Tahoe,

I have sent you a PM.

Jeff

 

I gave it a lot of thought and went a different route. I bought 18" turbo replicas off ebay and fitted them with Pirelli Scorpion AT's. They don't use salt here but magnesium chloride sometimes, which makes regular salt look like nothing, so no point in wrecking real turbo rims IMO. The AT's, while not dedicated snows will easily serve the purpose. They are 235/60-18's so they should work well. I chose these tires over dedicated snows for versitility. If I want to take a trip that entails some light off-roading, the AT's are much better than my 20's or a snow tire. They just add some versitility and are cheaper to boot. Wheels and tires were $1470 mounted and balanced.

 

Even with $ savings, I would be concerned to mount replica rims on my CS.

If the 18's are your preferred solution, I think a good set of used 18" turbos with M+S tires could be purchased for about the same price you paid for the replicas with new tires.

 

Here is my solution:
Set of 18" Turbo Wheels with Bridgestone's slightly used, including colored crest center and shipping via e-bay $860

4 235/60HR-18 Dunlop Grandtrek WT M2 N0 (Porsche OE) XL Special Order $194.00 from Tirereack $776.00

Shipping (Tires) $ 40.00

Mounting / Balancing est. $100.00

Total Cost $1,776.00

For that amount, I got the Porsche recommended solution and 5kmi on the Bridgestones since last March. Don't have the Grandtrek's yet, should by next week -- ordered 3 weeks ago.

I just checked ebay, and there isn't anything reasonable that I saw, and the deals are best in spring and early summer -- a bunch of fake stuff on there now, and an expensive set of used 18" turbos from a dealer with a shipping quote of $175.

 

And others might want to call Justin at Brandywine Porsche (I think in Pennsylvania). He can get you new winter turbo 18's already mounted and balanced for only a few hundred $ more than you note for your package.

 

I live in Canada and with the exchange rate et al., it doesn't make sense to order from Tirerack. The dealer is asking an obsene amount for OEM 18" (I have 19" for summer).

My tire guy here recommended that I buy 18" Cup 3S replica (made from Mille Miglia - which are distributed by Tirerack as well) fitted with Pirelli Scorpio Ice and Snow (255/55 18). I don't want to debate the 255 vs the 235 but any views on the Cup 3S wheels for winter. We do have salt here and ther shure would be easy to clean. Apparently offsets are fine and they installed a few sets last year with satisfied customers.

 

While a narrower tire is better, Tirerack told me that switching to a 255 snow is 90% as good as switching to to a 235 snow. For my use, I doubt it will make a substantial difference.

 

I just purchased a set of Pirelli Ice & Snows. 255x55 18". They arrived yesterday, and I will probably mount them in the next week or two. Here's why I chose these tires over the Dunlops:

1. Wider. In my conversations with Tirerack, it was agreed that, while I might not be able to plow through twelve inches of snow as with exactly the same ability as the narrower Dunlops, having more rubber on the road would give me better ice traction. Since I live in a place where the roads get plowed quite frequently, I felt my biggest hurdle was ice. Confidence on ice was more important to me than the ability to plow through extremely heavy snow.

2. Better dollar value.

3. Better dry road performance due to wider tread.

4. My Tirerack guy told me that the Pirellis were a better overall tire in snow & ice than the Dunlops.

I must say, they look like awesome snow tires. Huge deep tread, much more so than the Tirerack pics would indicate. I will be replacing my 18" Scorpion Zeros, which are great tires in their own right (and will be available as soon as I dismount them), and always gave me the feeling that they could move over almost anything. But, ice is ice.

Best wishes for a safe winter,

Jeff

 

Jeff and DC,

You convinced me. I switched to the 255/55HR-18 Pirelli Scorpion Ice & Snow XL for the reasons you mentioned plus the Nevada warehouse has them is stock, so will ship tomorrow. Also, $100 cheaper for the set over the Dunlops. I think if I lived full time at Tahoe, I would have bought the Dunlops, but since a good part of my winter driving will be in the Bay Area where pavement is normally dry with an occasional shower, the wider profile might be better. The ratings of the Pirelli's are very good. Much has been written on this board and on others regarding winter tires, and based upon everything I've read, I believe you wouldn't go wrong with either choice. BTW, Tahoeblue, a Porsche dealer nearby quoted me $3k for a set of mounted Dunlops -- that's when I started my ebay search.

 

Phil,

There is a $40 difference per tire, more like $160 savings with the Pirellis.

Well, glad you've made a decision. I'm sure you will be pleased.

Can't wait to get mine on the CT so see what they're like!

Jeff

 

I guess I don't understand why you wouldn't mount replicas on your CS? I did however expect someone to make it an issue. The wheels are euro made and TUV approved. They will not see a racetrack, I am betting my CS that I will never have an issue If you have a REAL reason, other than unfounded paranoia, for not running replicas, I would like to hear it. I have seen a lot of track cars(DE) and Porsches in general running replicas for many years now and have yet to hear of a major problem. Yes, Porsche wheels would be my first choice BUT they are not readily availible on ebay, they come up from time to time, usually with new tires, which I have no desire to deal with.

Jeff, My experiences with tire rack salesmen in the past (probably 20 transactions over 5 years) lead me to believe that the advice is more apt to reflect profit margins that actual hard facts. I am not sure how a wider tire is going to be better on ice? More surface equals fewer psi which would seem to offer less traction on ice. Though a dedicated snow tire is best on the ice. I expect more deep snow than ice here as the roads generally melt off clean between dumps.

 

I have 18" turbo replicas mounted with Nokian Hakka 235/60/18 as my winter wheels and these work great! I need 100% winter tires where I live. In my opinion nothing's wrong with replica rims, especially using them for only 3-4 months out of the year. And one more thing, these replicas balanced out perfectly, the tire store guy had less problems balancing these replicas then he did with my 19" summer Porsche rims.

 

Why bother with a replica rim after all the $ we have spent on our Cayennes. Just get good used OEM wheels if this is the issue. I think most would agree they would have maximum peace of mind with the real thing.

 

I think any quality rim is as good as a Porsche rim FOR NORMAL, ON-ROAD DRIVING. It wouldn't bother me a bit to put an aftermarket rim on my Turbo. Hell, I'm sure some aftermarket rims are better than stock.

 

That may be. If you want to change the style of the rims, go aftermarket. But if you are deciding that you are not changing the look of the rim, why not go with OEM?

And you bold type that you think an aftermarket is as good for "normal" driving. If you are implying that the OEM may be better for "abnormal" driving, then this seems another reason to stick with the OEM.

This is not where I would try to save a few bucks.