Winter Tires

[natecooper]

I currently have Bridgestone Potenza S-03 A tires (love em') on my boxster. They have about 5k miles on them and have been great so far. However, we are coming up on winter and I live in St. Louis. We get snow and ice, however, not tons. I'm thinking about getting some winter tires. Does anyone have any opinions on winter tires? Do they make a substancial difference, would the grand be better spent buying a POS car that I will drive a total of 3 weeks a year? Here is a list of what I'm looking at:

Bridgestone Blizzak LM-22 (H-Rated)
Bridgestone Blizzak LM-25 (V-Rated)
Pirelli 240 SnowSport

natecooper, I lived in St. Louis for years, and they don't get much snow there to really worry about. My suggestion would be to save your money.

Possibly you can dive a different car on those rare bad days.

And, the Boxster is reported to do pretty well in the snow, since the weight distribution is soooo good.

[natecooper]

Have you (or anyone for that matter) driven yours in the snow much? I've heard everything from "it handles better than most front wheel drive cars in the snow" to "it's a death trap". I know my is amazing in the rain, but it's never touched snow.

[MikenOH]

and they are great; got them mounted on a set of 17" rims from Tirerak for around $1100. With stock tires the car was scary to drive in snow; with the Blizzaks it is a pleasure--an amazing transition.

[ford40]

Hi Nate,
I also lived in St. louis for years and found the snow bearable but unpredictable with respect to amount and frequency. I am new to the board and a new boxster owner (2004 with 3500 miles....bought it used...the previous owner must have kept it in the garage covered in bubble wrap...but that's another story). I too am worried about the snow here in Indy. I have the standard 16" wheels with Pilots. I have been told that driving in the snow is Very challenging and that the Blizzark tires are the best...I'm thinking about getting a set of wheels from Ernie's Alloys in Florida...has anyone had any experience dealing with these people?
thanks
ford

Ford40, does your Boxster have PSM (Porsche Stability Management)? If yes, that will help you a lot in bad weather.

[ford40]

My Boxster does not have PSM....had first snow yesterday and it drove OK...filled up with gas...thought the extra weight would help. Actually the Pilots worked pretty well....my rims and tires won't get in until next week...probably won't snow again this winter!

Originally Posted by ford40

My Boxster does not have PSM....had first snow yesterday and it drove OK...filled up with gas...thought the extra weight would help. Actually the Pilots worked pretty well....my rims and tires won't get in until next week...probably won't snow again this winter!

But when it does (and it will) Indy does not really know what to do with it. And it is usually very icy.

[Pilot2519j]

The Boxs handles well in the snow. Just remember that the car does not much road clearance therefore if the snow is heavy that will make it more adventuresome of a trip. The weight is on top of the rear engines so it should handle well. Should be like driving the old air cooled beetles.