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Winter tires and wheels

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163K views 516 replies 198 participants last post by  Stealthn  
#1 ·
Thinking ahead to winter, I would like to get a set of dedicated winter wheels and tires for the Macan. Do Cayenne wheels with a Macan? Do I have to have a larger rear wheel/tire for my Macan or would the same rim/tire at all four corners be fine. Thought? Thanks
 
#4 ·
#5 ·
Good question. Recently I was in a minor accident, when I made a claim with the insurance company, one of the first question they ask is what kind of tires I had when the accident occurred. I think they are trying to determine if the set of wheel I had was not blessed by the Manufacturer, they have a recent to not proceed my claim. The good news is they were all purchased from the Porsche dealer. So you might want to check with your insurance first, just incase?;)

Here is what our dealer offer...
Porsche Winter Wheel Sets | PFAFF
 
#8 ·
^ For Macan rims, there's nothing else would work except factory. This is the only Porsche model that used Audi setup.

However, you can check out Audi Q5 wheels, same spec. except the offset is much higher. It will work.


Just a bit of suggestion. Dealers normally will do a special clearout of last year's winter tires/wheels package as they want to make way for the 2016 inventory. You may have to call around in your local & regional dealers to see who may be having this sale. If you are in luck, I would think you can get like 15-20% off their listed price or combination of smaller discount with free install and storage of your summer set for a season or two. If you have no such luck, you can initiate an offer with discount and see if dealer is nice enough to accept your offer proposal. Therefore, nothing to lose ... just ask and see.
 
#9 ·
^ For Macan rims, there's nothing else would work except factory. This is the only Porsche model that used Audi setup.

However, you can check out Audi Q5 wheels, same spec. except the offset is much higher. It will work.

Thanks, I just happen to have a set of Q5 winter rims and tires. I'll have to try them out. :)
 
#11 ·
Here is what I got for my Macan S from tirerack.com back in 2015. They look awesome and the performance has been excellent after two winters.

2 - BBS SR Anthracite Painted 18x8 Fronts
2 - BBS SR Anthracite Painted 18x9 Rears
2 - ContiWinterContact TS830 P 235/60R 18 N0 Fronts
2 - ContiWinterContact TS830 P 255/55R 18 N0 Rears
4 - 433MHz Tire Pressure Sensors
4 - Required valves

Continental*ContiWinterContact TS830 P

BBS SR Anthracite Painted
 
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#12 ·
The Macan's ABS, TCS etc. are all biased towards parameters that assume the rear has more traction than the front. When you mount a square setup, you violate the initial assumptions all the nanny controls are set up for. It may not ever matter or it my matter when you need it most. For the Nth time on this forum, I have to ask, "why buy a Macan and then cheap out on the most critical piece of equipment?". If you want to mount Q5 rims and tires, why not just buy a Q5?

4 proper Macan size 18" Made in Germany Rial P10 wheels at the Tire Rack are $500.
 
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#17 ·
4 proper Macan size 18" Made in Germany Rial P10 wheels at the Tire Rack are $500.
Do you know of a special deal? Tire Rack website is showing $716 USD right now without shipping.
 
#13 ·
I plan on winter wheels and tires, but it is way too early to be thinking about that yet. Most importantly, I want to see my car again! I ordered 19" summer tires on the basis of running a winter set as well, and will probably go 18" for best traction and cost. For some reason 19" wheels are stupid expensive, and for now at least, there is more tire selection in 18", particularly with the N0 marking. When I looked last year, before buying the Macan, I thought Pfaff were reasonably competitive with TheTireRack, once exchange was factored in. I have bought from TheTireRack before, and was quite happy with the results.

I do like the looks of the BBS though.
 
#22 ·
Thanks for the tip. While Pfaff took my name and number "to check stock", they didn't call me back. Meanwhile, Oakville had a set of RS Spyders at C$5600.

20s wouldn't have been my first choice but in the time since I placed my order, I was second guessing the SDs I specced. Now I'll have both.

By the way, for anyone who will be needing a set of winters and wants a set from Porsche, they've just raised their prices (Canada and the US at least).

The Spyders listed at C$6900 last year and now are C$7350.
 
#18 ·
The Porsche 18" winter wheel/tyre combo is noted on the Porsche website as not suitable for the Turbo, and I assume this is because of the brakes. No mention if they are a problem with the GTS. Anyone know if you can put 18" Porsche wheels on a GTS? Thanks.
 
#25 ·
I went with my 20" sport design wheels and put on the Nokian Haks studded. They actually come in the standard oem staggered sizes.

I bought a new set for summer.

Give the nokians a look. I thought that the 20" were fine for winter. You could probably find a set of used 20" oem wheels in the classified section.
 
#26 ·
So, I tried the 18" Q5 wheels on the Macan. They bolted up but the caliper and steering knuckle are noticeably closer to the inner rim. I won't use them.


So, I called Tirerack and they have a full set of wheels and snows for $1900. I may end up going that direction.
 
#27 ·
So, I called Tirerack and they have a full set of wheels and snows for $1900. I may end up going that direction.
That's quite reasonable. I bought my rims and tpms there, but they don't sell Hakka tires, which I bought locally for about C$1500 with full tire warranty, mounting and balancing. Not N0 or N1, but who drives 150 mph in the winter anyways in North America? The Hakka R2 makes up for it with far superior snow and ice traction to anything out there, but isn't as responsive as the N0 and N1 options in the dry.
 
#28 ·
I ordered the package and did even better. The P10 rears were on sale at $20 off each. then there was a rebate on the tires. And I'm going to pick them up locally. So I ended up at $1550 with tax and TPMS, installed and ready to go. These are exactly like factory, mixed wheel and tire setup so it should be good. I'm ready for winter. I'll post a photo.
 
#29 ·
I struggled with the 18" packages from Tire Rack, did like the BBS SR, but ended up with 20" OZ Superturismo. Couple of reasons I went with them, first, cleaning, my OCD tendencies require I be able to fit a wash sponge between the brakes and wheel all the way around, could not imagine that being the case with the 18's. Second, here in SW lower MI, my time on ice and really bad roads is probably a couple of weeks combined number of days each winter, much of rest of winter roads are relatively dry, so I went with the wider, staggered set up to match that bias. The narrower stagger would have been more ideal for the 2 weeks, but with my right foot I imagine I would have experienced greater wear too than with the wider tires.
 
#30 ·
19" Winter Tires or 18" Wheel/Winter Tire Set

Currently have 19" wheels on my Macan S with performance summers. Need dedicated winters. I'm debating between just getting 19" tires and swapping them out each season on my existing OEM rims. Or, do I go down to 18s for the winter and get an aftermarket set?

19" tires only for Pirelli Scorpions are ~$850.
18" tires (also Pirelli Scorpion) plus aftermarket wheels and TPMS are ~$1600-1800.
18" tires only for future reference are $750 - so about $100 less than 19s.

I will not be getting my tires changed at Porsche - I've used Discount Tire for years and they are great. It's $50 to change out tires only each season ($100/year), or free if I have a second set of wheels.

I figure that winters will last 2-3 seasons, and I'll keep the car ~6 years. So basically 2 sets of winters over the life of the car.

With 19s over 6 years, it's an extra $600 for seasonal changes and $200 incremental on the larger tires assuming 2 sets. $800 more total. In other words, it's a wash whether to get a new set of 18s now or just stick with 1 set of wheels and 19" tires. Any thoughts or opinions??
 
#31 ·
I just picked up my Macan S with 21" Sport Classic wheels last week. I've driven past cars on summer tires here in NoCal, but in the winter it often gets to the mid- to high-30's in the mornings. I also go to Tahoe at least a few times a year. For these reasons, I decided I want to ride on winter tires from November through March or so. I don't want to spend more than about $2500 all in, and I want to use Porsche center caps so the wheels look mostly stock. BTW, the car is silver with painted sides and it has gloss black trim. My choices are below. Which would you do, and why?

1 - Just buy a set of Pirelli Scorpion winter tires, and have them swapped on my current wheels. The cost per year of the two swaps would be about $250, but I would get to use my current wheels, which look great. It would be sort of a pain, and swapping tires so often might damage the rims, even if the installer is careful. Cost would be about $1400-1500 shipped.

2 - Buy a set of Porsche 18" 5 spoke wheels and winter tires. My local dealer will match the SunCoast price, so the cost with tax will be about $2500. I can swap them myself (I have a compressor and impact/torque wrenches). They are smaller wheels, so they don't look as good. But they are Porsche wheels, and the 18" size may be a benefit in the winter. I wouldn't get to choose the exact tire. They can come with Pirelli Scorpion Winter, Continental WinterContacts, or Michelins (I think).

3 - Buy a set of black BBS SR 18" wheels/snows from TireRack. It would be a couple hundred cheaper than the Porsche wheels, and TireRack says I can use Porsche center caps. The total cost would be about $2100-2200.

4 - Buy a set of silver 20" Stark TC wheels/Michelin Alpin snows from TireRack. Those are the only snow tires that fit this wheel right now. TireRack says I can use Porsche center caps with these too. The 20" wheels may look better than the 18", but obviously the Stark wheels won't look as good as OEM or more expensive aftermarket wheels. The total cost would be $2400-2500.

Any guidance on which winter tires you like/don't like would be appreciated also.
 

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#150 ·
I received my 2017 Macan GTS in May. I had the dealership put on winter tires (20" - Michelin Latitude Alpin LA2) I've driven all my previous vehicles with a variety of winter tires and had superb snow/ice traction (BMW 3 sedan, 5 sedan, X6M, and Audi A6) A trip over a CO mountain pass last weekend with minimal snow on the roads was terrifying. Skidding sideways around curves, breaking away on the straightaways at relatively low speeds, even on sanded stretches. Friend driving a Subaru with all seasons said no problem on same trip. Dealership says they're shocked as Porsche runs these tires worldwide. Telling me my only other choice is to put Pirelli Scorpions on and is checking into smaller wheels with a true snow tire - but trying to convince me not to go that route due to noise and performance on dry roads. Has anyone had a similar experience with the Michelins? Will the Pirelli be any different or am I swapping one Performance Winter for another? Anyone else out there who's truly driving in winter snow and ice have suggestions?
 
#32 ·
I'm planning to do #1 (except I may buy Nokian winter tires) as I love the look of the 21 inch wheels. With modern tire machines and a properly trained operator there's no excuse for wheel damage.
 
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#33 · (Edited)
I like option1. I have 20" spyders and change the tires winter and spring. I'm going on my third season on them with no problems. As @Shark says there's no excuse for wheel damage these days. If you have nice wheels, why not use them all year.
 
#35 · (Edited)
I like option 3. The BBS wheels look good and the Pirelli Winter Scorpions perform well in winter conditions. Done 2 winters on them so far and I've been very happy with the performance.
 

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#44 ·
That's a really nice setup you've got there. Too bad the BBS center caps are black. They should be ferric grey like the rest of the rim.

Had you noticed this or is it just me being picky? (If you didn't, sorry that I pointed this to you...>:D)
 
#36 ·
I did option 2 and was lucky enough to get the Scorpions and love them. I also think option 3 is great as you get to chose your winter rubber. IMHO if you are wanting winter tires to be safe, go smaller wheels than 21. Also it saves your nice 21" wheels from winter crud.
 
#37 ·
Pic of my MY16 Macan S with Porsche winter tire package, 18" wheels and Pirelli Scorpion tires
 

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#39 ·
....I think I like the BBS better.....
Based on pictures I've seen here of other Macans with those winter wheels, that would be my pick too out of those three options. They do look sharp.
Image
 
#40 ·
Whatever you do, don't do option 1, as 21" winter tires in this case are much more susceptible from pot holes damage. You'll not only damage your tires, but you'll put your expensive wheels at risk also. When that happens in middle of winter and you can find no replacement, what do you do? 21" low profile winter tires are not regular stock items. Ask me how I know from my Cayenne days:crying::crying: