Winter Wheels and Tires - '01 986

[gandrade1]

Hi guys,

As my first winter as a Porsche owner approaches, I want to make sure that I have appropriate tires and wheels to face the sleet and eventual snow here at NJ. I intend to put 16'' wheels but am not sure what wheels or tires would be affordable and appropriate for my car. Do I need to get Porsche OEM wheels? What about tires what is a decent one?

Thanks,

Gustavo

:renntech:

[mikefocke]

In luck

16 inch tires are both the cheapest and the best for winter as they are the narrowest. They are also rather pleantiful except around now as others are looking to do what you are trying to do.

Having said that, look at craigslist or ebay and get stock Porsche 16" wheels. Others will be upgrading to 17"s thru 19"s and you want their take offs. No issues with offsets that way. None on ebay at this time, mabe because they don't sell. Better to look on free postings boards like www.craigslist.org

[Highlander]

Good advice from Mike about getting used 16" take-offs.

For tires, I have had great success with Nokian WR's and Gislaved Nord Frost 5's on my BMW's - my Boxster gets racing slicks, not snow tires :D

http://tinyurl.com/299vp2

http://tinyurl.com/bhwj7

Both of these tires give decent dry and wet weather performance - for a snow tire - as well as exceptional snow performance.

I have also tried Michelin Pilot Alpins and was very disappointed in them. Felt like I was driving on marshmallows in the dry and their snow performance was only mediocre.

The Bridgestone Blizzak WS-60 is another exceptional snow tire, but has only mediocre dry performance and does not wear well if driven predominantly on dry roads.

Good Luck

[Topless]

I have a set of 16" OE takeoffs that I do no intend to use. I would let them go cheap. Being over here on the left coast shipping may get expensive to NJ. You may find a better deal locally. Let me know if interested.

[gandrade1]

I have a set of 16" OE takeoffs that I do no intend to use. I would let them go cheap. Being over here on the left coast shipping may get expensive to NJ. You may find a better deal locally. Let me know if interested.

Thanks for the response.

How much could you sell them for? Do you have any idea of how much the shipping would be?

I have been having a hard time finding any 16'' wheels in the NE...(that time of the year!)

Thanks,

Gustavo

Edited September 4, 2007 by gandrade1

[Topless]

I have a set of 16" OE takeoffs that I do no intend to use. I would let them go cheap. Being over here on the left coast shipping may get expensive to NJ. You may find a better deal locally. Let me know if interested.

Thanks for the response.

How much could you sell them for? Do you have any idea of how much the shipping would be?

I have been having a hard time finding any 16'' wheels in the NE...(that time of the year!)

Thanks,

Gustavo

PM sent.

[gandrade1]

Hi guys,

I am starting to explore the idea of buying aftermarket wheels rather than the OEM 16s for my winter set... Does anyone know the offset of the wheels I should be looking at? Any idea of good places to look for.

I have a 01 (base) Boxster.

Thanks,

Gustavo

[gandrade1]

Hi guys,

I am starting to explore the idea of buying aftermarket wheels rather than the OEM 16s for my winter set... Does anyone know the offset of the wheels I should be looking at? Any idea of good places to look for.

I have a 01 (base) Boxster.

Thanks,

Gustavo

Anyone ?

[juniinc]

Almost impossible to find a set of after market 16", they just don't make em. When they do it's usually OEM replica but I've seen some 17"s

Hi guys,

I am starting to explore the idea of buying aftermarket wheels rather than the OEM 16s for my winter set... Does anyone know the offset of the wheels I should be looking at? Any idea of good places to look for.

I have a 01 (base) Boxster.

Thanks,

Gustavo

Anyone ?

[Stefan]

The unique bolt pattern on the Porsche wheels means that you are unlikely to find cheap aftermarket wheels. That being said, a set of 16" OEM wheels is pretty cheap (a few hundred $ total).

I have used two different snow tires on my 16" wheels, Blizzak MZ-01 and Dunlop Winter Sport M3. The former gets excellent traction in the snow but drives like garbage on dry roads. The Blizzaks just cannot get stuck. They can pretty much drive up the side of a block of ice. The latter drives very well on dry roads and is competent in the snow. Their ice performance is not so great and they do slip a bit in the snow. If you only deal with occasional light snow these would be great tires.

The ideal in New England would be somewhere in between IMO.

[gandrade1]

Thanks guys,

I checked wheelenhancement for OEM 16''s - $600! If anyone identifies a good deal, please let me know...

I could not find aftermarket either.

Thanks,

Gustavo

[mikefocke]

My memory shipping costs DC to CA

for 4 17" wheels AND inflated tires was $150. Without tires may well be less.

[gandrade1]

The unique bolt pattern on the Porsche wheels means that you are unlikely to find cheap aftermarket wheels. That being said, a set of 16" OEM wheels is pretty cheap (a few hundred $ total).

I have used two different snow tires on my 16" wheels, Blizzak MZ-01 and Dunlop Winter Sport M3. The former gets excellent traction in the snow but drives like garbage on dry roads. The Blizzaks just cannot get stuck. They can pretty much drive up the side of a block of ice. The latter drives very well on dry roads and is competent in the snow. Their ice performance is not so great and they do slip a bit in the snow. If you only deal with occasional light snow these would be great tires.

The ideal in New England would be somewhere in between IMO.

Hi Stephan,

Did you find the Dunlops on 205/55/16 for the front and 225/50/16 for the rear exactly as Porsche's specs? I can't find the ones for the front at TireRack, all I can find is 205/45/16 for the front, which I am assuming is too 'low'...

Thanks,

Gustavo

Edited October 18, 2007 by gandrade1

[catmanluge]

You may want to check PCA Marts in different regions....

[986fan]

Calculating the correct size:

Example: 265/35 -18

265 is the width in millimeters.......not the tread width per se, but the maximum overall width of the

tire when mounted on the median recommended rim width and inflated to the correct operating pressure.

This might be at the tread.....or it might be at the sidewall......but it will be the widest part....depends on the tire.

35 is the "aspect ratio".........that is the measurement of the unladen sidewall from the rim to the tread.

A 35 aspect ratio is computed by taking 35% of the width number (265 in this case).

18 is, of course, the rim diameter.

The formula for overall height is as follows:

Width (265) x aspect ratio (35%) x 2 (2 sidewalls in the overall diameter), divided by 25.4 (converts to inches)

+ the rim diameter (already in inches) = the overall height in inches.

For instance, a 205/55-16, a 225/50-16 and a 245/45-16 are all basically the same height but are progressively

wider as the first number (the ovarall width) goes up. they stay the same height because the aspect ratio number

is coming down as the width goes up. By the same token you could increase the rim diameter without changing the

width or the overall diameter simply by factoring in a lower number aspect ratio.

[gandrade1]

Calculating the correct size:

Example: 265/35 -18

265 is the width in millimeters.......not the tread width per se, but the maximum overall width of the

tire when mounted on the median recommended rim width and inflated to the correct operating pressure.

This might be at the tread.....or it might be at the sidewall......but it will be the widest part....depends on the tire.

35 is the "aspect ratio".........that is the measurement of the unladen sidewall from the rim to the tread.

A 35 aspect ratio is computed by taking 35% of the width number (265 in this case).

18 is, of course, the rim diameter.

The formula for overall height is as follows:

Width (265) x aspect ratio (35%) x 2 (2 sidewalls in the overall diameter), divided by 25.4 (converts to inches)

+ the rim diameter (already in inches) = the overall height in inches.

For instance, a 205/55-16, a 225/50-16 and a 245/45-16 are all basically the same height but are progressively

wider as the first number (the ovarall width) goes up. they stay the same height because the aspect ratio number

is coming down as the width goes up. By the same token you could increase the rim diameter without changing the

width or the overall diameter simply by factoring in a lower number aspect ratio.

Thank you very much 986Fan...this is very interesting - I knew about the width and the rim diameter, but not about the aspect RATIO. In other words, I thought it was a fixed number, not a proportion.

Thats great!

[Topless]

Set of OE 16" takeoffs now listed in classifieds with pics here: http://www.renntech.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=16486

[Stefan]

Hi Stephan,

Did you find the Dunlops on 205/55/16 for the front and 225/50/16 for the rear exactly as Porsche's specs? I can't find the ones for the front at TireRack, all I can find is 205/45/16 for the front, which I am assuming is too 'low'...

Thanks,

Gustavo

Yes, Gustavo. Here is exactly what I got (in 10/2005):

Item Description Availability Qty. Price Each Item Total

205/55VR16 Dunlop Winter Sport M3 IN STOCK 2 $109.00 $218.00

225/50VR16 Dunlop Winter Sport M3 IN STOCK 2 $124.00 $248.00

---

Perhaps that model has been superceded. I would call them and ask. They have always been very helpful when I've spoken to them on the phone.