Another tire question
 

Hi,

I recently purchased a 2001 Boxster S. Great car but it needs 2 new rear tires. Since it is late summer, I thought about winter.

Would the car perform poorly if only the rear tires were all season? Alternative is to buy a second set of wheels.

Thanks, John

It's generally recommended to have the same type of tires all the way around, that way your rear traction won't be better than your front traction and cause the front to push or slide out in a corner. That said, I don't think it would be a problem if you take it easy.

You will get plenty of responses that will tell you that you are suicidal if you don't run full snow tires all the way around, if you expect any snow :rolleyes:! I ran Michelin A/S 3s here in Jackson Hole WY last winter and they were fine. I didn't go out in deep snow, or if the roads were real icy. I have a 4x4 truck for that. But for the other 90% of the time, they were fine. Not as good as the Bridgestone Blizzaks on my wife's BMW 325 xi, but not much is ;)!

Just lite them up in the winter before you roll out so the sticky part of the rubber is extracted to the surface of the traction side of the tire enabling extra grip action on icy roads eliminating the need for snow tires. Lol

A lot depends on the type of driver you are and the roads you are taking. If it's mostly city and highway - a pair of snows on the back won't hurt you. I've done that in the past. But if you have some back roads or rural roads, I would say full snow tires all around. We all know those rural roads can get way worse and really toss you around at times in the winter. Then again, if you are a more aggressive driver, snows all around would be best.

The correct answer to your question is: what tires are on the front/ & how old are they?

The correct answer is; slow your speed in the winter months. Safety first. I personally semi-moth ball my Boxster because I choose to. )

Michellin Pilot Super Sport with about 1,000 miles on them.

I will as well. I have a commuter car that I will drive if there is snow, ice or rain in the forecast.

John

OK, so you really can't match that with anything else than more MPSS's. That's what I run all year on both my cars. Any Ultra Hi-performance tire like that is unsafe to drive in temps below 40 degrees. If you wanted to go with a good compromise to drive year round, you could probably trade in your nearly new front tires at a authorized Michelin dealer for Michelin A/S 3s.

To add to the conversation... Yes MPSS and A/S tires are very dissimilar tires and would be pretty awful on the same car. She would oversteer like a drifting whore in the summer and understeer like an Arkansas hog in winter.

Matched tires (at least within type and treadwear rating) are Boxster nirvana.

Clearly I will need to get another set of wheels if i plan to drive in the cold. I can buy a set of 17" Porsche wheels off a 2001 S. I also have a 2001 S but with 18" wheels. Any problem with running 17's in the winter?

No problem running 17" in winter and 18" in summer.

Run the smaller size rears as recommended in your owners manual.