Winter Tyres 996C4S

924nutter · Feb 7, 2015

I am not in pain now but I am still deeply cynical of "winter tyres" Did the local authorities contact the tyre manufacturers and demand that they produce a winter tyre? No I think not. Let's not kid ourselves tyre manufacturers don't do it for love so if they can invent something that people will pay through the nose for even better if the governments get wind of it and make a mandate. Winter tyres or not it wouldn't have stopped the pratt BMW driver swerving in front of me at J8/9 of the M4 this afternoon. His exit lane for the A404 was blocked and he was stationary. As I came up the hill the lights were green so I took my lane for the A404 at about 35 mph where upon he swerved left, out in front of me then gave me the finger. That is my point driving skills need to be improved. I take the point of those who have said that skills need to be refreshed and of course there will be a cost associated with assessment and refreshing if we go down that route, so either way their is a cost impact. For me I will drive the Ax gti when there is snow on the ground, and get 40 to the gallon. It served me well over two winters before I retired over a distance of 30 miles to work at 5 in the morning with snow on the roads.

Rodney Naghar · Feb 7, 2015

Lol are you being serious or is this a wind up? If you're just angry about something step away from the keyboard

Winter tyres provide much more grip than summer tyres in cold conditions. Fact. If you think this is just a cynical marketing ploy, and/or you think more grip isn't something that drivers should pay for then I'm lost. Examples of idiocy on the road are irrelevant. It is a standalone demonstrable fact. Or should I be using my hopeless semi slick TOYO 888s in the winter as grip is totally overrated?

chriscoates81 · Feb 9, 2015

Just to go off on a slight tangent, if i was to buy C4 wheels for my turbo (10J vs 11J) would i be ok using a 20mm spacer on each side as i think turbo are 45 and the C4 are 65? Cheers Chris

minny · Feb 9, 2015

My winter tyres are on turbo look replica wheels from Design 911. The offet was ET47 which I think was for Boxsters/Caymans. I use 15mm H&R spacers to get the track back to what it was. They are really good quality spacers and came with proper longer wheel bolts with the rotating collar. Got them off ebay from a German firm which saves you about Â£30-50. If you don't use spacers, the car looks funny from the back as the track is slightly narrower. It also rolls more in corners and the narrower track has the same effect as raising the centre of gravity. With the spacers, the car handles as it should.

Richard_Hamilton · Feb 9, 2015

If the Turbo wheels are 11"-RO45 and the C4 wheels are 10"-RO65, then that should work, but you might need a bit more than 20mm if you want to maintain the outer edge in the same place. I always find this a useful calculator for wheel offsets: http://www.1010tires.com/Tools/Wheel-Offset-Calculator#

ralphmusic · Feb 9, 2015

Richard, Is the 1010 version better than the one on rennlist? http://rennlist.com/forums/tire_rim_calculator.php

chriscoates81 · Feb 9, 2015

ORIGINAL: Richard Hamilton If the Turbo wheels are 11"-RO45 and the C4 wheels are 10"-RO65, then that should work, but you might need a bit more than 20mm if you want to maintain the outer edge in the same place. I always find this a useful calculator for wheel offsets: http://www.1010tires.com/Tools/Wheel-Offset-Calculator#

I just did the numbers and it is quite a bit more. I can use that calculator now tho to work out which ones i can fit.

Richard_Hamilton · Feb 9, 2015

ORIGINAL: ralphmusic Richard, Is the 1010 version better than the one on rennlist? http://rennlist.com/forums/tire_rim_calculator.php

That's handy in that includes the overall diameter difference. 1010 has a separate calculator for that.

924nutter · Feb 13, 2015

I don't doubt that winter tyres offer more grip except at 5 in the morning on black ice so the last bend you came around optimising the speed/grip ratio has just put you further into the hedge. My trusty little Citroen AX used to get me to work in four inches of snow ready for a 5:30 arrival through the worst of five winters without winter tyres, and no accidents, before even the gritters had been out. slowly creep up to third at leave it there about 18/20 miles an hour. Yes its part wind up part serious.

Kozzi · Feb 21, 2015

I have winter tyres on my C4s and they are fantastic. As they are blocky tread, they move slightly around corners and develop heat much like track wet tyres do. Havent changed my driving style as much as I did the year before when I used summer tyres only. Stopping distances are good but the main thing is the heat generated below 7c and the way they travel through mud and snow thrown into the road. I live in Suffolk so there is plenty of dodgy roads here. Nokian WR front and rear

chriscoates81 · Feb 23, 2015

ive found some wheels but they will require a 20mm spacer on each side. Does that seem like to much? Cheers Chris

RHT45 · Feb 24, 2015

ORIGINAL: chriscoates81 Just to go off on a slight tangent, if i was to buy C4 wheels for my turbo (10J vs 11J) would i be ok using a 20mm spacer on each side as i think turbo are 45 and the C4 are 65? Cheers Chris

Chris Good luck with getting organised with a set for the turbo. I am delighted with your Boxster wheels and Vredestein Wintrac's, which have coped brilliantly with the conditions here in high South Lanarkshire and elsewhere. To be fair there was a moment last month when I attempted an overtake from about 15 mph in falling snow and experienced a triple fishtail which must have amused the guy behind me, but at least it demonstrated how much torque a 993 engine has at fairly low revs and how controllable a 993 is when the back end lets go. [

][

] I'd had the car about a month at that point........ For me the point is that the tyres are formulated to work at these low temperatures. Having lived in Germany where we had winter tyres on our cars Dec-Mar inclusive, even way back in the 80's (yes, I really am that old!) and knowing what happened if you didn't use them, which was that you got stuck or worse, there's no question in my mind about the benefits. I can still remember my first time on snow in a Saab 900 turbo, approaching a t-junction very cautiously and sliding uncontrollably across it to the fury of the German drivers who had priority. The Michelin TRX's were brilliant on a wet or dry road but might as well have been slicks in the winter. The handbook actually said that grip would be greatly reduced in cold weather and in truth there was none. On the other hand the 123-series Merc estate which followed it was amazing on its winter tyres. It would go up any hill and braking was not an issue. Of course you had to do all the usual things, such as avoiding high revs, driving smoothly, changing early etc but there was never any doubt about getting from A to B, even though there was snow for much of the winter. Of course wheels were smaller and tyres narrower in those days and no doubt someone with the right qualifications on this forum can explain the effects of these differences. There's no doubt in my mind about the improved performance of winter tyres at winter temperatures, even in our comparatively mild winters, and I agree that they should be compulsory. We might then be spared some of the news footage of queues of stranded vehicles and we might even see our insurance premiums come down a little bit with fewer multiple crashes involving commuters. In my dreams.....

chriscoates81 · Feb 25, 2015

ORIGINAL: RHT45

ORIGINAL: chriscoates81 Just to go off on a slight tangent, if i was to buy C4 wheels for my turbo (10J vs 11J) would i be ok using a 20mm spacer on each side as i think turbo are 45 and the C4 are 65? Cheers Chris

Click to expand...

Chris Good luck with getting organised with a set for the turbo. I am delighted with your Boxster wheels and Vredestein Wintrac's, which have coped brilliantly with the conditions here in high South Lanarkshire and elsewhere. To be fair there was a moment last month when I attempted an overtake from about 15 mph in falling snow and experienced a triple fishtail which must have amused the guy behind me, but at least it demonstrated how much torque a 993 engine has at fairly low revs and how controllable a 993 is when the back end lets go. [][][] I'd had the car about a month at that point........ For me the point is that the tyres are formulated to work at these low temperatures. Having lived in Germany where we had winter tyres on our cars Dec-Mar inclusive, even way back in the 80's (yes, I really am that old!) and knowing what happened if you didn't use them, which was that you got stuck or worse, there's no question in my mind about the benefits. I can still remember my first time on snow in a Saab 900 turbo, approaching a t-junction very cautiously and sliding uncontrollably across it to the fury of the German drivers who had priority. The Michelin TRX's were brilliant on a wet or dry road but might as well have been slicks in the winter. The handbook actually said that grip would be greatly reduced in cold weather and in truth there was none. On the other hand the 123-series Merc estate which followed it was amazing on its winter tyres. It would go up any hill and braking was not an issue. Of course you had to do all the usual things, such as avoiding high revs, driving smoothly, changing early etc but there was never any doubt about getting from A to B, even though there was snow for much of the winter. Of course wheels were smaller and tyres narrower in those days and no doubt someone with the right qualifications on this forum can explain the effects of these differences. There's no doubt in my mind about the improved performance of winter tyres at winter temperatures, even in our comparatively mild winters, and I agree that they should be compulsory. We might then be spared some of the news footage of queues of stranded vehicles and we might even see our insurance premiums come down a little bit with fewer multiple crashes involving commuters. In my dreams.....

Glad you're enjoying them, finding a set at a reasonable price for a turbo is seemingly quite tricky. Im toying with just buying a brand new set from somewhere like design 911 but it works out at Â£840 just for alloys.