19's to 18's and winter tyres!

[SkinnyP]

Yes I know it’s still September but tyres are a commodity and the price will only go one way as we approach winter, so I have bought a set of alloys & winter tyres early.

I have to say though as much as I love my 19's I am looking forward to shunning them off for a few months and enjoying (dare I say) a more comfortable ride. The 19's look amazing and make the car look very expensive, especially when in motion at low speed, but I find myself wincing on approach to questionable road surfaces.

There’s an extra 1.18cm of sidewall on the front, and 0.93cm on rear (265 vs 255) not to mention the extra cushion of air.

Out of curiosity they weighed in at 19.7kg and 22.5kg respectively (including 30psi of air ), I'll weigh the 19's when I take them off come November.

Edited by SkinnyP on Monday 29th September 19:10

[Trev450]

I also have 19's with summer tyres and 18's with winters on my 987 CS. The 18's do give a more compliant ride, but given that I have PASM, its not that bad to start with.

[MogulBoy]

SkinnyP said:

(including 30psi of air

Air, you say?

[SkinnyP]

I’ve tried a 2.9 on 17” wheels and it was wonderful, logic tells me its probably one of the most enjoyable incarnations of the Cayman. Not sure how the 235 section rear tyres will respond to 300 horse power though.

Maybe come summer I’ll have forgotten about the questionable ride quality and wont be able to wait to refit the 19s.

[SkinnyP]

The winters are on, and so far so good.

I must admit however that the difference in ride quality is barely perceptible, there is a subtle difference but not enough to warrant ditching the 19's purely for ride comfort.

It may be worth keeping in mind that I've gone from PS2's to Pirelli's though. Still I am impressed that they dont squirm half as much as other winters I have had, perhaps they are extra tough being N rated or whatever...

[J12KJR]

Did you weigh them to see what the difference is between the two sizes?

[SkinnyP]

No but I will do it tomorrow when its light out.

Interestingly these Pirelli's are much quieter than the PS2's which is weird (its not like they had worn unevenly either).

If only we could get N rated PSS in 18" they must feel revolutionary.

[MrJolly]

I have just had 18" winter tyres fitted by Porsche Leicester (£1260 btw) and the ride is so much less harsh than on the 19"s. I do live in a field accessible only via 5 miles of unclassified roads though.

[SkinnyP]

From prior research most people did say the 18"s were much better but I just can't feel it.

Yes there is a subtle difference and the interior rattles are a touch quieter but that's about it.

Maybe the tyres are a significant factor here.

[Webdunk]

J12KJR said:

Did you weigh them to see what the difference is between the two sizes?

I've just changed from 19" Spyders to 18" Team Dynamics 1.3

235/35/19 19.8kg vs 235/40/18 21kg
265/35/19 22.4kg vs 265/40/18 23.6kg

Winters are Sottozeros.

[Trev450]

Yes my Vredestein winters are 18's and are noticibly quieter and less harsh than my 19" Super Sports. That doesn't mean I don't look forward to getting the 19's back on in the sprint for a good hoon.

[SkinnyP]

Well its cold and wet, the rear end is certainly more lively. To be expected really though.

[drmark]

Trev450 said:

Yes my Vredestein winters are 18's and are noticibly quieter and less harsh than my 19" Super Sports. That doesn't mean I don't look forward to getting the 19's back on in the sprint for a good hoon.

Are you Michelins worn? Always amazes me how much quieter new tyres are for first few thousand miles.

[Trev450]

drmark said:

Trev450 said:

Yes my Vredestein winters are 18's and are noticibly quieter and less harsh than my 19" Super Sports. That doesn't mean I don't look forward to getting the 19's back on in the sprint for a good hoon.

Are you Michelins worn? Always amazes me how much quieter new tyres are for first few thousand miles.

No they're less than 1K miles at the moment.

[SkinnyP]

A bit more driving today, and yes they do squirm lol.

Even in the dry I've been spinning up the rears in 3rd gear. Ah well, summers go to st in the winter so its just a case of making the most of what grip is available.

Not got round to weighing the 19"s yet I'll do it tomorrow...

[Trev450]

SkinnyP said:

A bit more driving today, and yes they do squirm lol.

Even in the dry I've been spinning up the rears in 3rd gear. Ah well, summers go to st in the winter so its just a case of making the most of what grip is available.

I found the squirming got less after I'd done a few hundred miles.

[Redlake27]

I have a Cayman S (on 18s in summer) but I purchased a set of Boxster 17 inch rims off ebay . They need spacers to clear the front calipers, but the narrow 17s give the car a completely different character.

I have 215 fronts and 245 rears (Goodyear UltraGrip Performance ) and the car feels delicate, almost Lotus like, on the winter tyres.

[SkinnyP]

18" Winters
19.7kg and 22.5kg

19" Summers
19.3kg and 21.7kg

[SkinnyP]

Redlake27 said:

I have a Cayman S (on 18s in summer) but I purchased a set of Boxster 17 inch rims off ebay . They need spacers to clear the front calipers, but the narrow 17s give the car a completely different character.

I have 215 fronts and 245 rears (Goodyear UltraGrip Performance ) and the car feels delicate, almost Lotus like, on the winter tyres.

Interesting, can you expand on that?

I have driven a car on 17"s and yes it felt great but I didn't push it too hard. Can't imagine 245 rears like deploying 320bhp though!

[SkinnyP]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

I almost bought a 2.9 with 17" wheels, but I was kind of put off by the thought of people saying "thats a nice porsche, shame about the toy wheels though".

I've since had a quiet word with myself.