels for that extra 1/2" of rubber pothole protection. This is about as rough a ride as I can handle so I definitely won't be buying a set of aftermarket 19" wheels for any reason (even though they look great). This 997.1 is my daily driver year round but I haven't been through a winter yet. If the snow gets really bad I have the option to work from home but I like to save that for the worst blizzard days.

I'm wondering what 997'ers would recommend for me as far as tires go? should I:

1. buy a set of all season tires and just rock them all year round? Which brand do you recomend for 18" wheels?

OR

2. get summer sport tires now and buy a second set of 18" wheels and mount them with winter tires. Which brands for each do you recomend?

Thanks

 

if you have space get the second set of wheels/tires

unless you plan on keeping your beautiful Porsche under 60mph, never cornering, placed it in "D" and the rpm never over 2500 - in which case, what did you buy it for?

MAX SUMMER PERFORMANCE TIRES - it's a MAX performance car

 

Most of the enthusiasts on this board would say get a second set of winter wheels. You will get max performance year round. All seasons on a sports car is just heresy.
But you do have a bit of expense, inconvenience that goes along with that.

 

This past winter I pulled my RE050A summer tires and went with Bridgestone Potenza RE960AS Pole Position Ultra High Performance All-Season's. The RE960AS are very aggressive W rated, but can be driven in colder temps and light snow. Unless one takes their car to the track or needs a dedicated snow tire, I cannot understand why anyone living in colder climates would not just use these year round. Earlier this month I got a chance to really push them in a rally, and sure enough it was 34º. So, while everyone else was risking it with their summer tires, I had lots of confidence. They're amazing tires, I thought about getting another set of wheels for my RE050A summer tires, but why, the temps in Massachusetts are summer tire friendly only five months out of the year at best. I'm taking a 4,000 mile road trip to the South this summer, but with the far greater tread wear rating on the RE960AS they are still a better choice for me. I was going to go with my RE050A summer's for the NH Ramble, but even then the RE960AS could outperform summer's if the weather is cold or rainy.

Saying, "unless you plan on keeping your beautiful Porsche under 60mph, never cornering, placed it in "D" and the rpm never over 2500" is total BS with any decent all season, but especially when considering the Bridgestone Potenza RE960AS Pole Position. I was tearing it up with these earlier this month, they are pretty damn close to a summer tire. One is far more likely to be at risk of driving summer tires in below 40º temps in the spring and fall than benefit from a marginal advantage of using them in questionable North East summers.
Also, considering the 3 or 4 days of snow too deep for RE960AS in Mass, I really don't see the point in a dedicated snow tire. Mostly I'm just dealing with cold winter temps and dry roads, and with RE960AS's I get far better real world winter driving performance compared to a dedicated snow tire.

 

I'm in Northern Ohio and use dedicated snows. I found a nice used set nearly new from a PCA for $1,100 shipped to my door. They are 17" and did great in the snow. However I don't use the 911 in deep stuff, that's what the Wrangler is for.

 

Ideal setup is 1 set for winter, 1 set for street and 2 sets for track. total 4 sets of rims.

All-season tires on 997 car is a very strange idea. Why to get 997 to begin with if you do not want to give it traction it deserves?

Try Bridgestone RE-11 tires as they are a bit softer than PS2. For winter - Michelin PA2.

 

You have a 997 so it has to be 18s for a winter set up if you go that direction. I think those that discount the idea of all season tires simply haven't driven on some of the newer versions. I'm truly shocked at how good some of them are on my non-Porsches. Just like today's summer tires are equal to older R-comps, todays new all seasons are like previous summer tires.

Everything depends on how you use your car. If a casual driver in all seasons, then all season tires may be a great match. If you plan to auto cross and / or DE, then you will want maximum possible grip (summer tire).

This winter I needed some new tires for my 330i and put on the Conti DWS (dry, wet, snow). When sprng arrived and I started driving more aggressively I was amazed at how much grip they had - enough even for a Porsche.

Take a look at Tire Rack's offerings and you'll see the Bridgestone mentioned above and the Conti DWS. Ultra High Performance All Season, the DWS is #1 in its category. Relatively inexpensive. Might be just fine for what you are looking for (and they don't "look" like anything other than a high-performance tire...

 

All seasons suck in the wet too!

 

Um, no, they are fantastic in the wet. We aren't talking about the 25 year old all season tires that came on granny's K-car. We're talking about the latest technology compound and tread design of tires like the new Conti DWS. Do some research, see the test results Tire Rack came up with (ie: cornering grip, wet grip, lap times, etc.).

I was curious, so I read the test charts:

Michelin PS2 (we'd all say this is a good benchmark)
.94g dry, .89g wet, 84' 50 to 0 dry, 91' wet, slalom 3.97 / 4.09 dry / wet, lap time 29.27 / 30.23 dry / wet.

Conti DWS:
.93g dry, .89g wet, 88' 50 to 0 dry, 86' wet, slalom 4.11 / 4.05 dry / wet, lap time 29.85 / 30.15 dry / wet.

So, based on Tire Rack's Apples-to-apples testing, the PS2 edges out ever so slightly on dry performance, but the DWS is slightly better in the wet. And this is the #1 rated Michelin Pilot Sport 2.

As I mentioned, I have the new DWS on my 330i as my "winter set" and now that I have my BBS wheels with the F1s on them I'm finding the summer set inferior to the Contis...

 

Ron, the Bridgestone Potenza RE960AS Pole Position's are the first All Season's I've ever put on a Porsche, and I was skeptical. However, the performance is very impressive, and having had four 997's with summer tires I can legitimately speak to this. The difference for spirited off the track driving is nominal, but the overall benefits are great.
Too bad the Conti DWS is not offered in 19" for the C2, what an oversight.

 

The all season tires Todd is using are excellent and are surprisingly good performers. I went with seperate summer/winter wheels/tires mainly because my car is a daily driver. I have an 09 997.2 c2 .With the engine in back and a good set of winter tires [I use Michelins], the 911 is truly a 365 day a year car. I live in the NewYork metro area and for the few days a year that the roads are snowy or icy, the winter rubber makes a huge difference. A c4 with winter tires must be unstoppable. Absent situations where ground clearance is an issue, this setup makes the 911 a true 4 season performer. My dealer stores my extra wheels so that made the two set option an even easier decision for me to make. I don't track my car and seriously considered the all season option. My decision was based on making the car safer for those few bad winter days than concerns about summer performance which is probably not what most 997 owners would say. I enjoy driving the car around the block and wanted to do everthing possible to be able to use it evry day. Good luck and enjoy the car.

 

The all seasons are a smart decision for you in the northern rust belt. Pure snow tires just simply don't hold up unless you are in Finland or at the end of an unplowed stretch of highway in Montana. The rubber is too soft. So, some sort of compromise is in order. The all-seasons have greater durability. All tires are benefiting from enhancements from computer aided technology and 'living better through chemistry.' They are incredible compared to a few years ago.

 

If you drive all year, AND you get very cold temps and rain, or snow and ice in the winter time, then winter rubber is necessary to stay safe.

If you live and drive where the temps stay above 45 at all times when you are driving all year, you don't need winter tires.

And by winter tires, I mean M+S performance tires, not the deep snow or ice specialty tires you may need nearer the arctic circle.

 

The wild card remains new tech tires like Conti DWS. Just look at those snow performance figures in the spider chart. PS2 level dry and wet performance AND true snow tire performance. Have to wonder how they did it, but then again when the PS2 came out we all wondered "Wow, how did they create a tire that's R-comp sticky, great in the rain, fine in the cold, etc."

 

good discussion- thank you everyone. I think my plan for now is to get two sets and experiment... I'll go with the Conti Sport Contact 3 right now and in november I'll get a set of winter wheels (my current wheels will actually be the winter wheels and I'll get nicer summer wheel) and get the Bridgestone RE960AS for the winter. Those RE960AS's look better in the winter than the dedicated winter tires! If I like them over the winter I might just leave them on year round, the dry performance looks great... I just wonder how they do for 4 hours on the highway in 95 F heat.