jsalah

Ok so just looking for some opinions -- Full disclosure I'm 90% sure I'm going to stick with my winter set up but just looking to see if there is a good reason I can be dissuaded.

So I took my '10 C4S cabrio in to my indy today to swap the 19" Turbo summer wheel set up (just ordered new S-04s all around) for the 18" set, and he pointed out that my rears on the winter set are toast. Soooo... more new tires to buy.

I have this currently as a winter setup:
Porsche OEM BBS 18" 997 Carrera Classic III wheels
Front: 18x8 et 57 Part# 997.362.136.00
Rear: 18x11 et 51 Part# 997.362.142.00
Nokian WR N0 Winter Tires.
Front: 235/40/18. (~6-7mm Tread left)
Rear: 295/35/18 - tires done.

I'm in South NJ/Philly area, and the car is generally on a tender in the garage all winter, only coming out on the occasional clear and cold day. If it's snowing, or there is a forecast for snow, it does not come out. If it snowed recently and the roads are still slushy, it does not come out. Honestly the biggest reason I even got the winter set up to begin with was to give the summers a break for a few months to avoid flatspotting, and on the off chance I wanted to go out one clear winter day and ran into unexpected weather (this is a weekend car only).

So the question is, do I:

(1) Try to match the front Nokians with a new set of rears (probably a pain and will ultimately result in inconsistent tread all around), but could be cheaper.

(2) Suck it up and drop another $900+ on 18" Sottozeros and keep them mounted on these winter rims.

(3) Sell/store the 18" rims and order a 19" set of Sottos for my "summer" rims (reasoning that since I don't plan on driving in snow, I don't "need" the extra sidewall, narrow tire, and retaining a wider contact patch (assuming they make 305 winter rears??) is better? Or am I overthinking the hell out of this...)

Also, the current winter rears on the 18" rims are 295s -- but the Sottos are evidently 265... That an issue (sorry for the elementary question)?? I run 7mm front and 15mm rear spacers...

Thanks, in advance....

PS, yes I've searched and read a bunch of threads, including these recent ones...

https://rennlist.com/forums/997-foru...nter-tire.html

https://rennlist.com/forums/997-foru...nd-wheels.html

hacker-pschorr

I always go with the smallest / skinniest wheel that will fit on the car.

jsalah

Thanks Hacker..

Damon at TireRack, what sayeth ye?

Derek Zoolander

Summer tires are not safe under ~45°F. Nokians are overkill if it won't ever see snow/slush/ice. I'd throw some all-seasons or Sottozeros on the winter wheels.

jsalah

Yep - agreed, don't intend to drive on the summers in sub 45 - they're like hockey pucks at that point...

TommyV44

Hacker....what a picture...Kudos to the photographer!!

Tom

Quadcammer

sottozeros on 19s if money is no option.

otherwise just stick with sottos on 18s.

BIG smoke

Buy four new snow. They will make you smile.
Sell the older two front snows?
Or gift them to a less fortunate Porsche person.
"Snow tire it forward".

kellen

I would grab a new set of rears that match, then swap out the fronts as needed.

hacker-pschorr

Thanks! The day before our 10 year anniversary as she was chasing me up the stairs at the Griffith Observatory.

Dennis C

Suck it up and buy new Sottozeros. Extra sidewall is nice in winter conditions for wheel protection from potholes too.

hacker-pschorr

Need to remember the point of snow tires is digging in and finding traction, not floating on top of the snow. This is a very common misconception.

My Yukon rides on 285/60-18 in summer. The Blizzaks are mounted on narrow wheels with 245/75-16's
Wife's car 235/40-18 for summer and 195/65-15 in winter

Personally I'd be tempted to run a square wheel setup for winter, assuming you can fit the narrow wheel out back. But admittedly I'm not very familiar with the AWD system on the Porsche compared to my Audi's in the past.

Can you fit 16" steel wheels on a 997?

GoatFarmer

My nephew just added snows to his 997.1 C4.
Fronts are 235/40/18
Rears are 265/40/18 on a 18x10 wheel

Double_J

New sottos all around on 18s. If you drive it like you say you will, replace all now and then you won't have to worry about them for another 5 years. 18s are definitely better than 19s in the snow and if you're going to bite the bullet with a winter set, might as well get the most effective setup you can (18s will be cheaper, too).

I know it's not ideal but if your 911 really is a winter garage queen a winter set isn't absolutely necessary. I live in the same area. I don't have a winter set and still take my car out during the winter when the weather is clear and I know that there is zero moisture on the ground.

Summer tires absolutely aren't meant for cold weather use. That said they still function for normal driving in the winter as long as you know that there's no ice on the ground and that you won't get caught in a storm, etc. If there's any doubt about either, just don't take it out that day.

hacker-pschorr

I know there is a lot of debate about tire age, so not trying to re-kindle that war, but IMO properly used and stored snow tires last a long time.

I just picked up a set of used Nokian Hakkapeliitta's for a friend on a budget. Date stamped 2009 but only used one season (from another friend). I fully expect them to be in service another 4-5 years minimum.

I typically expect to get 8+ years out of a set of snow tires for our daily driven winter vehicles. Now granted, as stated above I'm running huge sidewalls and generally more tread depth than you will get on 18" snow's mounted to a 911. My point is, get them off once the weather warms up and store in the basement or something they typically last longer than normal tires.

My friend had an expression (he sold tires) "10 year old bald snow tires are better in winter than brand new all seasons" - I put his quote to the test one year with my Audi, and I never argued it again!!!

Now please, I'm not advocating anyone go romping around in the white stuff with worn out old bald snow tires. Just sharing......