I am starting my research on a replacement for the 2001 Jetta. I had a 2005 Touareg V8 and loved it. The Cayenne and Touareg are on the short list. What is the largest wheel that I could put on the Cayenne while maintaining good winter traction? The 996 will go into storage for the winter.

 

You may want to look at some of the past threads on snow tires, it may start you on an answer to your question.

 

Are we talking about dedicated snow tires, or all-season tires?

I know you can get a snow tire in a 20" size. I'm not sure about larger sizes. I am currently running all-season 20" tires on my Cayenne all year in northern Indiana, and it works fine in most situations.

 

I am looking for all-season solutions. Dont need a dedicated snow tire.

 

Optimal traction in winter is achieved with a high sidewall/profile tire, thus 18".
For summer, you pick...19, 20...personal style/preference.

In both cases the rubber compound will play a primary factor in traction, followed by sidewall/contact patch geometry.
An all season would be a compromise, thus making it difficult to maintain 'good' winter traction, especially on packed snow/ice.

You are dealing with a 5500# P!g remember...

 

I have 19" Winter Pirelli Ice and Snow, have even run them through one summer. They took on everything the NW mountains (Wa, Id and Montana) have to offer. Very pleased with these, almost abandoned my 21" summers. I have plowed snow with the car. Don't think you need 18's for max traction based on my experience.

 

Completely agree. The thought of putting winter tires on a 4x4 SUV boggles me and I live in WI.

I ran n rated 18" Conti 4x4contacts last winter and it was great; yes even plowed through packed thick snow in them with relative ease.

I'm going to run 20" all seasons (Hankook Ventus) this winter. I suspect it won't be nearly good as the 18" due to the width of the wheel/tire.

As a side note, the 18" and 19" Cayenne wheels have similar widths (I think).

 

Still havent seen any rubber tire "good" on 'ice'.

 

Your mind would not be boggled if you tried it. There is a reason why they make them. It is night any day between either the OEM Conti's (or the Michelin Latitude), and the Pirelli Scorpion Ice and Snow in slippery conditions, PARTICULARLY in hard-packed snow and ice. The compound is noticeably different, as is the tread design - especially the additional siping, which makes a big difference on ice.

4WD does not solve the problem of grip. If it did, the handling of your vehicle would be identical whether you were driving on lubricated plate glass or 60-grit sandpaper.

 

Snow = stay home (preferred) or drive slow (not that you'd have a choice since traffic will be moving at a snail's pace) since 99.9% of other drivers wont have these superior tires. I'm not worried about me...

Also I meant ground clearance when referring to truck not 4WD traction since you mentioned packed/thick snow (although when going through a snow drift in your driveway, 4WD is helpful).

Also I don't question why they make snow tires since the reason is obvious; they have plenty of practical and some necessary applications (i.e. rear wheel drive car, sports car, etc). My point is simply that it is not absolutely necessary on a truck/SUV/all wheel drive car even. Just an opinion based on experience since after living in WI for a long time the only thing white on my car in winter is usually salt instead of some storm of the century where you could pass my like a typical IL driver - sorry I had to take the shot