RE: PH Fleet: Porsche Panamera Diesel
Wednesday 19th December 2012
There is little to report in Panamera world right now - the car has sailed beyond 22,000 miles and continues to do things better than I had ever expected. It still averages over 38mpg and will carry three mountain bikes in the back, with the seats folded flat.
Winters have proven reassuring so farThere has been one dynamic change - winter tyres. The fronts lasted over 20k miles, which is very impressive for something this big - but it seemed like a decent chance to try a set of winters. Also, for the final few thousand miles the worn rubber had a pronounced affect on the Panam's handling: the car hunted around more, had loads more understeer and generally followed the crown in the road.
Not the most attractive part of the Porker...The car's a little blunter in terms of steering and turn-in, but not to any degree that would matter to anyone who drives like a normal human being. I'd say they were a touch noisier at 70mph, but the difference is so marginal that you end up concentrating more on the slight improvement in ride comfort.
PH Fleet: Porsche Panamera Diesel
Harris shoes the Panamera with a set of winters, and ponders its foibles
Winters have proven reassuring so far
There's probably a strong argument for running car on winter tyres all year round in the UK. The way they deal with standing water is so reassuring - given that our summers seem to be wetter than our winters, having that ability to smash into unforeseen puddles at high speed and not be badly deflected is something I would value.
Not the most attractive part of the Porker...
A big tick for winter tyres on the Panamera then.
Two unsolved questions for me right now. Why can't Porsche make a 5-seat version of this car? Why are the exhaust outlets so ugly? And why does the low coolant light come on in fast right-handers? And what the hell can replace this car for me? I can't think of anything.
FACT SHEET
Car: Porsche Panamera Diesel
Run by: Chris Harris
On fleet since: August 2012
Mileage: 22,000
List price new: £66,558 (base price £62,134 plus £777 for metallic paint, £1,457 for 19" Panamera Design alloy wheels, £243 for automatic dimming mirror package, £919 for Bose surround sound system, £227 for Universal Audio Interface USB/iPod connector, £526 for aluminium interior package and £275(!) for 'seatbelts in silver')
Last month at a glance: Winter tyres are so good that Harris might just run them all year
Previous reports:
Marmite anyone?
Bye bye diesel Jag, hello diesel ... Porsche?
Discussion
I love the ride that winter tyres give.
I couldn't believe the difference, it's almost like riding on smaller diameter wheels. I have run them on one of our cars during the summer and they do offer pretty good grip too considering the tread patterns and reduced contact area, but you will be wearing them down quicker and also the woolly steering can be quite noticeable once they start to over heat on really warm days. But this isn't a problem because I always buy spare wheel sets for winters so can swap them to summer wheel/tyres when needs be.
Probably wouldn't put them on an outright performance car during the summer (watch the rubber chunks fly!), but a car with decent performance should have no problems.
I couldn't believe the difference, it's almost like riding on smaller diameter wheels. I have run them on one of our cars during the summer and they do offer pretty good grip too considering the tread patterns and reduced contact area, but you will be wearing them down quicker and also the woolly steering can be quite noticeable once they start to over heat on really warm days. But this isn't a problem because I always buy spare wheel sets for winters so can swap them to summer wheel/tyres when needs be.
Probably wouldn't put them on an outright performance car during the summer (watch the rubber chunks fly!), but a car with decent performance should have no problems.
Can't believe you wrote this, let alone got it past the editor: "There's probably a strong argument for running car on winter tyres all year round in the UK."
You'll ruin the tyres in half the normal time, and risk the car and it's occupants in the process (and probably void your insurance claim if they blowout due to overheating). Get a second set of rims and rotate between winter and summer. You'll get more life from both sets which will offset some of the additional cost. If you are worried about the rain all year round, then you can select summer tyres with good water clearance properties.
You'll ruin the tyres in half the normal time, and risk the car and it's occupants in the process (and probably void your insurance claim if they blowout due to overheating). Get a second set of rims and rotate between winter and summer. You'll get more life from both sets which will offset some of the additional cost. If you are worried about the rain all year round, then you can select summer tyres with good water clearance properties.
Edited by anonymous-user on Wednesday 19th December 13:14
dod said:
Can't believe you wrote this, let alone got it past the editor: "There's probably a strong argument for running car on winter tyres all year round in the UK."
Ahh the old winter tyres debate. It won't be long before someone comes along to state that it should be a legal requirement to fit winter tyres in the UK, as it is in other countries. 
Incidentally and on a completely unrelated note, I had a nice drive in my TVR the other day. Lovely December afternoon it was in sunny Bournemouth, what with the temperature being about 10 degrees!
ecs0set said:
dod said:
Can't believe you wrote this, let alone got it past the editor: "There's probably a strong argument for running car on winter tyres all year round in the UK."
Ahh the old winter tyres debate. It won't be long before someone comes along to state that it should be a legal requirement to fit winter tyres in the UK, as it is in other countries. dod said:
agree that it's a marginal case for enforcing winter tyres (during winter) in England, but running winter tyres during summer is simply nuts.
Wrong wrong wrong...Continental Tyres said:
If you are reluctant to change tyres and have nowhere to store summer tyres when they are not in use, you are better off using winter tyres all year round.
Winter tyres are as quiet and comfortable as summer tyres and, thanks to sophisticated compound technology, do not wear any more quickly.
There is a slight trade off with stopping distances as a winter tyre does not stop as quickly in the dry as a summer tyre, however, on balance if it is not possible to switch tyres in the winter, experts say you are better off with winter tyres all year round. This is because the difference in stopping distances of summer tyres in winter is far greater than for winter tyres in the summer.
See for yourself: http://www.conti-online.com/generator/www/uk/en/co...Winter tyres are as quiet and comfortable as summer tyres and, thanks to sophisticated compound technology, do not wear any more quickly.
There is a slight trade off with stopping distances as a winter tyre does not stop as quickly in the dry as a summer tyre, however, on balance if it is not possible to switch tyres in the winter, experts say you are better off with winter tyres all year round. This is because the difference in stopping distances of summer tyres in winter is far greater than for winter tyres in the summer.
"And why does the low coolant light come on in fast right-handers?"
Bit of a guess, but probably due to the shape of the coolant tank and location of the level sensor, meaning right-handers cause the fluid to be pushed away from the sensor side of the tank, thus indicating a low fluid level. Had this happen on a previous car. Try topping it up a little.
Bit of a guess, but probably due to the shape of the coolant tank and location of the level sensor, meaning right-handers cause the fluid to be pushed away from the sensor side of the tank, thus indicating a low fluid level. Had this happen on a previous car. Try topping it up a little.
ghibbett said:
Chris' point of winter tyres clearing standing water well is also worth noting. I still had my winters on during 'monsoon april' and they were superb.
Why are they so good at that? The tread pattern on mine doesn't look like it would be any better than summer tyres to my untrained eye.Output Flange said:
ghibbett said:
Chris' point of winter tyres clearing standing water well is also worth noting. I still had my winters on during 'monsoon april' and they were superb.
Why are they so good at that? The tread pattern on mine doesn't look like it would be any better than summer tyres to my untrained eye.Something like Uniroyle Rainsports will out-perform winter tyres on standing water on warm roads, in my experience.
dod said:
Can't believe you wrote this, let alone got it past the editor: "There's probably a strong argument for running car on winter tyres all year round in the UK."
You'll ruin the tyres in half the normal time, and risk the car and it's occupants in the process (and probably void your insurance claim if they blowout due to overheating). Get a second set of rims and rotate between winter and summer. You'll get more life from both sets which will offset some of the additional cost. If you are worried about the rain all year round, then you can select summer tyres with good water clearance properties.
I drove like this on winters, during the summer, until they were worn down to the canvas. No delamination, no chunking, no blow-outs, no over heating. Tyre wear was no more severe than summer tyres (some of which did delaminate).You'll ruin the tyres in half the normal time, and risk the car and it's occupants in the process (and probably void your insurance claim if they blowout due to overheating). Get a second set of rims and rotate between winter and summer. You'll get more life from both sets which will offset some of the additional cost. If you are worried about the rain all year round, then you can select summer tyres with good water clearance properties.
FFS.
I've also used winter tyres in summer while driving normally, and tyre wear doesn't seem to be a particular problem. Mileage seems about the same as the Toyo T1R summer tyres I used to use all year.
dod said:
Can't believe you wrote this, let alone got it past the editor: "There's probably a strong argument for running car on winter tyres all year round in the UK."
You'll ruin the tyres in half the normal time, and risk the car and it's occupants in the process (and probably void your insurance claim if they blowout due to overheating). Get a second set of rims and rotate between winter and summer. You'll get more life from both sets which will offset some of the additional cost. If you are worried about the rain all year round, then you can select summer tyres with good water clearance properties.
Die.You'll ruin the tyres in half the normal time, and risk the car and it's occupants in the process (and probably void your insurance claim if they blowout due to overheating). Get a second set of rims and rotate between winter and summer. You'll get more life from both sets which will offset some of the additional cost. If you are worried about the rain all year round, then you can select summer tyres with good water clearance properties.
Edited by dod on Wednesday 19th December 13:14
I've seen good winter tyres disintegrate at an alarming rate in the summer... but only in places significantly warmer than the UK.
I think running winter tyres in the summer is much like running summer tyres in the winter - no, it's not ideal, but neither is it going to spit the car off the road every 500 yards.
I think running winter tyres in the summer is much like running summer tyres in the winter - no, it's not ideal, but neither is it going to spit the car off the road every 500 yards.
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