To all:

I have an 07 Cayman with the stock 17inch Cayman Wheels and Michelins and I would like to buy a set of winter tires. I plan on mounting these tires on another set of the same wheels. I like the OEM look. Here is my dilemma.

From what I have read and been told, Winter tires perform better in the snow/ice the narrower they are. Wide is bad because of the surface area and weight distrubution onto the snow/ice. You want to have as much weight concentrated on the smallest amount of space. The P Cars (not cayanne) typically have the staggered setup where the front wheels are narrower than the rear. In my case I have 17X6.5 in the front and 17X8 in the rear. The question is - Do I need to have 8 inch wheels in the rear? I understand for performance on dry/track it is better but I dont really care about that in the winter. Will the offset of a 6 inch wheel fit in the rear?

My dealer has said no but with some hestitation. Tirerack seems to think the same thing and is saying to go with the same OEM specs. They are also recommending the Porsche OEM Winter Tires - Continental.

I actually want to go with Nokian www.nokiantyres.com since I have past experience with them and they are best IMO. Nokian recommends all 4 tires be the same width.

What to you guys think? Any past expereince?

Do a search on winter tires on this website. There's more info than you can possibly use.

I looked at the other posts but no where is the topic of staggered setup mentioned. Thats why I ask.

If you look down into some of the threads, this actually has been discussed quite a lot - including the staggered set up/or not - you'll have to dig a little deeper.

I know you say you like those tires but you really should do what all those people (the dealer, Porsche and TireRack) are trying very politely to tell you - go with the OEM set up - Porsche (which happens to be in Germany where it does snow just a bit in the wintertime) does an enormous amount of testing for both summer and winter tires - you should do what they say... really.

Lo and behold! Look what I found: 255/40 vs. 265/40 rear winter tires

brad

I concur go with the Tire Rack advice and be sure to order them through the Cayman upgrade garage via our home page or call Jim directly and tell him you are coming from here.

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K-Man S

I've got a Cayman 2.7 with 18" S wheels and I've fitted Michelin Pilot Sport Alpins in the stock sizes (235/40 front and 254/40 rear). Although the snow we've had so far here in Northern VA has been light, there have been several days below freezing. Great tires and I've had no problems whatsoever. Make sure you select a tire with the "N" designation which means that Porsche says all the sensor and such will work with that tire.

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C.G.Mojo

i say order from tire rack and support the site, i would go with the oem specs just to be safe but is it really going to make that big of a diffrence?

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HP is irrelevant

I'm also a big fan of TR...they haven't steered me wrong yet. They set me up with Pirelli Winter 210 SnowSports (205/50/17 and 235/55/17) which I fitted to the OEM rims. Our driveway is long and a bit steep in some sections, but so far not a problem at all. We're in MA, in a bit of a snow belt (ski area a mile away), not much this year, but some. Meanwhile on dry and wet roads they're brilliant...much nicer than Blizzaks. We use those on the 330i to go skiing in northern NH every weekend, giving up some ride/noise quality for amazing grip in deep snow. The 210s are a nice compromise so far.

[/b][/b][/b]I know it was discussed about Tire Rack getting together a list of different combinations that would be applicable to Caymans, but I haven't seen it.

I'm looking into getting a set of 17"x7.5" wheels originally off a Cayenne. The offset is 53mm.

My question is what am I looking at for adapters front? and rear?

Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.

the word I got for winter tires is that Porsche is very specific about rim size, max 18" and specifies an "N" rated tire. I was told by the dealer and the owners manual that violation of this has an affect on the warranty?

Have Michelin Alpins and they have really done the job in snow. The regular street tire that came with the car is a conti 19" with carrera rims. Too bad it not the michelin sport.

We do have wheels and tires to fit but the Cayenne wheels do not work. I would look to the Boxter first if you wanted OE Porsche wheels.

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Jim Holloman | Sales Specialist
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The Tire Rack
7101 Vorden Parkway
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jim@tirerack.com

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