Friends,

After driving [sliding] my JCW in that freak October one foot snow storm on my Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 Star Specs......I've decided I'm certainly going to need winter tires.

I get a good deal of snow here in Northern Westchester. There's not always snow on the ground...but I'm going to, for sure, have a couple good drops throughout the season. That said, when there's not snow on the ground, I'm still going to be driving as hard as ever. What's a nice tire which will keep me solid in snow yet still allow me to have a bit of fun on the curves and push 100 on a...closed....racetrack?

Secondly, are there any options of cheap rims which will clear the massive JCW brakes? If the price is right I'd consider just picking up a wheel/tire combo.

Thank you!
Best,
Gene

 

If that's the case, you won't be looking into a true winter tire with a temperature rated compound.
If heavily aggressive on them, you will eat out the tread in your first season.
Sounds like a all-season for colder temps would be your preferred method, unless you're willing to reduce your driving dynamic.

With that said, a true winter tire that are excellent are the Blizzacks; those can tear through a lot of snow.

And, no... I would NOT run a snow tire on a track day; they cannot hold the heat, abuse, and grip compared to other typical tires.

- Erik

 

Best bet is to buy rims and snows, then change them with the forecast. My snows I got used (rims and tires for $200 on craigslist) but they are crap. Torque steer is wicked, handling bad, really they suck at everything but snow (and rain).

If you get a good jack, one can change the tires in less than 10 mins.

Other than that, you have to sacrifice with tires.

 

Agree with all the others. A dedicated set would be best,...but they have to be 17" to fit over the calipers. Really, tire companies make two types of snow tires. They make the all out, super grip tires. Those tires designed to get through the worst conditions. They perform great in snowy/icey conditions but aren't great on the dry. Think squishy/squirmy etc.

The second are the high performance snows. These sacrifice some snow/ice performance in favor of dry weather performance. They still use a softer compound, but the tread it generally not as deep, fewer sipes and generally a firmer tire on dry pavement.

Since you only have to deal with snow a few times each year, this would probably be a reasonable compromise. As mentioned above, you wouldn't take these to the track but they feel more like a normal summer tire.

Dunlop 3D is a reasonable compromise. The Blizzak WS is a great all-out snow tire.

Good Luck
Rich

 

Great. So don't get the full on snows...but high perf winter tires.

bluefox280...I didn't actually mean track driving on winter tires. :p

I agree that a wheel/tire combo is the best way to go. I have no problem changing them out myself.

When looking for rims...is there any other detail other than 17" I need to look for to clear the calipers? Any sort of width requirement?

Thank you!!
-Gene

 

Unfortunately, you don't have many choices. The 4 x 100 bolt pattern combined with 17" diameter is pretty restrictive. Tire Rack will have a couple of packages you could check out. I think you'll be stuck with a pretty cheap wheel, 17 x 7, but then,..it is just a winter setup.

Both my front wheels were bent, so I slapped some winter tires on the factory wheels,...and I'll keep those as my dedicated winters,...then between now and springtime, I'll have to find some, hopefully, a nicer, lighter, dedicated summer setup.

Check out Tire Rack.
http://www.tirerack.com/snow/WinterT...=W&search=true

Good Luck.
Rich

 

Hi, Gene! I just try to respond with answers based on the questions at hand.
It's hard to anticipate voice-tone through black-n-white text... ya' know?

Indeed, very simple and easy to adapt to changing weather in an instant, especially here in Colorado.

The offset (if not buying an OEM wheel package) is usually the critical dimension.
The width does come into play, but with a snow tire, you typically want a narrower wheel.

You can easily snag a set of R55/R56/R57/R8 JCW-fit-approved wheels in the market / classifieds for less.
Make sure to confirm fit, because not all OEM 17" wheels fit over the JCW Brembos.

- Erik

 

Thank you Erik!

If you'll notice by my signature image...I'm a bit of a joker.

Thank you for all the help. Now to research classifieds!

 

Gene,

I had the Conti Extreme DWS on my car the entire winter last year. It is not a dedicated winter tire but a high performance all season and I absolutely cannot say enough about these tires. First, they look great on the car. Second, they are pretty cheap. Third, they are great in the rain. Fourth, you know how bad a winter we had last year with the snow and slush, well these tires plowed right through everything as you know I had to be in Greenwich by 9AM every morning and my Mini is my daily driver. I drive my car pretty hard, especially when its dry and these tires handle great. A bit squishy at first but fine after break in. I still have these on and did drive home right in the thick of that freak October storm this year and the only thing I was worried about were the trees and branches falling on my car while others were sliding all over the road. Highly recommend these as a low cost, all year round option.

 

I'm starting to swear by Pirelli Sottozero's. We had a crazy winter last year, I felt like I was driving through 6"+ the entire winter. So far this year's snow fall has been almost nonexistent. In the deep snow, I didn't get stuck a single time, and I never got pulled through the ruts of other cars. In the dry, they almost handle as good as the run flats the car came with.

I have nothing but good things to say about these tires.

 

Sold!

I'm going to shoot you an email about a few other things.

Best,
Gene

 

ignore

 

I got a new set of Pirelli Sotto Zero winter tires for my MCS this year. And they are shockingly good in the dry and in the rain. They are at least as good as the stock Continental all-seasons in the dry. I have not had any snow to try them on yet though...

Mine are 205/55/16s I put on an old set of used r53 16x6.5 wheels.

 

Phanta,

I have the Blizzak WS on my Subie Legacy GT, my dedicated snow/ice on the ground car. The car is unstoppable in true winter conditions. But IMO the WS are too soft for your described winter dry weather driving. I would go with the Blizzak LM series since they are designed to be more of a high performance winter tire.

 

A bit of an old thread. But I thought I'd say this is great to read. I just had those ordered for me and I'm going to have those put on my JCW in two days.

I need to go up to Stowe VT next week and was debating if I could make the trip w/my summer sport Dunlops. I haven't been out to my house on LI since the 30" snow storm a few weeks ago. The inability for me to pull-in to my driveway -- getting stuck for an hour and a half with 3 wheels in after midnight and unable to pull forward or back to rock the car until I dug it out and put floor mats from my house under the front tires -- clinched it.