Tires and Snow: Slip sliding away.

[Rot 911]

Well we had our first snow this morning. Wife took the jeep. Was too afraid to drive her MR2 in the snow. I drove the 911. We live in the country where they don't plow. Lots of steep hills and sharp curves which, while fun when it is dry, made for interesting driving on my Dunlop SP8000's. Which leads me to the question, what would be a better tire on the 911 for winter driving? I also want something that does well on dry roads as we only get snow here 2-3 times a year and it doesn't stick around very long.

[Rot 911]

Doing my own research and finding some good reviews of the Dunlop SP Winter Sport M2 tires. Anyone have any experience with these tires. Here is what Tire Rack has to say about them:

Many sports cars, coupes and sedans come from the factory equipped with low profile tires mounted on the large diameter alloy wheels needed to clear their big brakes. The Dunlop SP Winter Sport M2 was developed so the drivers of these cars could retain their vehicle's original wheel diameters while blending dry road performance with snow traction. The SP Winter Sport M2 is Porsche-approved for 100% of their current vehicles' winter tire needs, and factory-recommended for use on the sport models from Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz Volkswagen and others. The SP Winter Sport M2 is engineered to deliver performance and traction whether the road is ice & snow covered or not.

The SP Winter Sport M2 features a directional tread design to help maintain good traction on wet and slush covered roads while its high-density lateral zig-zag sipes and independent tread blocks provide the edges to help bite through snow. The SP Sport is a tire for the performance car drivers who need snow and ice traction and want to retain as much dry road responsiveness and handling as possible.

The Dunlop SP Winter Sport M2 winter radial meets the industry's severe snow service requirements. They feature blackwall styling and are available in 65-, 60-, 55-, and 45-series, H-speed rated sizes for 15" to 17" wheel diameters.

[89911]

If you seriously considering using a car for winter driving, your best bet is to pick up 4 tires/rims with a good snowtire. My wife's 850 turbo wagon get these on at the sign of the first snow. All I have to do is switch them out and no need for a garage/tire change visit. Good snow tires are made of a different compound that is almost spongy and grabs ice and snow much more efficiently then any all season tire. The downside is the don't last long, so you just want to use them when needed. The steel rims aren't that expensive (but ugly).

[atlporsche]

get a set of early 4.5 X 15 steel rims or toss out doughnut spares from a 928.

shod them with 185/60/15's and you're good to go...

I should take a pic of the snows that came with my car. They're about 5" wide and super aggressive...not that I'll ever need them.

sjd

[masraum]

I bet a set of old skinny 15" Fuchs would make great snow wheels. Someday I'd also like to get an old skinny Fuchs wheel for my compact spare, but I have plenty of other things to spend money on right now.

I kind of envy you guys who get to drive your 911 in the snow. I would feel like I was living part of the heritage of our cars.

Drive 'em!!

[Reg]

My MR2 is great in the snow with 4 full blown snowtires and four steel wheels. None of this all season crap!

[David McLaughlin]

Kurt V,
Get yourself a nice 914. That car should be much better than that tail dragger or yours.

Seriously, I had a set of Pirelli Winter P210s on my GTI and loved them. They were quiet enough in the dry and held like glue in the slipery stuff. Even when pushed hard in the dry, they were hard to break free. After 4 winters it's time for a new set. I can't seem to find these, it seams that Pirelli redesigned them. The new models don't have the center spine that made them hold so well in the dry, but made a center channel that should work better in the snow, slush and rain. That said, I think I'm going to buy some Blizzaks. All my cars (except the 914/6) are shoed in Bridgstones so I figured I'd try these. I also like the fact that my local BMWCCA club bumps car with blizzaks into a higher catagory during ice racing.

I can't wait to get my own tail dragger for some serious snow running. Hmmm, time for a new thread...

[rlane]

I have a set of Blizzaks that came with a purchase of 16" Fuchs that I would part with for a reasonable offer. They are (best I recall) 205/55/16Fr and 225/55/16 rear, probably 70-80% of tread remains (PO used them one season ona Carrera 4 )
Richard

[cegerer]

2 words: Go Skinny!

[wckrause]

what would be a better tire on the 911 for winter driving?

Just about anything would be better than performance tires. If it's just for occasional winter driving, get some all-season radials. If you're into hardcore winter driving, then skinny snow tires on old rims (you won't be able to find steel rims for a 911).

I've got a set of Goodyear Ultra Grips mounted on 15x6 cookie cutters. They look pretty stupid under the SC flairs, but they perform very well on ice and in deep snow. I think they are 185's.

[KTL]

Michelin Arctic Alpins are a good winter tire. Price is fair and they are night and day difference when replacing a "performance" tire for winter use. My AWD Talon was useless on 4 Eagle GT's. Add 4 winter Michelins and I have not a care in the world when the roads are slick.

Downside = they emit a high-pitched whine on dry roads. I don't care, but others might.

[911driver]

I keep a spare set of blizzaks on 15x6" fuchs at my house where it snows. I've only used them 2 snow seasons, maybe twice a week, and the blizzaks worked fine in the snow though not as good as studded, and not much use on black ice, but could also drive a little when the snow cleared, I never pushed the performance with the blizzaks on dry roads, I'd guess pretty poor.

Interesting WRC pic up there, my other car is one of those, or rather the neutered US 227hp variant. That is a skinny tire! Those rims look like old GTP wheels!