HC22

I have been doing some research but there seems to be no shortage of differing opinions on 18" versus 19" tires for winter so I am looking to my fellow Canadian Porsche owners for help.

I am driving a 2006 C4S, and this will be my first winter with the car. I am planning on driving the car in the winter when the weather permits but I also have an SUV that I will use on days where there is significant snow coverage. I am in the beaches in Toronto and 95% of my winter driving will be from my house to my office downtown.

I am trying to decide if I should put 19" Sottozero Tires on for the winter (on my existing rims) or if I need to move to an 18" smaller tire and wheel set-up.

Any advice and/or experience you could share with me would be most appreciated. Thanks in advance.

ZR8ED

In short. Cold tires are hard tires. A shorter sidewall offers less "cushion" A taller sidewall offers more flex (cushion) and can shape itself better to the surface that you are driving on. Think of messy roads, ice chunks, packed snow etc. The more flexible tire will shape or mould itself over these defects maintaining more tire contact.
I am not talking huge amounts of difference, but in winter, even 10% more grip can make the difference between staying on the road or being in a ditch.
Generally speaking winter tires are slightly narrower (to help cut through snow and offer more lbs/square inch of contact patch) and they are put on smaller diameter rims. To make up (correct) the overal diameter they use a taller sidewall (aspect ratio) to keep your speedo accurate.

hoffa

I have 19" pirelli winter tires... While last winter here in Waterloo was quite mild, the car was great.

Speaking of which.. i really should put my winters on. The summers are like hockey pucks when it is 0c outside :P

brad@tirerack.com

18's are more narrow and cut better. They also provide the wheel more protection. An 18" set usually easier to deal with as they are already mounted.

Please call me if I can help.

akw

Damon (tire rack) hooked me up with a set of 18" rims and tires for my 2008 c4s. It's a great set up for me even in bad winters.

Most of the guys I've talked to who have C4s's run 18's as well.

Adam

Bob Rouleau

My dealer sold me a set of Porsche 18 inch rims fitted with Nokian snow tires for $2,700. Helluva good deal in my view. My C4S is my DD summer and winter.

topspd

I ran 19" winter tires on my 2007 C2S which were fine for all but the heavy snow days. I imagine a C4S with 19" would do even better and considering that you have a SUV for the bad days, then you may not want to sacrifice performance in the dry salted/slushy conditions GTA mostly experiences for better heavy snow performance.

Now I have a C4S and I've decided to go to an 18" tire/rim combination (thanks Damon) but that's mostly because it's my only car and I don't want to feel home bound on bad snow days.

Bob, I'm curious if you got those new/used, with/without TPMS? My dealer quoted $4k+ for a new set of Porsche 18s with Nokians.

[shameless plug] I'm selling my set of 19" winters so you could potentially try those at a low entry cost vs. spending thousands on an 18" setup and switch later if you aren't happy.

Bob Rouleau

topspd - those were new wheels/tires with TPSM. It was a winter package last year. The wheels look like 996 18 inchers which on our bombed out roads seemed like a good idea. Dunno if the deal is different this year. I got them from Porsche Lauzon just North of Montreal.

Zookie

HC22 where are you located in GTA give Allen @ www.simplytire.com a call and mention Rennlist, he will hook you up...

Smaller and Narrower is better for Winter...

theiceman

hey that's great Zook ...

so for summer we have " I was in THE POOL !!! "

and for winter we hve " Smaller and Narrower is better for Winter... "
__________________

Ilker@SCB

Ice -
we have a brand new set of Pirelli 19" that a customer ordered and didn't pick up - ready to move them at a good deal.
contact us if interested...
Ilker @ SCB

jumper5836

Narrower and higher side walls in better for real winter driving. I would go with a 18" wheels since I doubt 17" will fit on your car and run a 10" rim on the rear with 265's if your planning on driving on snow covered roads for the majority of the winter.

Now if your driving like posted, your in the same boat as me. You need a high performance winter tire that can deal with snow on occasion but your not going to be using it for a commuter through the rough days. I would go with a separate set of wheels just to prevent your good set from the winter slush and the unseen curb or pot hole.
You can go as wide as your summers on the same wheels if you like. Our winter roads are not usually snow covered and are mainly dry or wet so the wider tire is actually better grip in winter.

The Pirrelli's are more of a performance tire, while the Blizzaks are better for a real winter snow covered road driven car.

Zookie

lol i am not Eshel...

seanmcr6

I'm running 18's on my 2004 C4S....

Pirelli Wintersports 240 N spec....from Tirerack.

HC22

Thanks to everyone for the feedback. I really appreciate it. Cheers.