Winter 19" or 20" rims?
12-07-2016, 03:46 PM
#1
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
Winter 19" or 20" rims?
My '17 GTS came from the factory with 275/45-R20 Goodyear Eagle LS 2 all-season tires. Which I gather are probably going to be 'disappointing' come winter weather conditions. Luck of the draw with factory rubber options.
If I'm going to spring for a second set I'd likely get both the tires and rims, if just to avoid the added complication of mounting and re-balancing every season. Easier to just bite the bullet on the rims once and then be able to just quickly swap them later. Granted, a periodic balance is certainly worth checking.
This presents the question of which rim diameter. I've run taller sidewalls for winter on past vehicles. Slightly narrower in some cases too. The idea being that'll provide better ability to plow through snow conditions. With the resulting loss of dry handling, of course.
The manual indicates the GTS will support 265/50-R19 and 275/45-R20 (and no 18" rims). I have the Sport Design exterior trim.
I'm in the the mid-Atlantic area and don't anticipate much driving up into the mountains during the winter. We get all kinds of weather here. Sometimes nearly all four seasons, in the same week! So how much I "need" winter tires is certainly a reasonable question. I'm willing to spend to err on the side of caution.
What are other folks running for winter rim sizes?
If I'm going to spring for a second set I'd likely get both the tires and rims, if just to avoid the added complication of mounting and re-balancing every season. Easier to just bite the bullet on the rims once and then be able to just quickly swap them later. Granted, a periodic balance is certainly worth checking.
This presents the question of which rim diameter. I've run taller sidewalls for winter on past vehicles. Slightly narrower in some cases too. The idea being that'll provide better ability to plow through snow conditions. With the resulting loss of dry handling, of course.
The manual indicates the GTS will support 265/50-R19 and 275/45-R20 (and no 18" rims). I have the Sport Design exterior trim.
I'm in the the mid-Atlantic area and don't anticipate much driving up into the mountains during the winter. We get all kinds of weather here. Sometimes nearly all four seasons, in the same week! So how much I "need" winter tires is certainly a reasonable question. I'm willing to spend to err on the side of caution.
What are other folks running for winter rim sizes?
12-07-2016, 04:59 PM
#2
Rennlist Member
I would go with 19's.
12-07-2016, 10:19 PM
#4
I would go with 19" with the narrowest tire option available. I made the mistake of going with the stock sized 21" wheels and 295 tires and its a chore to drive when the roads are just two grooved tracks per lane. Narrower tires would allow the car to just stay in the tracks where my car is always hunting in and out of those grooves.
12-08-2016, 12:05 AM
#5
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
Yes, past experience has shown narrower tires on smaller diameter rims generally helps the most for winter snow conditions.
If I want to keep the general 'black look' of my current 20" RS Spyder's my nearest factory option is the 19" Sport Classic (958 044 601 36). Those are 8.5" wide rims.
Are there any other 19" factory rims in black I should consider? Beyond what might be listed on the current Porsche.com website?
When I ordered it I was tempted to get the 20" Spyders in gunmetal gray, not the black. Tequipment lists those as 9.5" width (same as the black I have). The silver (958 044 601 32) are listed as 9" wide in the winter set.
If I want to keep the general 'black look' of my current 20" RS Spyder's my nearest factory option is the 19" Sport Classic (958 044 601 36). Those are 8.5" wide rims.
Are there any other 19" factory rims in black I should consider? Beyond what might be listed on the current Porsche.com website?
When I ordered it I was tempted to get the 20" Spyders in gunmetal gray, not the black. Tequipment lists those as 9.5" width (same as the black I have). The silver (958 044 601 32) are listed as 9" wide in the winter set.
12-08-2016, 09:47 AM
#6
Drifting
My vote would be for 19" too. I'm fairly close to you (WMA region) and for the sort of winters we typically get, I've found that the Porsche-spec Michelin Alpins have been fine in my experience (even when I got caught last year in that freak ice event one weekday evening!).
I agree on having two separate sets, so you don't have to get into the hassle of unmount/mount/rebalance all the time. I happened to find an incredible deal locally last year through Craigslist...a guy had a complete Tequipment winter wheel/tire set leftover in his garage from when he owned a CTT. Set was only used one time. Included TPMS, the Porsche tire covers/carriers, and a genuine Porsche aluminum floor standing tire cart....$600 for all of it! That's the type of deal to look for!
I agree on having two separate sets, so you don't have to get into the hassle of unmount/mount/rebalance all the time. I happened to find an incredible deal locally last year through Craigslist...a guy had a complete Tequipment winter wheel/tire set leftover in his garage from when he owned a CTT. Set was only used one time. Included TPMS, the Porsche tire covers/carriers, and a genuine Porsche aluminum floor standing tire cart....$600 for all of it! That's the type of deal to look for!
12-08-2016, 10:43 AM
#7
One thing to keep in mind is how much time you spend on ice and snow. In Colorado we get plenty of snow but much of the winter we have dry roads. On my '04 I had a set of 18" snows and a set of 19" summers. On dry roads, the handling of the 18s were considerably worse than the 19s. Some of that is due to the softer compound and some of it is due to the higher sidewall.
My '11 came with 21" snows so those are my winter tires, at least until they are used up. So far the 21" snow tires are working out great. I am surprised how well they work in the snow AND the dry. The snow grip is as good or better than my 955 was and the dry performance is close to my 21" summers. Some of that probably is due to the lighter weight of the 958. PDCC and PTV+ probably don't hurt either.
Anyway, get 19s. All of my ramblings don't change the fact they will be the better snow tire.
My '11 came with 21" snows so those are my winter tires, at least until they are used up. So far the 21" snow tires are working out great. I am surprised how well they work in the snow AND the dry. The snow grip is as good or better than my 955 was and the dry performance is close to my 21" summers. Some of that probably is due to the lighter weight of the 958. PDCC and PTV+ probably don't hurt either.
Anyway, get 19s. All of my ramblings don't change the fact they will be the better snow tire.
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12-08-2016, 05:21 PM
#8
Before going to smaller wheels, you should measure the diameter of the disc brake and make sure you don't end up with a wheel that will rub any part of the rear brakes... usually rear rotors are smaller so there's not so much concern about clearance at the rear. So check the front brake diameter then make sure the wheels (inside diameter) is a little larger.
12-09-2016, 09:17 AM
#10
Drifting
Before going to smaller wheels, you should measure the diameter of the disc brake and make sure you don't end up with a wheel that will rub any part of the rear brakes... usually rear rotors are smaller so there's not so much concern about clearance at the rear. So check the front brake diameter then make sure the wheels (inside diameter) is a little larger.
12-09-2016, 10:12 AM
#11
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
It lists 8.5J X 19, RO 59 for the 19" rim size. For 20" is lists both 9J x 20, RO 75 and 9.5J x 20, RO 47 sizes. 21 are listed as 10J x 21, RO 50. It says nothing any other width/diameter combinations.
It does not mention anything about front and rear being different widths. Obviously with AWD setups you have to keep all four of the same diameter. Which would likely be problematic across different widths (or at least putting you into a very narrow and pricey limit set of tire choices).
That and are there any 'differences' between the winter/summer factory rims? Besides available size choices, of course. I have noticed stuff like the RS Spyder design are only listed on the website as available in 9.5" in the black color.
I plan on stopping by the dealer today to figure out what range of options are available.
12-09-2016, 02:21 PM
#12
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
I saw some of the Sport Classic rims, in gray, on a Macan at the Rockville dealer. I'd be OK with that look.
The question now is what rubber can they get on it. Their opinion was it'd likely be Pirelli's. I asked about the possibility of getting Blizzaks and they said they'd check. Getting just the rims by themselves would be considerably more expensive as it'd be $1400/rim, plus TPMS, plus the rubber. Whereas a set right now is ~$5300 with a 10% sale going on. That and they'd be covered by the same rim/tire warranty as my 20's.
The question now is what rubber can they get on it. Their opinion was it'd likely be Pirelli's. I asked about the possibility of getting Blizzaks and they said they'd check. Getting just the rims by themselves would be considerably more expensive as it'd be $1400/rim, plus TPMS, plus the rubber. Whereas a set right now is ~$5300 with a 10% sale going on. That and they'd be covered by the same rim/tire warranty as my 20's.
