steve_Cayenne

People of the North,

Time to start thinking about winter tires! Will be needing new ones for my 2013 Cayenne, to be mounted on my bland factory 18" rims (got Replica Turbo II for summer).

According to Porsche, there are 3 approved winter N-spec tires for 2011+ Cayennes
http://files.porsche.com/filestore.a...4-09b619634e06

My opinions:

Micheline Lattitude Alpine HP -N1: Reviews suggest it is a glorified A/S, optimized for excellent performance on cold dry asphalt instead of ice/snow. (not to be confused with the non HP version)
- Not for my kind of winters, I rule them out!

Dunlop Winter Sport 3D -N0: Have them on my BMW 5 series since 2007. Good in snow and ice AND can hardly tell the difference between my rest of year Continental A/S for dry grip, handling, noise, comfort, etc. in every day driving. Was a little weary of how a rear-drive BMW with performance snows would perform in what the northern skies can throw down, but they have gotten me through the worst of it admirably. These are (and I quote from TR) "Dunlop SP Winter Sport 3D Performance Winter / Snow tires were developed for sports cars, coupes and sedans that come from the factory equipped with low profile tires mounted on large diameter alloy wheels." So strange seeing them recommended as a "not low profile" 18" SUV tire?
- I like this tire!

Pirelli Scorpion Ice + Snow -N0: Purpose designed SUV tire. Had them on my 2003 BMW X5. Was the first 4wd vehicle I ever had, and expected it to go through ice and snow storms like the hand of a Norse God was pushing me! Expectation not met! But in hind-site, expectation was probably not realistic and not the fault of the tires. These got me without any trouble through anything winter could throw down, out of any snow bank I parked on, and good all around. 10 year old design though, tread pattern looks anything but inspired!
- Works as advertised, no complaints!


Now there seems to be a new kid on the block "Pirelli Scorpion Winter", probably designed to phase out "Ice + Snow". I posted info and questions about them on the Rennlist Tire Rack forum without much feedback (I guesse the SUV owners don't hang out there, and TR rep did not smell a sale). I also called Pirelli, and they did not have any meaningful info!
https://rennlist.com/forums/wheel-an...tire-rack.html


Pirelli Scorpion Winter: These were (according to Pirelli) "Developed in close collaboration with Porsche", and most of their marketing materials feature a new Porsche Cayenne. Oddly, they are not N-spec. Brand new High Performance SUV design that claims to be better in every way to the Scorpion Ice + Snow, so tempting to forfeit Porsche approval! (seems to be informally approved anyways)

I am leaning towards Pirelli Scorpion Winter … but would still like n-spec. Oh the dilemma - any opinions from the good people of this forum?

On a related note, I am thinking of getting those ITM TPMS sensors for my second set of wheels that are all over ebay for $175 for all 4. Any experience? Reviews seem all good, and price is less than half of OE!
http://www.ebay.com/itm/TPMS-Tire-Pr...ae11ea&vxp=mtr

Dennis C

I can't speak to the Pirellis because I haven't used them. In the winter, I drop down to 18" wheels from my summer 20" wheels. I am running Michelin Latitude Alpin N1 tires for the winter. This is my second winter with this set, and I'm quite pleased with them. For me, they are just the right balance for the mountains in Colorado. In the winter here, the temperature can range from -30 F to 65 F. I see dry roads, packed snow, deep fresh snow and ice. This tire performs very well in all situations. I have never had a traction issue, and I've been through some pretty nasty stuff going up to the ski hill. They also perform very well on dry pavement in cold weather.

Again, I can't compare them to the Pirelli, but overall I've been very pleased with the Michelins. FWIW, the winter traction with this tire is noticably better than my "summer" tire, which is actually an all-season tire (Continental ExtremeContact DWS).

Good luck!

Cuba

I'm sticking with all seasons this winter, I have my four fresh conti extreme DWS tires sitting across from my desk right now waiting to be mounted tomorrow. I'm used to rwd winters so dedicated snow tires on the pig weren't much of a concern for me. Pirelli sottozeros and Blizzaks worked wonders for my rwd cars the past 5 years though.

kalyan

Got Blizzaks on our pig for winter... love them.

RAKLAW

I don't intend to o any serious winter driving in heavy snow.
Here in Westchester ny even after a huge storm the major roads are plowed and cleared within a day or so and the trains running to NYC
Anyway I just put 21 inch Pirelli in oem size ice and snow just in case I get caught at the RR station during a storm or catch some snow on he drive to and back to Florida.
If I was serious driving I would drop to a narrower 19 inch and go with the Blizzarks. Had them before and they work well in deep snow

Dennis C

I've used Blizzaks before. They are very good. I found them to be a little "squishy" on dry pavement at ~40 F. I don't get the same feeling with the Michelins. That being said, the Blizzaks were better in deep snow or even in ice.

mtnrat

Where I live all factors are a distant second to ice and snow traction. Lots of temps right around freezing which create the slipperiest conditions. When it gets really cold traction improves as there is less of a water layer created between the tires and the rolling surface. Blizzaks, hakkapeliitta 7, ipike 409, and artic alpins make up the tires of choice. And almost without exception everybody has their vehicle equipped with dedicated ice radials. Steve if you see a fair amount of snow and ice just go for the most traction.

RESP

Steve, starting our second season with the Pirelli Scorpion Snow & Ice.

Put 24, 000 km on these tires last winter in conditions ranging from lightly icy to heavy snow (including a few prairie blowing snow/ ice covered highway trips) I am very happy with them.
Great on ice, snow (fresh or packed or blowing) and dry or wet pavement.
Not very noisy, compared to the Michelin alpine we run on the other SUV.

Check out Damon at the tire rack, he did good by us when we bought our snows.

Good luck!

YRUNVS

Hi, can someone with a 2011+ Cayenne please tell me the length in millimeters of the threaded portion of the stock lug bolt. From where the ball seat meets the threaded shaft to the tip of the bolt. Thanks for all responses. Doug

SeaPors

+1 for the Pirelli S & I. Great experience with the Cayenne and this tire. Gives you a lot of confidence in bad conditions.

blazing928

www.nokian.com

the summer SUV tyre even has a proper example!!

http://www.nokiantires.com/tyre?id=9...e=Nokian+Z+SUV

Slush is far more dangerous than snow/ice , see the videos

We doing the same order with 18", T2 reps in 20"

tmack2012

Hey guys - I ordered a set of 18" Cayenne S III rims from our OPC. Interesting story. Found out what Steve found out re. new Pirelli Scorpion Winter not described as N-spec on either Pirelli USA or Canada site. I wonder if the marketing guys are tragically behind the curve, as this would probably have been my tire of choice.

I looked into the cost of just the rims and looked at ordering the Scorp Winters off Tire Rack - 255/55-18 for probably $1000 or more before TPMS.

OPC quoted I think it was $1250 per rim (No tire) - $5,000!

The winter tire rim set was quoted at about $3,700 before tax, installed, balanced, TPMS and was about $500 more than the base 18" Cayenne design which I didn't prefer.

It was explained to me that it was cheaper to buy the porsche tire/rim package vs. splitting things up (eg. rims only).

The service gal, who is excellent wasn't sure what the tire was - it came in about 1 week after the order - Dunlop Wintersport 3D's! Read good things on Consumer Reports for these. We are in Canadian Prairies - get snow, ice, snow storms but also just cold roads which are dry. Consumer Reports rates them as average for ice braking. We'll see. May be good enough for me to forget about a change/upgrade to Scorp Winters. Truth be told, I can't find any professional or other review on these so can't say they're validated yet as a definitely superior alternative.

As there would be no spare and these are not run flats - do you guys carry tire sealant/compressor kits for winter? Any kits you'd recommend?

On another note, re. clock, they unplugged-plugged back in wires for the dash analog clock and it's working now, a temporary workaround 'til the new clock replacement comes in which is soon, can update you guys next week. No idea if it is the same clock (but fixed), same clock but not fixed, vs. the ?sport chrono part analog clock. They are all aware of the problem, I believe affecting panameras as well.

ALSO - seat ventilation - couldn't turn it on today after several tries. Then eventually got it to work after fiddling. Anybody have this problem before? Maybe should have just got a Lexus RX instead.............JUST KIDDING!!!!

RESP

Hey tmack,
I don't carry an alternative to the inflate a spare. I plan on using Porsche roadside service to get the Cayenne taken somewhere for repair.
(You do know you have a spare tire underneath the cargo floor? There is a compressor there as well. )

I've seen too many roadside accidents where the person changing a tire gets hit by traffic. Get a professional with the right equipment to take care of repairs on the road. Much safer and a great investment in your life and health.

Dennis C

I used to run Nokian Hakkapeliitta winter tires on our Saabs. They were awesome on icy roads...

RAKLAW

My new analog clock is still working. I noticed today when I opened driver door the clock was stopped....and it spun backwards until arriving at the correct time and began normal operation. WTF. Talk about over engineering . It's a clock....no wonder so many r screwed up