Winter tyres f**king up handling
Discussion
Read this post with interest as I put Pirelli writers on my 997 C4S a month or so back and was surprised how useless they were initially. Ditto all the comments above they clearly also need some miles to bed in and also the correct temperatures.
Glad you found your solution. Happy motoring through this bitter winter! ;-)
Glad you found your solution. Happy motoring through this bitter winter! ;-)
Sottozeros on 997.2 did excellent job on Boxing Day 320 mile round trip from Yorkshire to Luton Airport.
3 deg temp plus heavy rain and some sleet.
Car felt very composed at all times and inspired confidence even through patches of standing water on motorway ...... the floaty trouser clenching feeling was very much reduced vs summers. The tyres are spray monsters too and appear to clear water very effectively, not sure cars behind were so happy about that. The sottos are quiet and ride seems comparable to the Michelin PS summer shoes.
Had a little play on way home on quiet roads where safe and the handling is still fun with significant cornering speeds possible and tyres once rolling were putting boost down with no complaints. Sure the tyres feel a little squidgy when you push on hard but overall I was amazed at how the car was transformed into effective winter machine (was gonna write winter road warrior but that sounds a bit ridiculous).
To any winter tyres doubters - give the tyres a whirl in the bad weather and I think you will be very surprised how effective they are. I think we have to be resigned to fact that on warmer 7+ deg ish days that the winters do not feel great but is a small sacrifice to have the cold weather capability when needed to get you home safe?
3 deg temp plus heavy rain and some sleet.
Car felt very composed at all times and inspired confidence even through patches of standing water on motorway ...... the floaty trouser clenching feeling was very much reduced vs summers. The tyres are spray monsters too and appear to clear water very effectively, not sure cars behind were so happy about that. The sottos are quiet and ride seems comparable to the Michelin PS summer shoes.
Had a little play on way home on quiet roads where safe and the handling is still fun with significant cornering speeds possible and tyres once rolling were putting boost down with no complaints. Sure the tyres feel a little squidgy when you push on hard but overall I was amazed at how the car was transformed into effective winter machine (was gonna write winter road warrior but that sounds a bit ridiculous).
To any winter tyres doubters - give the tyres a whirl in the bad weather and I think you will be very surprised how effective they are. I think we have to be resigned to fact that on warmer 7+ deg ish days that the winters do not feel great but is a small sacrifice to have the cold weather capability when needed to get you home safe?
Edited by MOD500 on Sunday 28th December 08:43
Well went out this morning.
Firstly these cars are useless at defrosting anything more than a slither of ice on the front windscreen, I had to use a ton of de-icer and a little plastic scraper.
The rear quick clear though works brilliantly, just like a Ford windscreen
The Sottozeros arent much better than a regular tyre on ice although that goes without saying, but by god you can blitz through the snow and slush without fear of going off the road in a moments notice.
It was 0 degrees outside this morning and even on damp patchy roads I could use wide open throttle in 2nd all the way to the red line with no issues, fantastic!
Firstly these cars are useless at defrosting anything more than a slither of ice on the front windscreen, I had to use a ton of de-icer and a little plastic scraper.
The rear quick clear though works brilliantly, just like a Ford windscreen
The Sottozeros arent much better than a regular tyre on ice although that goes without saying, but by god you can blitz through the snow and slush without fear of going off the road in a moments notice.
It was 0 degrees outside this morning and even on damp patchy roads I could use wide open throttle in 2nd all the way to the red line with no issues, fantastic!
oddball1973 said:
Got Pirelli Soto I's on the front (tyres are one year old and fitted them for the second year running) and had New Pirelli Soto III's fitted to the rear as the Original Soto 1 rears didn't fit (changed from 991S to 991 50th and the rear wheels are a different size)
Handling has gone to s
t (talking at 30mph plus) - car feels like its on wet mud, no feel, cambers in the road pulling it all over the place etc. Going back to the tyre fitters tomorrow but any ideas out there ?( Checked they've been fitted right in terms of rotation direction and they're all correct, Ican't believe there's a compatibility issue between I's and III's on paper but can't think what else it could be, the Soto I's front and rear on the previous car felt fine)
I'm a Pirelli UK motorsport tyre dealer, and also have experience of a variety of different winter tyres on a variety of cars.Handling has gone to s
t (talking at 30mph plus) - car feels like its on wet mud, no feel, cambers in the road pulling it all over the place etc. Going back to the tyre fitters tomorrow but any ideas out there ?( Checked they've been fitted right in terms of rotation direction and they're all correct, Ican't believe there's a compatibility issue between I's and III's on paper but can't think what else it could be, the Soto I's front and rear on the previous car felt fine)Presuming you've checked pressures, and adjusted for ambient temperature..? For information, recommended pressures are stated at 20C, and pressure typically varies by 2psi per 10C. So if its 10C ambient, set the pressures at 2psi lower than the recommended pressure.
As others have stated, the compound in these tyres is designed to operate at an ambient temperature of below 7C, above this, the blocks begin to move around more than designed, and this can lead to a 'numb' feeling when pushing on, and you can feel the blocks moving around under medium to hard barking and cornering.
Having different tyre patterns front and rear isn't ideal, have you checked if you can get the SottoZero III fitted to the front too..? Different patterns front and rear, despite them both being Pirellis, can lead to a front/rear imbalance.
I have driven various Porsches with matching front and rear Sotto Zeros, and at around 0C, they feel great. There is a bit more movement compared to a summer tyre, but thats to be expected.
Sorry if I've just reiterated what you've already been told.
Hope you sort it.
Hi we got it sorted, it was the mix of directional rears and asymmetric fronts that was causing the car to feel like it was driving on wet mud (the traction light was coming on over 40mph)
Soon as asymetrics all round were fitted everything was fine. I think its worth bearing in mind SOTO I's and III's don't mix (I think the same would happen in any other cat not just a Porsche to be honest
Soon as asymetrics all round were fitted everything was fine. I think its worth bearing in mind SOTO I's and III's don't mix (I think the same would happen in any other cat not just a Porsche to be honest
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