South of UK - Winter wheels thoughts

Sidicks

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My car has a set of 20" Turbo Aero wheels and I'm currently thinking about whether I order a set of 21" summer wheels and tyres and swap to winter tyres for the 20", or I may just get an extra set of 20" wheels. Anyway, I digress as this is my own dilemma. Porsche Reading will at least store wheels at the dealer (for a fee), which is great. The 20" will likely come with PS4's and the 21" would come with Eagle Asym 3's

What I'm asking is whether UK users think it's worth getting winter wheels/tyres on my Taycan?

I've previously had a few different cars and found that, say, my RS3 didn't really benefit much from winter wheels and on the 2-3 days of actual deep snow we had I didn't drive much, but icy conditions never really affected it. 4WD and just being very slightly more careful at this time of year was easily manageable. However, on my old C63, winter wheels and tyres were an absolute must and tbh it would have been foolish bordering on insanity not to buy and use them.

I'm thinking the Taycan fits into the same category with the RS3. For our fairly mild UK winters it will be more than perfectly drive-able with a small bit of care and a slight back off of the throttle. I don't necessarily care about the money, more about the faff of changing wheels for a brief 2-3 month period every year.

I'm getting a Taycan Turbo ST, for context. Tyres are likely to be Michelin PS4's apparently.

Thoughts and opinions? Again, this is based on be being in sunny Hampshire in the UK
I'd certainly recommend getting winter tyres for your Taycan and if your dealer can store them (or you can do so at home), it makes sense to purchase new wheels at the same time to make the twice-yearly switch-over much more straightforward.

If your current tyres are near to needing to be replaced, I'd be tempted to go with new 21" wheels for summer use and to use the 20" for winter tyres.
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This topic has come up before. Never had winter tyres. I live in the NE of England where it snows most winters especially inland on higher ground. 30 winters of driving I've got stuck twice. Both on high ground in County Durham so very rare. I've never had a car with winter tyres. Driven different rwd BMWs through winters. I'm used to winter driving. No doubt winter tyres give more grip. I've just never needed them.
 
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kempez

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My dislike of almost all Taycan wheel options is limiting too!
I ordered 21” CT wheels, which are the ones I like best.
The only 20” wheel I like is the 20” CT which isn’t on the list for winter tyres, and the GTS spec painted one which is only listed for the GTS though I can’t see why the dealer wouldn’t get them for me.

The thing is also one gets no choice of which tyre Porsche supply, I had planned to go with the Michelin Cross climate for my next “winter tyre”

IME the tyre is the most important part of a car and having the best one for the job is a complete no-brainer. As Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes demonstrated at Zandvoort yesterday.

It is possible to get away without by going slower but in an emergency swerve or stop you are still f*cked.
Oh I absolutely agree on the tyre grip, it's just I've found the amount of times I need winter tyres recently in terms of pure temperature is diminishing. We also have an XC90 on all-seasons. Maybe adds a little context.

The C63 was probably a bad comparison as it overloaded any tyre and especially under cold conditions.

I agree on the tyre choice, it's not very good service in my opinion. And yes I absolutely agree on the tyres being the most important thing on a car. It's the only thing connecting your car to the road, it's one of the most important elements in the car

The wheel choice is a subjective thing I guess.



Ideally for UK/NL, you spec an all-season for our winters.
This is another good video thanks. I will ask them if they can specify an all season tyre. I've had the Winter Contact's before and they were good. The only thing is when it's dry and not too cold: it feels like your car is 'on stilts'

Also for clarity: this will be a brand new car and I'm not sure if the dealer will swap tyres around for no charge, in fact I don't think they will but I guess we'll see. As such: buying 21" and fitting summer's is easy, but then I'd have to buy another set of winters and have a useless set of 20" summer tyres off the car. Wishing I'd specified 21" but at the same time I didn't as I wasn't a huge fan of designs.

Thanks for all the input so far. I'm currently thinking a spare set of 20" on all-season (if I can), or winter rubber is the best way to go.
 
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For the CT I am curious as far as what setting you prefer for deep snow driving: Normal or Gravel mode ? Or what else ?
 

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Also for clarity: this will be a brand new car and I'm not sure if the dealer will swap tyres around for no charge, in fact I don't think they will but I guess we'll see. As such: buying 21" and fitting summer's is easy, but then I'd have to buy another set of winters and have a useless set of 20" summer tyres off the car. Wishing I'd specified 21" but at the same time I didn't as I wasn't a huge fan of designs.

Thanks for all the input so far. I'm currently thinking a spare set of 20" on all-season (if I can), or winter rubber is the best way to go.
I don't see the point of all-season tyres in your position - either stick with what you have all year round or go with winter tyres between (say) November and February.
 


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kempez

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I don't see the point of all-season tyres in your position - either stick with what you have all year round or go with winter tyres between (say) November and February.
I kinda want to do it out of interest now, but you’re probably right.
 

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I've just never needed them.
That is because you haven’t been in an emergency situation.
Apart from track days the only time you need maximum tyre grip is if you have to swerve or do an emergency stop to avoid an accident.
Even a couple of meters shorter stopping difference could mean the difference between running over somebody and not doing.
 


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I don't see the point of all-season tyres in your position - either stick with what you have all year round or go with winter tyres between (say) November and February.
Did you watch the video that @Mathys posted?
That was one I mentioned earlier but didn’t find.
I would say it makes it clear why all seasons are worth using in a typical cold wet UK winter but, personally, I want the most grip I can get in summer.

Edit:
I also expect the wear of the all-seasons will be high if pressing on in hot weather.
 
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WRC_1S

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That is because you haven’t been in an emergency situation.
Apart from track days the only time you need maximum tyre grip is if you have to swerve or do an emergency stop to avoid an accident.
Even a couple of meters shorter stopping difference could mean the difference between running over somebody and not doing.
With the greatest respect Frank how exactly do you know what situations I've been in over 30 years of driving in a part of the UK at most i wager at most you've visited in winter? I get it you like winter tyres and are justifying why you have snow tyres! I don't have them and won't. I don't need friction tests and data analysis to know what I've experienced.
 

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With the greatest respect Frank how exactly do you know what situations I've been in over 30 years of driving in a part of the UK at most i wager at most you've visited in winter? I get it you like winter tyres and are justifying why you have snow tyres! I don't have them and won't. I don't need friction tests and data analysis to know what I've experienced.
My parents lived in Morpeth.

I don’t “like” winter tyres, I am a vehicle designer and KNOW quite a lot about tyres and cars.

If you haven’t tried them you don’t know how much safer they are when it is cold and wet.
 

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My parents lived in Morpeth.

I don’t “like” winter tyres, I am a vehicle designer and KNOW quite a lot about tyres and cars.

If you haven’t tried them you don’t know how much safer they are when it is cold and wet.
Good for you. I've never said they aren't safer. I said no doubt they give better grip. I said I don't need or want to buy them based on 30 years of driving every winter in the NE.
 
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kempez

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My parents lived in Morpeth.

I don’t “like” winter tyres, I am a vehicle designer and KNOW quite a lot about tyres and cars.

If you haven’t tried them you don’t know how much safer they are when it is cold and wet.
I can definitely attest to Winter tyres working in the cold, especially in icy conditions. Hence why I'm looking at getting some. They give a sense of safety. My issue is more how much time they will get used in the UK, which has been diminishing in the last few years. But then you don't want to be in a situation where you don't have that safety blanket (as you said), IMO.
 

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I can definitely attest to Winter tyres working in the cold, especially in icy conditions. Hence why I'm looking at getting some. They give a sense of safety. My issue is more how much time they will get used in the UK, which has been diminishing in the last few years. But then you don't want to be in a situation where you don't have that safety blanket (as you said), IMO.
I use them 3 to 4 months of the year.

Edit

I do use the 7C rule so just look at the Met Office forecast for the average temperature to drop below that and fit them and do the reverse in spring.
 
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With 6 months a year with snow and ice, its just no option for us. 2 sets of wheels it is. Its lile F1eng say, its those extra 2 meters (or 10) thats the difference between life and death. I havent experienced one winter over the last 30 years where at least once theres been a close call where sub par wheels would have meant disaster. I even use studded tires as nothing else comes close on proper ice. That said its probably not necessary for UK but if there is snow on the roads I wouldnt dream of driving with summer tires. Even below - 5C summertires become too stiff to offer any traction even on clean roads. It also puzzles me that a lot of advocates for large rims, wide tires, PDCC and ceramic brakes etc. also regards all seasons to be excellent. For a 2 ton sport focused car thats a paradox to me, winter or summer.
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