Hey fellas - this may be obvious to the seasoned drivers. But I got a set of Micheline Pilot Alpin (18", minus size).

The handling and overall feel is no comparison versus the stock tires.
I realize now the rationale for winter tires when running under 40 degrees.
Some of you told me the stock tires turn into 'hockey pucks' and yes they do, very expensive pucks....

I purchased the set from the tirerack.com with sport edition cup 4 twisty rims.
Damon, who many of you have worked with at tire track, was the sales associate and was very helpful.

 

I use winter tires on my 996, and they're awesome in the snow and cold weather. Don't leave home without them!

 

PABA - +1 on Damon.

I concur that winter tires are a great decision for here in DC. I put mine on in mid-Dec, and am very happy to be able to use my C2S as a DD.

I also noticed the handling of the car get really light, and 'sportier' with the 18s (I have the Pirelli Sottozeros on 5-spoke Carrera III wheels I bought from a Rennlister in Chicago). The car isn't as stuck to the ground, but it handles differently, and is easier to chuck around.

Another thing I'm doing is to run lower pressures (at the suggestion of the guy at Mr. Tire out on Rt. 29 in Arlington who did the install - who'd you use?). I'm running about 36 front, 40 rear, at operating temp.

The setup is much more graceful over our semi-paved streets here in the district... which are getting better as the stimulus paving frenzy continues.

I'm interested to see how much I like the 19s again when I put them back on in April.

Cheers,
Marc

 

A big +1 to the driving experience - surprisingly comfortable if a little floaty on tight, high speed manouevres, and mine are on 19s - just swapped the tyres, not the wheels.

 

I keep PA2 tires on stock rims for whole year and use them even in summer if we go on a long trip somewhere in a p-car, otherwise for regular short distances I just drive on r-comps, it is just simpler this way and I do not want to keep one more set of wheels in the garage.

for overall street driving PA2 are fine and especially during the potholes season those sturdy sidewalls help quite a lot.

 

Question for the cold folks in the mid atlantic (Spectro28)- Do your winter tires = snow tires, or are they just colder rated tires. I"m worried about dropping a fortune on winter tires when there is little snow in the area. Usually we only get 1-3 snow storms a year. I'm running currently on my Pirrelli stock tires and they might as well be carved out of stone. The are REALLY hard and slick. I'd love to try an 18" set of colder weather tires/wheels for the 4 months around here that are colder.

 

I run dedicated winter tires here in south jersey (Pirelli Sottozero @ 240's). I found a set cheap online for under 1000 dollars. If you look around you can usually pick up a set of barely used winter tires on ebay or craigslist or even here for a lot less. Brand new, Damon at Tire Rack is your man!

 

Winter tires are more about compound than anything else, and to that end brands like Blizzak make winter tires in various profile configurations based on the intended use. For deep snow environments, you would want to go with a narrower tire with more tread depth. For the mid-atlantic, I'd recommend a standard width with a more winter performance tire tread depth geared toward ice. This will make ice driving much safer, and should be a step closer to the feel of your summer tires in terms of performance.

Call Damon at Tire Rack and chat about it... I am sure that he can steer you in the right direction...

-B

 

I have PA2s in both the p car (18") and Benz (19") and they work great. A set of 4 (18") is $948 at tirerack.

I was advised to get the 18" tire and wheel combo for the Benz but just went with the 19" tires and they have worked great in some pretty heavy snow.

 

Two categories of winter tire..... snow and ice, and performance snow tire. If you live in an environment where you'll see more black top then snow, performance snow tire's are the way to go. If you live in a world where your roads are 75% snow covered or more you're better off with a snow and ice tire. Snow and ice tires like:
Bridgestone Blizzak WS60
Bridgestone Blizzak WS70
Continental ExtremeWinterContact
Dunlop Graspic DS-3
Michelin X-Ice Xi2

Are perfect in a world where they see lots of snow covered roads, lots of ice, and infrequently see pavement. On dry pavement their capabilities are diminished when compared to Performance winter tires.
Performance winter tires (i might be missing a few here from Nokian etc)

Bridgestone Blizzak LM-18
Bridgestone Blizzak LM-22
Bridgestone Blizzak LM-25
Bridgestone Blizzak LM-60
Continental ContiWinterContact TS810
Dunlop SP Winter Sport 3D
Dunlop SP Winter Sport M3
Goodyear Eagle Ultra Grip GW2
Goodyear Eagle Ultra Grip GW3
Goodyear Ultra Grip Performance
Michelin Pilot Alpin PA2
Michelin Pilot Alpin PA3
Michelin Primacy Alpin PA3
Pirelli Winter 190 Snowcontrol
Pirelli Winter 210 Sottozero
Pirelli Winter 240 SnowSport
Pirelli Winter 240 Sottozero
Pirelli Winter 270 Sottozero Serie II

Performance snow tires are not nearly as good in snow/ice as their strictly snow/ice brothers and sisters but they'll do very well on dry pavement. You think performance snows are the cats ***, try a car in the snow fitted with with true full blown snow and ice tires and you'll think your performance snows were all seasons. Its that big of a difference. I didn't believe it until I tried it with a friend in Quebec. Full snow and ice's weakness is the ability to hold up to lots of dry pavement use. You'll chew them up if you live in the mid atlantic states. Also performance winter tires tend to give you H or V speed ratings, while full winter/ice may give you a Q rating.

Also final note is to go narrow. Also as your go narrower to keep the proper rotational sizes you'll need to increase the aspect ratio. So like a 225/45 17" rim is better suited in the snow with 205/50 17". You'll have a slight speed difference but if you google miata tire size calculator you can figure out what your speed differences will be pretty quickly.

 

starting to re-think this whole issue lately

PA2 or PA3...?

 

+1

I have the same setup, also bought through Damon. Great experience and great, confidence inspiring tires in the cold. As an inexpensive solution to winter driving, they don't look half bad either, IMHO.

 

Another DC area guy here - I have PA2s on my C4S (since I wanted smaller/narrower). So far they've been great. Haven't had much snow to drive in this winter (figures, right?), but I would have a lot of confidence if/when it does.

I'm really curious to hear Spectro's thoughts of a C2S on winters after the season. One reason I got rid of my C2S was concern over winter driveability.

 

Awesome post, and I can personallty vouch for this assessment as i have owned four sets of the tires listed above. Living in the mid-Atlantic, I would highly recommend the second set of tires (LM22s were awesome btw). It is a drop in performance versus summer tires, but the road hold on ice is amazing...

-B

 

Hiya Terps -

The Pirelli Sottozero tires stick just fine for me for driving in the cold weather we have at present, fine in the wet, too. More winter driving experience in a separate post.

These were the tires that Damon recommended -- he suggested at the time that they weren't as competitive in the snow as as the Michelin Pilot Alpin, but that they were better as all-around winter tires - the typical cold and dry we experience.

Cheers,
Marc