definitely 18" wheels (for better traction on ice and snow, and better pothole protection). so option 2 or 3, depending whether you really care that much about the look of the rims or the brand of rubber (the rubber doesn't really matter that much - all pretty similar, and all way better than summers or all seasons).

 

Why would 18" wheels provide better traction? Does anyone know of any tests on what would be the optimal wheel size and tire aspect ratio to vehicle weight?

My 20's work great and for me no need for a smaller tire. I have a steep driveway with three switchbacks at 8700 feet and it climbs right up. A lot of the time you're on plowed or dry roads anyway.

The type of rubber (tire) can matter, though all certainly better than summer or all season. My Blizzaks had good traction but poorer performance on dry roads and at speed. My current Michelin Alpins are good in snow (though not quite as good as the Blizzaks) and really good on dry roads at speed. Consumer Reports does testing on tires and finds significant differences in traction/braking, etc.

 

I did option 3 with BBS wheels and ContiContact tires. Could not be happier.

 

Anyone know for certain if 18" wheels will work on a GTS? Wondering about fit over the larger calipers. Anyone tried 18" wheels on their GTS?
Thanks

 

I got a note from my dealership yesterday as a matter of fact. They tried fitting Porsche 18" rims on a GTS and indicated they work just fine. Note that this is second hand info - I'd be interested to hear if anyone has firsthand experience with 18" Porsche rims on a GTS.

 

I went with 4 Axis Model Two wheels all 19x8.5 (they are close to the same look as my 20" spyders) and the Blizzak DM-V2. This way I can rotate fronts to rears and I was always happy with Blizzaks on my BMWs. $1.942 including shipping from Tire Rack plus $100 back. Again do what makes you happy, that is why we buy these cars.

 

Thanks @Arnold_T I've seen that before, but it's coming from a wheel/tire company that has a vested interest in selling more wheels/tires and isn't based on any data that I see. Sure it makes some common sense that a narrower tire could "plow" through the snow easier, but what about the traction in that deeper snow and especially traction on snow packed and icy roads which is where you'll be driving most of the time. I'm not sure more pressure per sq. inch is better in snow than spreading the traction out on all wheels more so they don't slip.

 

...isn't based on any data that I see.

yeah, I wouldn't mind seeing a scientific test too. maybe there are some ice racing professionals or winter rally car drivers here that know of such a study?

 

18s aren't always narrower than 19s or 20s. So be careful there. For your application, I would go with the continental DWS06 AS tires. You're going to be a LOT happier on them on dry roads than you would winter tires. And they provide more than adequate wet/snow traction for your occasional use.

 

18s aren't always narrower than 19s or 20s. .

I think the OEM Porsche Macan rims are the same width at 18 and 19, and wider at 20 and 21

 

re: tires on winter rally cars, check out this video ...

I don't think you could get those rims/tire sizes to work on the Macan though.

 

Oh, we agree. Summer tires are hockey pucks whenever the roadway is below 45 or so. But the key is the roadway, not the ambient temperatures.

I would put the Continental DWS06 up against any performance winter in dry conditions such as a NorCal January.

 

I would put the Continental DWS06 up against any performance winter in dry conditions such as a NorCal January.

except he said he goes up to Tahoe in the winter, where they have real winter conditions. I don't know. If I lived in Northern California I might just go all seasons like you suggest, and carry chains for winter mountain roads.

 

I really do like the look of my current 21's, and as others have mentioned, my use case is cold mornings (mid- to high-30s) and some trips to Tahoe, where there can be a significant amount of snow and ice. So I don't want to go with something like Blizzaks. I may go with Option 1 and just deal with swapping tires. That way I would be using my good looking wheels, and also tires that are pretty livable day-day on mostly dry roads.

 

Thanks RJE--
I too am hearing that 18s will fit with the regular GTS brakes. More choices for snows.

 

I have a GTS with 20" summer tyres, (when they come next week; the car was delivered with the wrong wheels but that's another story). According to the manual, the largest size you can chain is 19". I've had 4wd before on an Impreza WRX, a 330xi and a Skoda diesel. I've only needed chains twice with 4wd . But when I needed them, I really needed them. Rain on fresh snow both times. In those conditions, winter tyres (Sottozeros and Alpins) provided neither traction nor directional control of any sort. So I'm thinking 19" or less if they'll go on.., PS, we're not allowed studs here.

 

@Arnold_T, your video reminds me of how much I miss watching WRC on tv. Nearly all the good stuff has moved to channels our provider doesn't provide.
@2thguy, I love those wheels for the snow! Clean and sharp looking, especially with your aluminum trim. Nice effect.

 

a new option for winter rims

I found these rims today, which are my current favourites for winter rims.
Made in Canada (near Montreal) with "winter-approved finish" (which is supposed to resist winter salt corrosion).
They are styled like the Porsche 21" Sport Classic rims (in Platinum), but downsized to 18" for Canadian winters.

pic attached

web site is

https://www.replika.ca/productinfo....loss+gunmetal&v=porsche_2016_macan_s+(silver+calipers)-s+(Étriers+argents)_s_ww


I went to see them in person. they look good. they also fit the Porsche center caps.

 

I found these rims today, which are my current favourites for winter rims.
Made in Canada (near Montreal) with "winter-approved finish" (which is supposed to resist winter salt corrosion).
They are styled like the Porsche 21" Sport Classic rims (in Platinum), but downsized to 18" for Canadian winters.

I went to see them in person. they look good. they also fit the Porsche center caps.

I like 'em. Hub size and offset looks good too.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

I think I was wrong about them manufacturing in Canada. they must manufacture in Asia.
further research into Replika:
they are a division of Fastco, also based in Montreal. the Industry Canada website has info like
- Fastco designs & distributes its own line of custom alloy wheels & wheel accessories. It is also a distributor of passenger car and Light truck tires.:
- they have been in business for 27 years, have sales in the $25 to $50 million dollar range,
- Fastco operates from a new, purposely built, 131,000 sq. ft. warehouse in the Vaudreuil Industrial Park which is west of Montreal. All employees work at the Vaudreuil facility except a 4-man sales force that operates across Canada as well as 3 employees who work in Asia
- they are distributors for Pirelli, Yokohama, and Continental tires
-Key / Major clients: Fastco is a supplier to 5 OEM (Original equipment automotive manufacturers)


I wonder who the 5 OEM clients are? probably the big five with assembly plants in Canada? (GM, Ford, Chrysler, Toyota, Honda). maybe it just for tires though, not rims?


reviews for Replika wheels (all styles) on 1010tires.com are mostly 4 and 5 star, with only one bad review (complained about not being able to hit speed bumps as hard as with the OEM rims). for the price they are probably worth giving them a try.

So I think my winter solution is these Replika R182 wheels with Michelin X-Ice tires.

the Michelins aren't Porsche N0, but I'm not going to be doing high-speed driving on any cold dry Autobahns.
I'm mostly concerned about low-speed on snow and ice covered back roads in Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont.
Certainly won't be doing anywhere near to the 190km top speed rating on the Michelins.
.

 

Give Nokians a thought too. When I did my internet research back in 2013 these seemed to get the best reviews. Put them on my X6 and they were FAR superior to the Pirellis I had used on a previous vehicle, and the traction did not seem to deteriorate year to year like the Pirellis. Not "N0" I think, though. Keep in mind this is my experience only - other opinions may vary.

 

yes, Nokians would be my second choice. they still come out on top today on some tests
(see this review by Car & Driver Winter-Tire Test: Six Top Brands Tested, Compared ? Feature ? Car and Driver )
the Michelins come second there, almost as good as the Nokians on ice and snow.

They trade spots on the Consumer Reports test. Michelins score well on the noise and ride comfort factors. the road noise was one thing I didn't like about the Blizzaks I've had in the past.
.

 

The only downside I found on the Nokians is that they are noisy, but I think most winters are noisy. Make that 2 downsides; they were a few $ more than the competition.

Thanks for the Car and Driver link. Very informative. It would be interesting to see the test at cold temperatures, and with tyres a couple of years old.

 

Thanks for the Car and Driver link. .

here's another link Automobile Protection Association | 2015-2016 Winter Tire Reviews: Passenger Car, Minivan, & Compacy SUV Tires


the Blizzaks and the Nokians come out on top on this one

 

I just ordered my wheels and tires yesterday from Pfaff. 18" Turbo wheels, which are the scaled down version of my summer wheels, with Continentals on them. $3,395 Cdn plus tax, which was probably in the range that I would have spent with The Tire Rack.

 

I narrowed it down to just putting winter tires on my 21" wheels, and finding a set of OEM Porsche wheels. The BBS, etc are nice, but you really need to pay up to get a good set of aftermarket wheels. I wasn't willing to spend that much, and I didn't want to take a chance on a cheaper set of aftermarket wheels.

Luckily (I think) I found a set of take-off OEM 18" Macan S wheels on Ebay for $700 (incl shipping), with Porsche center caps but no TPMS. I like the way they look, at least for smaller wheels, and I won't have to worry about the low profile tires. And if I have warm spells here in NoCal, or a late trip to the mountains, I can swap them myself easily. This option adds up to $1500 +/- all in, which is about the price of the 21" winter Pirellis alone. Seems like a good deal to me.

Now I need a set of winter tires. Since it is often high-30's in the winter mornings here, but up to the 50's and 60's in the afternoons, and often dry, I want a set of winters that can handle that, as well as trips to the mountains. Quietness and tread life are important to me also. The guy at TireRack recommended the Pirelli Scorpion winter tires, but the Conti WinterContact (not the Porsche NO ones) review pretty well and are less expensive. Any experience with these, or any tires you'd recommend instead? I usually go with Michelins on most of my cars as I like the quality, but I'm open to trying the Pirellis, Contis, or something else.

 

Still looking at the BBS SR wheels.....Getting ready for the rubber soon!

 

I'm actually thinking about staying away from the Pirellis......

While they are "Porsche Approved", I have few friends that have run both the All Seasons and the Winters in various configurations.

In my opinion it depends on your unique driving situation.

We get a ton of snow each year with very icy conditions but .... 90% of the time....I am only doing highway miles and I'm not concerned about performance until I put the "fun" tires on.

I have had tremendous success with other brands and will be seriously considering them over the Pirelli's.

Realistically, I value traction, stopping, etc over the speed rating.....am I wrong????

Mike

 

What don't you like about the Pirellis? Heard anything bad?

 

We are going to try a set of Hankook Icept EVO2 on 19" Braelin BR06 rims for the winter setup.

 

I have a turbo with the 21 inch turbo wheel option and after much back and forth on the same question I ended up pulling the trigger on option 1... Pirelli Scorpion Winter tires on my 21 inch rims. Glad I did because inventory on the east coast for that tire size is already low. The shop I purchased the tires through stores as well so they'll hang on to them until November when I switch the tires. I'm in Charlotte NC where we don't get huge snow fall but do get cold days and some snow and freezing rain, so a winter tire on the bigger rims should be OK.

 

I'm curious if you're running the DWS 06 tires? They are substantially improved over the previous DWS version. The reviews of the DWS06 I have read from Tire Rack as well as others are absolutely glowing, if you've seen some that are not, please share them with us. I'm not advocating using them as a winter tire, I'm advocating using them as a tire for someone who lives in a climate that doesn't see snow or ice. NorCal fits that bill in my opinion. Buying a tire for a couple weekend trips to Tahoe is silly.

 

The OP mentioned he goes to Tahoe "at least a few times a year" (the OP's words) and since he/she mentioned that in conjunction with winter tires, I'm assuming the OP is concerned about trips during the colder months. As I said, if there's no chance of winter weather, there's no issue.

I have and have had both the old and new versions of the DWS tires on multiple vehicles. Can't say I've noticed any significant difference from old to new, and I've driven a lot of miles on both versions.

I'm not trying to put the tires down. If I thought they were no good I would have not repeatedly bought them My point is that even though they are OK in light winter conditions, my first hand experience is that anyone is taking a real risk pushing them further than that. The bottom line is that all season tires are a compromise.

Again, I suggest you read the Tire Rack review I referenced in my earlier post. I don't think they are glowing about these tires when they say that the "steering is a little sluggish for the category, that there's some tread growl (which BTW was not present in the earlier version of the tire), and the ride is not as forgiving as the steering would imply". My review is a bit different. I think the tires are quite forgiving, somewhat at the expense of handling (tires are always a compromise).

 

I'm not considering all-season. Just winter tires.

I will have the 18" rims and snow tires on from, say, December through March. During that time, when I'm at home, the early morning temps will be mid- high-30s, getting into the 50's later in the day. This also is the rainy season for us, so we will (hopefully) see heavy rain. On top of that, I will go to Tahoe 4-6x, where there could be heavy snow conditions.

So I want a snow (not all-season) tire that is comfortable and quiet in the dry, with good treadwear, that can handle the snow. Based on reviews and a conversation with TireRack, I'm the Pirelli Scorpion Winter, Conti WinterContact SI, or Michelin Latitude X-ICE X12 would fit the bill. I'm most interested in experience with those.

 

I have the Scorpions on my current BMW and had them on previous BMW's as well. On the X5 they handled extremely well, never had the need for snowchains and I drove in some heavy snowfall. On the 5-series, both RWD, I got further with them then most other cars, but when you're caught in a blizzard, better have those chains ready.
In heavy rain, they drove on rails, no hassle there.
Wear was pretty good as well, got easily 40.000 miles with a set.
Will probably be less with the Macan

I just ordered them again today for my Macan that is coming in january.