Matador1

I'm looking for winter tire and am thinking about getting a set from my Porsche dealer. Any thoughts.

Macster

Never bought a set of winter tires but I have read that this time of year is not a good time to shop for winter tires as the selection/stock can be quite low.

But I hope this proves to not be the case.

Check the prices of the tires (and availabilty of the tires) from the Porsche dealer. Check the prices (and availability) of the tires from some large national tire reseller.

Believe it or not often the price I get charged for summer tires from my Porsche dealer is quite in line with the price I get quoted from the online sites. Be sure you factor in the cost to mount the winter tires.

BTW, it may make sense to buy a set of winter tires already mounted on a set of suitable wheels for your car.

Havng the winter tires on their own set of wheels saves wear and tear on the summer tires and wheels removing the summer tires then mounting (and rebalancing) the winter tires then doing this all over again when spring comes and the winter tires have to be removed and the summer tires mounted and balanced.

Matador1

I decided to go with the Porsche Winter Wheel and Tire set. There is a great YouTube video on the difference between the winter tires and summer tires. Search Porsche Winter Tires.

I ordered them from Sunset Porsche Parts and they came in a couple of days however they don't come with the crested center hub like they show on the web site and you need to order wheel bolt as well. The tires are the Michelin Pilot Alpin 4

The first drive was a relaxed, get the fell of the tire type of drive and I can defiantly tell they are softer and being a 19" wheel you can feel the side wall flex more than the 20" that I have on my Boxster S

I think they will be just the right tire for driving in the rain soaked NW winter.

Macster

You are smart in getting winter tires for your car. While the summer tires can handle rain -- although I find I have to slow down some -- in colder temperatures the tires are less grippy. Trouble is one can't choose when he can get by with less grip.

And in snow/ice... forget about summer tires.

Sure, I managed to get around in some snow with my Boxster on (new) summer tires but I was lucky and would never advise anyone else to do what I did. Get those winter tires and be smarter than me.

Be sure you keep an eye on the tire inflation pressures. As temps go lower tire pressure drop and this can make for squirrelly road feel.

If you have no experience with the car in winter be aware in freezing temps the side windows can freeze and refuse to drop when the door is opened. What I found works is to just get in the car insert the key and turn the key on and while pressing the lower window button gently wiggle the window until it breaks loose and lowers.

I found my Boxster's back window even when iced up/snow covered cleared real quick by directing the center dash vents up to blow hot air against the bottom of the top and along the rear window.

Watch for those frozen chunks of ice that fall from vehicles that are driven in the snow. Also watch for the sheets of ice that occasionally come flying off vehicles as they drive down the highway.

When cold weather set in the local/nearby truck stop would put out a pallet of windshield washer fluid. After a few days of below freezing I'd swing by and grab some jugs with no slush in them and use this without fear of the stuff freezing the tank or the washer hoses.

I bought a heavy nylon tow strap and a couple of suitable lifting shackles that I could use to connect the strap to a towing eye bolt of the car and then connect the other end of the strap to another vehicle to pull the car out of a ditch or snow bank should things get ugly. Never had to use the strap.

Also, I bought a couple of bags of sand and put then in the front and back trunks of the car to add some weight. The Boxster is kind of light which in most cases is a plus but in the winter a bit of extra weight helps the tires bite better. And the sand is handy if one gets stuck he can spread some sand down for traction. Never got stuck though even with summer tires. (Came close, too close: The road (71 highway heading north from I-44 in Missouri) was so slick when going around a banked turn on the highway at barely 15mph the car just slide down the banking to the shoulder. I managed to rock the car and get it moving again but it was touch and go for a few minutes.)

Matador1

Good stuff Macster, thanks. I don't plan on driving in the snow. When it snows here in Portland people are crazy and don't know how to drive in it. We only have snow a couple times a year. I have a Toyota Sequoia for the really bad weather.

brianmch

I had pretty decent luck with 2 new rear Conti DWS06 AS last year through winter but my Michelin AS fronts broke free and nearly caused a curb check so I'll be sandbagging my front this winter.

Wife's Box needs new shoes and thinking about some Goodyear AS for her. Any recommendations? We can stay home most days when it snows and have another rig for necessity purposes.

Matador1

brianmch, I've had my Michelin Pilot Alpin 4 on my Boxster S for 2 weeks and we have had lots of rain. So far the grip is pretty amazing. I'm happy with them.

brianmch

Were you using AS or summer before and how much difference ?

Matador1

I was using the Michelin Pilot summer tires. They are soft and sticky but I could tell when we had a last summer rain here in the NW that I had to be careful because they would break loose.

Since I wanted to drive safely in the winter and didn't want to park my car for months at a time I went with the Porsche Winter Wheel and Tire set. It's expensive, no doubt about it but I figured I would drive my car more and my summer tires would last longer.

I love driving my car so much that for me it's all about keeping my car on the road as much as I can.