Size, Make of Snow Tires For Carrera?

[jyl]

For you snowbelt fellas, please advise a Californian. If you were going to get a set of snow tires on a second set of wheels for a Carrera, what size, brand and model would you do?

This is for trips for the SF Bay Area to Tahoe and Yosemite in the winter, i.e. 150-170 miles of dry & wet freeway then 30-50 miles of snowy freeway and secondary road. The 911 currently has no clearance for chains and I'm quite sure my SO-3s will be overly-exciting in snow.

I was thinking narrower than OE, say 185 F 205 R on 6" F and 7" R rims, with spacers if appropriate. I was also thinking about spec'ing a slightly larger diameter than the OE sizes I currently have (205/55-16 F and 225/50-16 R) to get 1/2" more ground clearance.

For brand & model the Bridgestone Blizzaks WS-50s seem to get high marks for snow traction, but I'm not sure how many freeway miles they'll tolerate. I'd ideally like to get a few seasons out of the set.

Also, would you choose 15" rims and a higher aspect ratio tire, rather than 16" rims and a lower aspect ratio? The 15"s will probably be cheaper (I'm going to go dumpster-diving at the local dismantler for the rims).

Thanks.

[Beethoven]

For what it's worth, I'm running 205/55 and 225/50 Blizzaks on 16" rims. This was in anticipation of massive snow in Chicago, but there hasn't been any (yet), so the tires do duty on dry highways. Seem to run well (there's slight vibration between 60 and 70mph, but that might be a balancing problem), and my tire guy thinks they have at least five seasons in them.

[Rot 911]

I too run the same brand and size as beethoven. but in hindsight I should have gone to 205's on the rear just to get a bit more traction.

[anh911]

The factory recommends 195/65 15 to 205/55 16 front on 6J wheel and 195/65 15 7J whl, 205/55 16 7J and 205/55 16 8J rears. The reason they don't use 225s on the rear is you can't run chains with 225s. If you are going out on the secondary roads up there you might want to consider going to 15s and taking a set of chains.
You didn't say but I assume that you will only be using for the trips right?

[anh911]

Oh, the info in the previous post was courtesy of my new handy dandy Factory Owners manual supplied by our host.

[jyl]

Yes, the snows will be used only for the trips. Probably <3K miles/year.

So Beethoven and Kurt are using Blizzaks in OE sizes and they seem to wear OK even on dry roads?

I wouldn't be able to fit chains with OE sizes, in the front or the rear. So I'm thinking 15" rims and the narrower sizes, as anh911 mentioned.

[KTL]

You typically want a narrower tire than stock for snow use.

This is the third season on my Michelin Arctic Alpin 205/55-16 tires for my daily driver Eagle Talon/Mitsu. Eclipse/Plym. Laser AWD. They have held up just fine for approx. 6-7000 miles of driving in 90% dry road weather, with occasional spirited driving. Lots of life left in them. I think the curb weight of my car is around 3300 lbs, ~3500 w/ me in it. So the 911 should be a little easier on the tires since it's lighter?

One thing to keep in mind. The basic Michelin Artic Alpin gives off a high pitched whine at speeds above 40 mph. So although they perform well, i'll probably choose a different tire next time and compare the noise issue.

[Pat S]

Nokians are AWESOME but only come in limited sized. If they carried a size I wanted, I'd get them over any other.
I'm currently running Dunlop WinSport M2s on my Toyota Solara daily driver and I really like them a lot. Good performance in snow and ice.

Check out reviews on TireRack. Lots of good indepth comments out there.

Pat

[Rot 911]

I have been quite pleased with the Blizzaks. Nice even wear and still a sticky enough tire that I can still open it up in the twisties when the roads are dry.

[makaio]

Not to hi-jack John's original post, but with snow tires mounted, does it allow you to not chain up as much?

[old_skul]

I'm using 15" Blizzaks, from Tire Rack. They dominate in the snow. I drive circles around people who are spinning their wheels. They are also very competent in the rain.

They squirm a lot on dry pavement, though. You can really feel them moving on the treads. It's downright disconcerting until you get used to it.

[stlrj]

John,

Snow tires a great idea but you may not be able to get around without carrying chains or having to use them in R-2 conditions according to Caltrans: http://www.dot.ca.gov/dist3/departments/mtce/controlmp.htm


Now if you had an 89 C4 instead of the 3.2, you could get away with M+S tires only.


Joe Garcia
74 w/ 86 3.2

[anh911]

Makaio, not sure what you mean, "chain up"?

[mike f]

I have the Nokians and they are awesome in the snow and ice. They are studded, but the studs are removeable. Even if not allowed in your area, trust me nobody is looking at a 911 to see if they are running studded tires. I used them 1 season and am actually looking to sell them as I now use another car for winter use. PM me if you are interested.

[911boost]

I had a set of Blizzaks on my wifes Accord and I swear that thing would climb walls just like Spider Man! I had the Yokohama snow tires on my Mustang GT for 3 winters in the Minneapolis area and never got stuck. I was pleaseed with both sets.

As for wheels, just buy some Design 90's. They are everywhere and you can get a set for really cheap.

Bill

[KTL]

Maybe even better than Design 90's, buy a set of 15 in. Phone Dials from a 944 or a Carrera. Those are plentiful, cheap, 15 in. tires would be cheaper, you don't need spacers (you will need spacers for the Design 90) to make them fit and you probably won't get too attached to them since they're kinda weird looking.

The catch is that 15 in. tires are becoming less common. A quick search on Tire Rack shows that the only available appropriate sized tires (195/65 front, 205/60 rear) are the Bridgestone Blizzak WS-50. Not that there's anything wrong with those tires. Just that the 15 in. size limits you to ONE tire from which to choose if you were to only shop at Tire Rack

edit: Hankook W400 tires also come in the 15 in. sizes that you would need. www.hankooktireusa.com

[banjomike]

My Dad lives at the end of about 3/4 miles of twisty dirt road that is snow and ice 7 months a year. He never drives either porsche in the snow, but on the Audi they swear by the blizzacks. I was in a rental SUV this xmas and it had 4wd and snow tires but it was slipin' all over where the the Quattro with blizzacks was like it was on dry pavement.

Previous poster was right in saying that if CalTrans is calling for chains, you'll still need chains or 4wd. They won't even accept studs. Maybe you could buy tires that are actually much smaller in diameter and then have room for chains?

[DanTheCat]

I put cable chains on my 205/55-16's this winter on my SC, so you can (and will need to if conditions are bad) run chains fine. I recommend getting those big rubber tensioners to pull the chains tight, though, even though they are not recommended for cable style chains. At the tightest setting my chains still slapped something on one side. I luckily had a bunch of zip ties for a temporary solution.

I also strongly recommend 15" wheels. Chains on low-profile tires are very unpleasant.

Dan

[anh911]

you could find 4 old spares and rip off the space savers and use'em. Then put cool old chrome hubcaps on it.

[steve911]

John-
another alternative to consider is spikes spiders. they are traction devices that work similar to chains, but you don't have to worry about the rear side clearance since they attach to the outside of the wheel.

I've used them on my (now gone) Volvo 850 wagon and literally put them on in less than 2 minutes - total. No climbing under the car while the SUVs are whipping past you on 80 spraying slush all over. I'm getting a set for my new V70 T5. And they satisfy the chain requirement that stlrj pointed out earlier.

just another thought to consider.

http://www.spikes-spiders.com/