moorejd

Are winter tires overkill for New York City?

I live in Manhattan but am planning a few snowboarding trips in the Catskills during the winter, and am wondering whether that really necessitates shelling out $2.5k for a set of winter tires / wheels, or whether those are really only necessary for daily driving further north?

Right now I have Pilot Sport PS2s on 19" wheels, on a 2006 C2S Cab, which seems like a bad setup for winter driving.

I've also heard there is no point in dropping down to 18" wheels, so is my best bet just to get a set of winter tires and have a garage swap them onto my existing rims in the winter?

http://blog.tirerack.com/blog/porsche-tires

Any suggestions much appreciated!

ajayabb

Don't forget that winter tires are designed to remain pliable with temperatures below 40 f. PS2's turn into hockey pucks with cold temps regardless of snow and as a result, traction will be sacrificed. Factor in rain and slush with cold temperatures with the PS2's, and you could have an unsafe situation

Dadio

There are three good reasons for 18" wheels.
1) cheaper tires...only snow tires available for your 19" wheels are Pirelli Sotozero II 's at $1300 a set and that's before mounting and balancing.
2) 18" wheels mean taller side walls which means more tire between your wheels and pot holes.
3) having a dedicated winter set of wheels eliminates need for two trips to the dealer to have your winter tires installed and removed.

Barn996

Get some dedicated snow tires and you'll be happy going snowboarding this winter.

Darkalley36

The hocky puck piece is the real reason to get snow tires. These tires become dangerous below 45 degrees... If it is dry, 25 degrees out and you stop hard or take a turn fast dont expect to stick.

kosmo

dont bother. Just rent a car. It will be a lot cheaper.

alexb76

+1.

Find a nice used set of Porsche OEM wheels (off Carrera base for instance), get some 18 winters and swap em every winter.

MUCH MUCH better solution than 19" winter tires... you mount only once, and 18s are way better in winter, and much cheaper to buy/replace.

NA011

Even here in Florida when the temperature dips below freezing, the next morning the PS2s feel like they are made out of hard plastic & the car wants to fishtail.

blake

I'd love to - but 18s are hard to find (at least the Carrera IIIs that I want...)

I'm going with the 19 Dunlops (TireRack) rather than the Pirellis because they will help me more in the deep snow... For NYC, get the Pirellis and have a blast sticking to the black ice covered roads all winter. It's all about the tire compound...

Good luck.

-B

moorejd

Thanks guys - much appreciated. I'm leaning towards a set of Alpin PA2s ($1k from tire rack), mounted on non-OEM 18" 997 turbo-look rims that eurowheels are listing on eBay for $649 (which seems weird, I've never seem 18" 997 turbo-look rims before).

Something tells me I might better off with used OEMs from a base carrera, but these are apparently TUV certified, look great, and are a steal at $649?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/18-99...item5d3049560b

kosmo

Be aware of Cheap Chinese POS.

I hope you have a lot of storage space.

Jay H

Good call on getting dedicated winter tires. You won't regret the purchase.

Insure that any rim you get can be perfectly centerd on that hub. Otherwise, you'll chase vibration problems that will never go away...

Two years ago, we had a very warm March (for WI) and temps were in the 70's and 80's. So, I swapped out the winter tires for the summer Continetals. April rolled in and we received a light snow fall that turned to rain in the morning with temps in the mid '30's. On the way in to work, the roads were just wet, but with the cold temps, the summer tires were extremely loose feeling and I could feel the car wiggling back and forth every so slightly just going straight down the highway. I dared not brake or turn aggressively that morning. Never again. I'm leaving the winter rubber on until there is no chance of sub 40 degree temps, snow or cold pavement.

docfink

I paid less than $1500 for 18" rims with mounted and balanced Sotozeros from the Tire Rack last year. Get a jack and do it yourself. A no brainer.

alexb76

Really? When I was searching for mine there was AT LEAST 4-5 sets to choose from! Search eBay and Wheel enhancements, I am 100% sure there are OEM 18" wheels around $1000 for a full set.

alexb76

100% SKIP! You have NO IDEA who makes those wheels!

I personally would look for an OEM 18s, you can EASILY resell those when you're done, these wheels will be worth next to zero when they're used! No one would buy em. Besides, OEM is properly certified, still looks good, is light, won't bend in every pot hole, and is of Porsche quality ... I just cannot think of putting Made in China wheels on my car!

I've seen Carrera 3 18inch wheels WITH Winter tires for under $1000! Just do a thorough search.