I did a brief write-up of snow traction a few posts back.

As for ice, I'm going to avoid it at all costs. Everybody should. Short of studs, there's not way to gain traction. I don't care what B-stone says about their blizzaks. I consider Nokian to be the premier winter tire company, and they avoid making claims about ice traction on their studless tires.

The ice on the lane was the broken up kind that offers decent traction. I was able to drive our old W211 E320 shod with Michelin all seasons out this afternoon.


The Pirellis are a true winter tire. Excellent in the cold. Good enough to get you home under most circumstances. Better in nearly all conditions than an all-season tire. Just don't expect the car to behave like a Sno-cat. It isn't going to do that.

 

My wheels have arrived and with snow coming in tomorrow I put them on today and they are looking spanking!

 

Beautiful! I think you just changed my mind about the HREs I have been looking at. How about those center caps?

 

The centercaps were some ebay $25 knockoffs, but look great and good enough for winter wheels:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/271326764001...S:3160&vxp=mtr

 

looks sweet

 

rhukster,

I like those TSWs! Very sharp. Nice find on the center caps too. Let us know what you think when then snow hits. Be safe!

X

 

rhukster, glad they fit! They look awesome...

 

Why didn't you simply pop your OEM center caps into your TSW (gunmetal grey) wheels? I did, and it looks perfectly fine. Maybe you didn't get the standard grey OEM wheels and caps?

 

I have black wheels actually, and I didn't want to mess with them anyway. Now i have 2 'complete' sets, no messing around required.

 

I put Michelin PA4's on BBS wheels on my 911, Pirelli Scorpion Winters on my Range Rover Sport, and Bridgestone Blizzak DM-V1 s on my wife's Infiniti QX 80. I did not have the heart to try out the 911 in the storm we had last week, but I drove both the Range Rover and the Infiniti. The Pirelli tires felt so much better than my wife's truck on Blizzaks. I was very surprised. I looked at a number of tires for my cars. Did not go with Nokian tires because I could not find a combination of size and speed rating. I do not want to drive on a tire with a max speed of 108.

When I get the Porsche out in the snow, I will post with my reaction. But I am sure the 255 Michelin tires available for your cars are going to be better than my Michelins 285s. Be safe.

 

[QUOTE=enzom;5883836]. Did not go with Nokian tires because I could not find a combination of size and speed rating. I do not want to drive on a tire with a max speed of 108 [QUOTE]



Just wondering where you find to drive your car over a 108 mph for more than a few minutes at a time in the winter?

 

got my winters on…crappy pic:

 

[QUOTE=LJMartin;5885794][QUOTE=enzom;5883836]. Did not go with Nokian tires because I could not find a combination of size and speed rating. I do not want to drive on a tire with a max speed of 108 Good point, but I'm at 100 plus without even realizing it almost every time I am on the highway, traffic permitting. And whether I am going 105 or 108 for 10 seconds or 13 seconds, I don't like thinking about what had been compromised in the construction of my tire to give it a rating of 108 vs the construction of a tire rated for 155 mph. And for the rare occasions where the highway is wide open as far as I can see and I can push 130 plus, I would hate to have tires be the reason I can't get on it for a bit. When the roads are open, I move at a good clip. (But never too fast for conditions.)

 

Are those audi wheels?

 

Yup…not anymore.

 

Another mid-winter update on the Pirelli Sotto 0's


We had a surprise snow storm come through last Thursday evening. The kind that causes widespread panic and can lead to road closures.

I worked until about 530. The snow wasn't letting up, and the traffic was still building. The commute is about 28 miles and would normally take 40 minutes. The highways were moving at about 20-25mph due to zero treatment and zero plowing. In fact I only saw one truck during the entire ordeal. Passed about 40-50 abandoned cars. Mostly the usual suspects. RWD with summer tires. My car had superior traction the entire way home. Snow was falling at abt 1.5" per hour. i had no problems changing lanes through the thick snow. Never felt like i wasn't in complete control over the car.

One of the most telling situations came up when I was trying to use some in-town roads to go around the closed 4 lane highway. I was going downhill and came to a closed road (for construction). It necessitated doing a 3 point turn to head back from where I came.... think about doing that maneuver in about 5" of snow, on a very narrow, car-lined road, with a decent slope. 100% drama free.

All in, it took about 2.25 hours to get home. Safely. I still have reservations about the ground clearance, but I've managed to do alright a couple of times now with this type of accumulation. My neighbor across the lane (who was on the road later than me) had to abandon his Audi (R?)S5 in the lane. He couldn't make it through a drift that was forming.

The next morning we had 3' drifts and the G-wagen was the vehicle of choice.

So this has been a pretty challenging winter so far, and I pleased as punch with the E63 and Pirellis. I don't think I've given up any winter performance from my previous DD, an ML with Nokian WRG's.

 

I'm new to this forum and would like to say that the thorough discussion is very helpful to someone like me who us trying to figure out if an E63 wagon is the right fit (live in NYC, spend lots of time in snowier climates). To that end, I was wondering if anyone has considered using 40f/35r series tires since the E63 appears incapable of accommodating 18 inch rims? I went this route on my current vehicle and was quite pleased and have no rubbing. Plus, the extra profile gives nice insulation against NYC / frost-created potholes. Which brings up a second question: have any of you experienced issues with bent rims / blown tires with the E63?

Many thanks for your insights.

Best,

T

 

I just rechecked my sheet that I was keeping for tire data, and I don't see anything compatible in a 40FF/35RR, at least not with a reduction in width. I wasn't shopping for taller sidewall in the stock widths, because I think there will be clearance issues.

If you have something specific in mind, offer it up.

The winter/snow tire choice are very limited for this car. IMO.

 

Thanks for your response ace10. For instance, what about doing 245/40 front and 275/35 rear, on stock rims? Based on the tire calculators referenced earlier in the thread, you're losing ~1/3 of an inch in terms of fender clearance based on diameter gains, which I would think would be ok.

 

Just wanted to give another data point for winter tires.

I put the 255 width Michelin Pilot Alpin PA4 on my factory E63 19" wheels. They are fantastic, they have incredible deep snow traction for being a "performance" snow tire. I've been in a CLS63 with the Sottozero and these seem quite a bit better not only in snow and ice but also regular dry winter roads. The steering feel is incredible for a snow tire as well, apparently they are using some new sidewall tech. Honestly, they are on per with the factory Conti summer tire in that respect.

I had been hoping to try the Nokian tires for all out winter traction but these Michelin have left me satisfied with the winter traction and amazed with the dry road qualities. Quiet, smooth and grippy with great snow and ice traction. Frankly, if the roads are too bad for the car with these, I'd be in my truck anyway.

After trying these Michelins I'm going to give the Super Sport a try this summer.

 

The Vredestein Wintrac Extreme S is available in 245/40 and 275/35. I wanted to go for them but they were unavailable in Canada in october when I ordered. It could be a good "staggered" alternative to the SZ's.

 

I know it's almost 100 degrees outside but wanted to post fitment with my winter wheels (was a concern when I got them) if some of you are shopping for winter setup. They even clear Ceramic brakes.


wheels are Replika R142 in 19x8.5 and 35 mm offset.

 

Yeah, sadly it is time to start thinking about a winter set up

 

What tire did you end up going with?

 

Michelin PA4 255/35/19's all arround.