Winter tires--195/65/15 or 205/55/16?

[Pettybird]

I live in Cleveland, have three 9(x)4's and have six sets of wheels, so it's kind of open...

I'm going to put my '87 944S into winter service for the first time. My mother's car died, so I gave her my truck, and this is the car I care about least and have maintained the best.

I'm looking at snow tires and have a set of 15" phone dials and a set of D90's at my disposal for winter use. Anyone have any experience with both taller 15" winter tires as well as shorter 16" units? Which would be better? "Cheaper" definitely goes to the phone dials...

Thanks

Doug

[Aufgeladen944]

Taller, narrower snow tires are preferable.

Or just buy a beater Honda/Subaru like the cool people do

Oh, and the other day the weatherman lied to us. I had to drive my car home on r compounds in about a half-inch of snow. 6 minute trip took 45 minutes. Fun...

[Roman944]

I would go with 195's, narrower the better, but you don't want them to be too small either

they should be cheaper anyways

[wild man]

Originally Posted by Aufgeladen944

Or just buy a beater Honda/Subaru like the cool people do

Are you serious? You mean THOSE are the truly cool people? Where did you get that information?

[Pettybird]

haha...

I'll go with the 15"s as they're phone dials and it saves me from burying them in the back yard (I really, really don't like them.)

there's a '92 accord on craigslist here in cleveland--227k miles, original owner, all maintenance for a grand. I thought about it, but I don't want to have to get rid of it in spring, and I want to be the weirdo driving a 944 in the snow

[tomv944]

the taller the better these cars don't have much clearance and you mat en up being a snow plow

[Aufgeladen944]

Who says you have to sell the winter vehicle? I drive my Accord when it rains, when I go into Albany (power locks!), or when I need room for four people.

[Roman944]

well, I picked up a nice set of Cookie Cutters with almost brand new Winter tires on them, so I'll let you know

but up here, I drove my car with all-seasons for a winter, and it was fine

just be wary of other drivers ... in a small car, during a snowfall, there are huge chances that someone is not going to see you, especially if it gets to rush hour and evening/night driving

however, my 944 held up really well, and I would not hesitate to do this again

I've never had a dedicated winter set, and I've never driven on snows, but this time I decided to give it a shot and see if its an improvement

[smokin_944]

Just got 6 inches of that s&^%t last night... All the 944s in the city are now gone for winter. Looks like it's Subaru time for the next few months. Oh well, it could be worse. This is the longest driving period I've had since I own the car!

[Roman944]

Originally Posted by smokin_944

Just got 6 inches of that s&^%t last night... All the 944s in the city are now gone for winter. Looks like it's Subaru time for the next few months. Oh well, it could be worse. This is the longest driving period I've had since I own the car!

wow already? we had a little snow, just some dusting on the car in the morning

still running my R1R summers!

[8ballphoto]

195s, no question!

[Pettybird]

Yep. Getting a set of Continental ExtremeWinterContacts.

[Pettybird]

1 month update: The Contis are great snow tires. I've run Firestone Winterforce tires in the past, and they grip great. They also let you know how much they're doing by their constant howling. The Conti snow tires are QUIETER than the Firestone A/S tires I removed! Traction is great, and it's a ton of fun driving the car. The first few days were very squirrely, with the tires feeling like they had 10psi or less in them. A couple of snow/rain days washed away what must have been the mother of all release agents, and the tires are much better. They're not my Z rated summer tires, but they're not bad. A week or so was all it took to retune my driving style to the softer compound, too.

This is the first winter in years I can remember having fun driving in the snow. I'd recommend these tires to anyone, especially at their price point!

[917guy]

We used our 1986 944 na all winter a year ago, on tall new 205-15" snows. Hit a deer in N Dakota with it a few months ago, and have not jumped through enough govt hoops for their liking yet, so it is not back on the road yet. We are driving non-Porsches now. We did the timing and scoring for the 2010 Manitoba Ice Race series in our black 944, and had no trouble getting around all winter. It is more fun in a rear wheel drive, and you get attention, even when it turns form black to beige or white with road sand and salt.

The weird 944 cooling plumbing actually warms the car better than any other design. No flow to the rad if the heater is cooling the engine enough. A great car for very cold weather. We used an 800w 120v heater to prewarm the inside and get the frost off the windows. The downside is getting the system bled in the driveway in -15C weather. I took forever to get it safety-approved without being allowed to drive it.