Winter tyres and wheels?

[alfaspiderman2]

About to buy my first 911 (a 997 C2S).

I've had winter tyres (not wheels) on my BMW 130i for last couple of years as they were deemed 'essential equipment' by the BabyBMW community.

I wanted some views from the Porsche community on winter tyres only vs. winter wheels/tyres and some recommendations on the best tyres to go for.

Seems to me that summer (even our rubbish summer) might be a better time to purchase than November

[Dave Sums]

Save the money and go on the Below Zero Ice Driving in Sweden. Old school 911's all rally prepared by Tuthills and world class instruction.
We did it in Feb this year. Absolutely nuts time and that will teach you all you need to know about car control in the winter
Guaranteed the best Porsche weekend away with the boys ever...

[thegoose]

Dave Sums said:

Save the money and go on the Below Zero Ice Driving in Sweden. Old school 911's all rally prepared by Tuthills and world class instruction.
We did it in Feb this year. Absolutely nuts time and that will teach you all you need to know about car control in the winter
Guaranteed the best Porsche weekend away with the boys ever...

That is brilliant fun (I did it with them in 2011 in Norway) but in fairness it's rubbish advice as an alternative to having the correct tyres on all winter.

I bought some hardly used 20" winter tyres (Michelin Alpin I think) for a Cayenne a year ago (a guy from here was emigrating to Australia) via eBay and got the for £177 for all 4 so I'd agree now's a good time to buy. I didn't own such a car at the time but ended up with one but on 19's so had to buy wheels for the tyres come winter.

It's more usual to get smaller wheels for winter - on my 996 I bought a set of 17's for the winter tyres I'd previously used on my 993 (which I had to get swapped over on it's normal wheels).

[Trev450]

I've been using winters on my Cayman S for about 3 years now and the difference is incredible.
I can get to places where 4x4's on summer tyres are struggling and hardly even see the PSM light come on unless I get a bit too carried away.

I use Vredestein Wintrac Extremes but they are not N rated so not an option if you have a Porsche warranty.

[mrdemon]

fitting non N spec tyres does not void your Porsche warranty esp winters

people have gone N spec mad, most N spec tyres are so dated who wants them on their car ?

again same for winters, N spec = dated

[Poshfpg]

I've got Winters for my 997 C2S. Bought a set of Nokians which are N rated but were way cheaper than the other premium brands. There's a mobile tyre company that come to my house and swap them on and off the wheels October and April. I like the look of the alloys too much to have separate wheels. I also have Winters on my Audi A6 so I get both done together.

If you're used to them then you realise the difference they make in crappy conditions. They're also better for avoiding aquaplaning. Interestingly they're quieter and improve the ride but while in day to day driving you'd struggle to notice a handling difference I wouldn't do a track day in them.

[Poshfpg]

In terms of the market I have always used Pneus Online UK to get the best prices on Winter tyres and I have found that September is the best time to get good prices as they all restock around then.

They tend to be expensive now through August and again from late November when stocks deplete. The larger sizes especially the rear 295/30/19s can fluctuate wildly in price across the year. I'm sure you could pay anything from £275-£450 for the same tyre depending on when you look.

[alfaspiderman2]

Poshfpg said:

There's a mobile tyre company that come to my house and swap them on and off the wheels October and April. I like the look of the alloys too much to have separate wheels.

If you're used to them then you realise the difference they make in crappy conditions. They're also better for avoiding aquaplaning. Interestingly they're quieter and improve the ride but while in day to day driving you'd struggle to notice a handling difference I wouldn't do a track day in them.

this sums up exactly what I've done with my BMW for te last 2 years and how I'd sum up the driving benefits

[Helicopter123]

I tried to sell my OPC winter wheel set on eBay recently but no takers...

[boxsey]

Helicopter123 said:

I tried to sell my OPC winter wheel set on eBay recently but no takers...

I tried that this time last year and got no takers. I then put them up again in early October and they sold straight away.

[Carl_Docklands]

mrdemon said:

fitting non N spec tyres does not void your Porsche warranty esp winters

people have gone N spec mad, most N spec tyres are so dated who wants them on their car ?

again same for winters, N spec = dated

Used to be the case, the Alpin PA4's are now available in N spec for the 997.

[shoestring7]

Dave Sums said:

Save the money and go on the Below Zero Ice Driving in Sweden. Old school 911's all rally prepared by Tuthills and world class instruction.
We did it in Feb this year. Absolutely nuts time and that will teach you all you need to know about car control in the winter
Guaranteed the best Porsche weekend away with the boys ever...

What tyres were they on?

SS7

[Helicopter123]

boxsey said:

Helicopter123 said:

I tried to sell my OPC winter wheel set on eBay recently but no takers...

I tried that this time last year and got no takers. I then put them up again in early October and they sold straight away.

Cheers, will store them away somewhere. I couldn't give them away despite them being mint with life left in the rubber as well!

[Carl_Docklands]

I sold my 18 inch set to a other forum member at 50% loss.

I don't regret the purchase at all and saved my neck twice,

I am planning to stick 19inch perilli sottozeros on the turbo come November.