992 C2S Winter tyres - Yes or No?

[9k rpm]

This will be my first winter with my 992 C2S.
Contemplating winter tyres, haven’t really bothered before on my other fairly powerful RWD cars although I did put them on my S3 when I had it due to a trip to the Alps and they were brilliant!
Interested in opinions.
It’s my daily and I do approx 100 miles a week with an early morning trip to the station 12 miles away twice a week on a mixture of roads. I live in rural Bedfordshire so not exactly the highlands. I won’t be taking it to the Alps.
Was thinking of getting a second set of wheels with winters on them and swapping in November and then back to the summers in April.
Thanks.

[gsewell]

I do about the same mileage in my humble 987.2 Cayman. I put the winter tyres on last week.
I got a spare set of rims when I bought the car (12 years ago) and swap tyres every 6 months. That way the tyres last 6 years so the only marginal cost was buying the spare rims.

[johnny senna]

I’ve had my 992 C2S from new. It’s now nearly 4 years old. It has Michelin Alpin winter tyres on in the colder months and because it’s my daily I think it’s essential to do that. When it snows the car just goes. And more importantly than that…….it stops.
I wouldn’t fancy driving my car in freezing conditions on summer tyres. I know people go on about how good Michelin PS4S summer tyres are (and my car has these on in the warmer months) but they won’t handle an emergency stop very well in freezing / snowy conditions.
It’s also worth remembering that winter tyres will be better than summer tyres from around 6-7 degrees Celsius or less. According to Michelin.

[athomp04]

I did, I was sceptical beforehand but decided to give it a go as I found a second set for less than £1.5k. There is a marked difference which I noticed particularly when there were large amounts of standing water. Its not essential but you will appreciate them and helpful in the snow and ice from my experience.

[politeperson]

I changed to Michelin PS4S and have not really found any issues with them in the winter. Mindyou, I found it OK with the Goodyears it came on too.

My solution was to buy a £1,200 old pre-2006 D3 Land Rover for when things get really bad. The 992 stays indoors in the snow and Ice.

The old Land Rover has been excellent! I put on new Defender wheels with Michelin Latitudes already fitted.

I did spend a bit putting it right when it turned up, but since then it has been perfect.


Having said that, over 50,000 miles, the 992 has been a great winter car with the engine over the rear wheels.

Edited by politeperson on Friday 20th October 17:22

[bluetigerandy]

Once you have driven on premium winter rubber it is hard to use anything else, the difference is staggering. 4wd on summer tyres in winter is not a huge advantage in my considerable experience. If you plan to use the car through winter, yes.

[J Chitty]

Had an off in my BMW with summer runflats in winter. I had already bought a set of wheels to get winters on before finding out it was tricky to get the staggered fit in 19inch wheels. After the ahem bump i found Pirelli had brought out Soto zeros in the correct size and i fit them every winter.
Would always do this with my daily now, so sure footed compared.

[Kermitgreenmeanmachine]

Wouldn’t bother. Have done 36k in my 991.2 on Pirelli P zero and 50k in a 987 on a variety of tyres on the daily commute and never had any issues. Just need to dial it down a bit in the wet and if it snows.

[Discombobulate]

Why not try them this winter and judge for yourself? It’s not a huge extra outlay given that your summers will last longer. And if you don’t think they add much then don’t replace the winters when they wear out (4mm versus 3mm for summers).

[gareth h]

I would, it’s almost a no cost option, 2nd hand rims that you can sell when you move the car on, and ashas been said you’ll save wear on the summer tyres (I have to admit bias as I had a really dodgy drive in my old Monaro in snow, it was almost undrivable, spun it twice, headed back to the office and drove the van home instead)
Always a set of winters since then.

[IMI A]

Don't bother.

[David W.]

Winter tyres get a big thumbs up from me. Usually now just fit them to my Cayenne as enjoy driving it as much as the 911 but back in the day pre Cayenne had a spare wheel set and swapped them at home. So much easier than taking tyres to the tyre workshop to be changed.

[Mr.Grooler]

I have a set of winters for my 997 C2 which gets used a few times a week all through the year. As said above, it’s perfectly possible to drive without issues on summer sports tyres 99% of the time. However a decent winter tyre will always offer an advantage, and spreads wear between two sets anyway. And my car is still great to drive on the winters; in normal road use the difference is subtle. So it’s just the cost of the wheels (which you can recoup), and the hassle of storage and swapping them over. When swapping them over I take the opportunity to give the wheels a good clean, a coat of something and wash round the wheel arches too. Go for them if you can.

[Corkys]

Winters tyres all the time, it costs you nothing, as you spread their wear over two sets. Buy 2nd hand wheels and you can sell them for what you bought them for, so it saves on swap over costs.
Alternative is have another car on winters, as someone else has mentioned.

[Filibuster]

I’m in Switzerland (midlands, almost no snow, but cold and wet) and not having winter tyres is not an option. Of course this has to do with insurances not paying out (or rather they regress on you) if you are involved in an accident without tyres appropriate to the conditions. Parts of France and Austria mandate them between November and April, iirc.

I have bought a set of basic Carrera 18” wheels with 80% Continental winter tyres for my 997 of ebay kleinanzeigen (like craiglist). They were about £200 (for the set of 4).

The smallest Carrera wheels can often be found very cheap second hand. Have a look for them.

[Filibuster]

politeperson said:

I put on new Defender wheels with Michelin Latitudes already fitted.

That looks excellent on those wheels!

[bosshog]

I ran some winter tyres on my 991.2 CS. TBH it didn’t really seem to make a big difference - I still had to be careful applying power and still had some tail wagging moments . They help but not not massive. The advantage is when is proper cold ie around freezing or snow etc

[IMI A]

bosshog said:

I ran some winter tyres on my 991.2 CS. TBH it didn’t really seem to make a big difference - I still had to be careful applying power and still had some tail wagging moments . They help but not not massive. The advantage is when is proper cold ie around freezing or snow etc

This they are a gamechanger below zero or in snow. Otherwise just drive carefully a 911 has loads of traction. I am a bit spoilt as our 911s are awd and as good as any of our SUVs in snow.

[johnny senna]

IMI A said:

This they are a gamechanger below zero or in snow. Otherwise just drive carefully a 911 has loads of traction. I am a bit spoilt as our 911s are awd and as good as any of our SUVs in snow.

4 wheel drive is no good at all when you’re braking in snow. I use winter tyres more to help the car stop than to make it go.

[Grantstown]

johnny senna said:

4 wheel drive is no good at all when you’re braking in snow. I use winter tyres more to help the car stop than to make it go.

It’s got some benefit, with the engine braking being spread across the 4 wheels.

In most parts of country snow is rare, but for some reason everyone still seems to have a v important journey to make. I guess Johnny must still get to his piano lesson.

I agree with polite person and keep a low value SUV, in my case with Michelin cross climate tyres. Not far off as good as winters, but no need to take them off in the spring. People do come a cropper by leaving their winters on too long.