Tire Question
 

I was looking into buying winter tires for my Box now and I was hoping for some suggestions.

Front : 225/40ZR18
Rear : 265/35ZR18

I looked on Tire Rack and found a set of Continentals for $814 and a set of Pirellis for $800.

Any suggestions as to what would be a better tire ?

Also, if I purchase tires without rims how much would I be looking at to get them switched when the weather gets cold ? Do most of you in the North purchase rims also ? Cheapest rims I could find so far were $300 each ! ( but I cannot get to Ebay here at work ). Not sure I want to spend $2000 on wheels / tires.

Thanks in advance...

Have you considered Ebay? I picked up a set of rims and snow tires (barely used) for around $800.00 including shipping.

Depends on how much your gonna drive in winter. Id get tires from a good site and gasp... get steel rims with maybe a cool looking hub cap if it was just for a couple months.

I don't think you'd want to drive in the snow in a 265 tire... Can't you go with a smaller tire?

denverpete,

I'll try ebay when I get home. If you have any recommendations as far as sellers go, let me know...

boggtown,

Boxster is my daily driver, so I would probably have the winter tires on for 4 to 6 months...

I don't know... Would that cause problems with my current wheels ( 18" turbos ) ?

depends on the width of your wheels. if you have a 10" wheel, you can only go as narrow as 255/35. if you have a 9" wheel, you can go with a 225/40.

How do I find out if I have 9" or 10" wheels ?

are they the stock wheels? you should see a marking near the center of the wheel (visible while the wheel's installed) that will say 10 x 18 or something to that effect. if they're the stock 17" twists, i believe they're 9" in the rear and 7.5 or 8" up front. if that's the case, you can run P225's in the back and P205's up front.

These are the wheels :

Option Code 413 - 18" Turbo Look Wheel

I am getting M/S tires when I get my new set of rims, sure they arn't that good for snow but better than nothing. If that dang guy would just pay me already for what he bought from me on ebay I could order my stuff.

Get some wheels
 

I would look for some wheels on Ebay. If you are quick (i.e. before we get too close to winter) you can get them cheap (I paid $300 for 4 last summer plus $50 shipping even got some center caps thrown in.) (Watch the shipping price some ebayers will hammer you on shipping. It should be less than $100 for 4 wheels -- think 60ish.) I would look for the 16 inch stock wheels they look ok not like your 18s but are great in snow and the tires will be about $100 each at tire rack vice $200 and if you call them you may get a deal and they will have more choices than on the web. 17s are not quite as good in snow, tires are more $$$, but look better. In the end you will have winter and summer tires and wheels for about what you are talking for just tires. No remounting each summer/winter so no cost plus ... no worries about damaged wheels.

Hope this helps.

ATB,
Tom

Thanks, Tom ! I will start searching Ebay when I get home...

Nick