Winter Tyres Dilemma: Seeking Advice on Taycan Wheels

[peterjames]

Hi everyone, I'm new here and not very knowledgeable about cars.

Yesterday, I was considering buying a Taycan, but I decided against it due to a concern about the wheels. The Porsche dealership couldn't provide me with a satisfactory answer, so I'm hoping one of you knowledgeable folks might have some insights.

The Taycan saloon comes with 21-inch wheels fitted with summer tyres. My concern was whether it would be okay to drive with summer tyres during the winter. The dealership claimed it's fine, and most people do it, but after conducting some research, I found strong recommendations against it.

Some individuals have mentioned the need to switch to winter tyres in cold weather. Some said you need to change the wheels. However, I was told by Porsche that they don't sell winter tyres for 21 inch wheels. Is this accurate, as it seems quite unusual?

I've attached an image of the research I found, which strongly advises against driving with summer tyres in the winter. It appears that when the temperature drops below 7 degrees Celsius, changing the tyres is recommended.

Thanks

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[Murph7355]

You can drive on summer tyres in winter, but the grip does diminish. Quite markedly as you get close to and lower than zero. As long as you drive sensibly, it's perfectly doable.

Porsche don't do an NF0 rated winter tyre in 21" yet. And the 20" ones they have don't rate that highly in the tyre reviews I've read.

I'm still umming and arring on winter wheels and what to buy. I'd rather get 21" wheels....but even non-NF0 rated good ones are very expensive (have been looking at Michelin Alpin 5s).

I've seen some non-Porsche 20" wheels that look good (I'm not keen on any of the Porsche ones), and some on here have fitted Michelin Alpin PA4s, which are N0 rated (Porsche rated, not specific model like the NF rating, which is specifically Taycan). But those tyres are running out in Europe and also not cheap.

Being very cynical I think "manufacturer specific" versions of tyres are more down to the backshish the manufacturer gets from the tyre maker than anything material in terms of ability to use. There have been *some* exceptions to this, but not that many.

 

[Murph7355]

PS The research you've done applies to any car, not just a Taycan or Porsche.

 

[WuffvonTrips]

Welcome Peter!
There are no Porsche-approved winter tyres for 21" wheels.
I bet that in the UK, only a minority of Taycans (including those owned/operated/loaned by Porsche) switch to winter tyres.
I don't think that winter tyres are a common insurance requirement.
Summer tyres, especially high performance ones such as for the Taycan, definitely perform worse in typical winter conditions.
I've only invested in a set of winters this winter- I've rarely experienced conditions in UK that made me think summer tyres inadequate (including on my Taycan last winter), but I thought why am I compromising the potential performance of this car. My car came with 20" wheels, I bought a Porsche Tequipment winter tyre and 20" wheel set (at Porsche premium price of course!) and pay my local Porsche Centre to store the set I'm not using.

 

[peterjames]

Thank you for the replies; they have been most helpful.

 

[The Riddler]

You can drive on summer tyres in winter, but the grip does diminish. Quite markedly as you get close to and lower than zero. As long as you drive sensibly, it's perfectly doable.

Porsche don't do an NF0 rated winter tyre in 21" yet. And the 20" ones they have don't rate that highly in the tyre reviews I've read.

I'm still umming and arring on winter wheels and what to buy. I'd rather get 21" wheels....but even non-NF0 rated good ones are very expensive (have been looking at Michelin Alpin 5s).

I've seen some non-Porsche 20" wheels that look good (I'm not keen on any of the Porsche ones), and some on here have fitted Michelin Alpin PA4s, which are N0 rated (Porsche rated, not specific model like the NF rating, which is specifically Taycan). But those tyres are running out in Europe and also not cheap.

Being very cynical I think "manufacturer specific" versions of tyres are more down to the backshish the manufacturer gets from the tyre maker than anything material in terms of ability to use. There have been *some* exceptions to this, but not that many.

Baksheesh... havent heard that word for a looong time...!

 

[Ross]

This is the same with any car as said above. Not a Taycan thing.

Have you understood being told it is fitted with ‘Summer Tyres’ you think they are a special tyre for summer?

‘Summer Tyres’ in UK are tyres previously known as ‘Tyres’

99% of cars drive around on (summer) ‘Tyres’ all year round in UK.

In many other countries winter tyres are mandatory in winter.

In UK there is no legal requirement.
Winter tyres are fitted by a small number of keen drivers and car enthusiasts, (in UK), often people who post on forums!

The Taycan is just as safe or unsafe as any car on ‘normal’/‘summer’ tyres.

Winter tyres are only better generally below 7 centigrade and of course much better in snow or ice.
Essentially the safety is in reduced braking distance with some handling chucked in.

I have winter tyres on my Audi but not on my Taycan with 21inch wheels.
I don’t take the Taycan out if there is bad snow and ice. Only one day this winter (so far) even in the North of England.
The Audi cruised past people slipping, sliding and skidding in the snow.
The Taycan would have been a right handful.
I am ok 99% of the time but I drive very carefully if it’s very cold and it’s not as safe however carefully you drive.

Buy the car AND a set of winter wheels and tyres from Porsche for £4K and swap over every 6 months. If it dumps 6 inches of snow you will still get stuck cos no one else is on winters!

 

[WedmoreBlue]

Hi everyone, I'm new here and not very knowledgeable about cars.

Yesterday, I was considering buying a Taycan, but I decided against it due to a concern about the wheels. The Porsche dealership couldn't provide me with a satisfactory answer, so I'm hoping one of you knowledgeable folks might have some insights.

The Taycan saloon comes with 21-inch wheels fitted with summer tyres. My concern was whether it would be okay to drive with summer tyres during the winter. The dealership claimed it's fine, and most people do it, but after conducting some research, I found strong recommendations against it.

Some individuals have mentioned the need to switch to winter tyres in cold weather. Some said you need to change the wheels. However, I was told by Porsche that they don't sell winter tyres for 21 inch wheels. Is this accurate, as it seems quite unusual?

I've attached an image of the research I found, which strongly advises against driving with summer tyres in the winter. It appears that when the temperature drops below 7 degrees Celsius, changing the tyres is recommended.

Thanks

Hi Peter, I was in a similar position to you in terms of car knowledge and, most especially, tyre knowledge where I found terms such as 'NFO' & the like highly technical!

I owned a 2021 Taycan saloon that had 20" Aero wheels on Michelin tyres as fitted from the factory. During the two winters I owned it, there were no problems with the wheels or tyres & I covered a total of 18,000 miles.

This autumn I purchased a 2023 Sport Turismo & I really liked the aesthetic of the 21" RS wheels which were fitted with Pirelli tyres. Within a month, with the winter fast approaching, I was experiencing chronic "Ackermann Effect" (look it up - most Porsche's/sports cars with wide tyres suffering from a 'scrubbing' sound while manoeuvring at slow speeds in cold weather) & decided I had to do something about it.

I did a lot of research and decided, for me, the best option was to buy a set of winter tyres (and to avoid Pirelli's as they seem to be the worst regarding this specific problem!). That was when the real fun started ... I found that there's very few winter tyres to chose from and even less when checking actual availability. As my plan is to keep this car for the foreseeable I decided to buy a second set of wheels & opted for 19's as I read these would greatly reduce the Ackermann Effect. I purchased a refurbished set for £1,000 from a highly rated alloy wheel dealer on eBay as I saw no reason to pay OPC prices. I sourced the tyres separately and ideally wanted Michelins but there were none to be had. I 'gambled' on Hankook iON ev Sound Absorber tyres because they were a newly introduced high-performance winter tyre and were EV- specific. The only availability I could find was via Germany but they were shipped quickly & efficiently & I received them in under a week.

The car is transformed - the car is quieter, smoother, and feels quicker. There is no scrubbing of the tyres and the car feels so much more 'planted'. A side-effect that I hadn't given much thought to is that range has noticeably increased from c.220 miles on the 21's with Pirelli's to 240 (&, seemingly, still improving during the 1,000 miles of covered so far) on the 19's with Hankook's. The only negative is the aesthetics - the 19's just don't compare visually to the RS 21's but, of course, I don't see the wheels when I'm driving it!

I'd estimate that the total cost to include shipping, fitting, balancing, tyre pressure monitoring sensors, etc has been under £2,500 and I regard this as excellent value, especially for the improvements I've achieved.

As an extra observation, I've watched a video doing a deep-dive on the Taycan II that's just been announced and I noticed that the car had Hankook iON evo tyres fitted which, unlike my winter version, sported the NFO label so it looks like the Hankook's could be being preferred by Porsche going forward.

I'm not looking forward to putting the summer wheels back on the car in all honesty. I fact, I suspect I'll bite the bullet, ditch the Pirelli's and fit a summer set of Hankook iON evo's as the winters have been that good!

Good luck with the purchase and whatever you decide to do wheel & tyre-wise; the Taycan is a superb car, although not without its imperfections as I'm sure you will have read!

 

[peterjames]

Thanks for your response. Initially, I had planned to purchase a Taycan as a company car a few days ago. It was an ex-demo model with a reduced price, only 50 miles on the odometer, full extras, and qualified for a 100% capital allowance. However, I'm reluctant to deal with the hassle of changing the tyres/wheels. While I understand now that this is the norm with sports cars, it was something I wasn't aware of, prompting me to reconsider.

Over the past couple of weeks, I've dedicated my time to thorough research regarding EVs. So much to consider when buying one. Each time I come close to making a purchase, new information surfaces and puts me in a checkmate position. It feels like an ongoing game of chess with EVs, and unfortunately, I seem to be losing each time.

In my opinion, the Taycan is the nicest-looking EV. Most others look like melted plastic bottles with hubcaps.

 

[f1eng]

Some individuals have mentioned the need to switch to winter tyres in cold weather. Some said you need to change the wheels. However, I was told by Porsche that they don't sell winter tyres for 21 inch wheels. Is this accurate, as it seems quite unusual?

Back when I first was buying cars there was no such thing as winter and summer tyres and cars came on all-seasons, which have smaller tread blocks and sipes for drainage.
I am not sure when the summer tyre things started being supplied, probably when people started being obsessed with tyre life and a harder rubber with no sipes would last longer and be sharper handling.
The problem was that these new types of tyre have less grip on cold wet tarmac and are much worse on snow.
Nobody told the UK buying public though…

I learned about winter tyres when working abroad over 30 years ago and they are so much safer in snowy conditions I have bought them for my cars ever since.

It is a fairly expensive precaution though and in the south of England the weather is rarely snowy enough to make them a must have but if you do the main problem you have is hoards of Brits on the wrong tyres blocking the road anyway, so safe but frustrating.

I bought a new set of wheels with 20” winters from my Porsche dealer since there aren’t any recommended 21s and in any case narrower tyres are better on snow (look at rally tyres) and have them on now and will re-fit my 21” wheels with summer tyres when it gets consistently warmer.

On a less sporty car I would probably go for all seasons nowadays, they do tend to wear quicker and have higher rolling resistance but they are much better than summer tyres when cold and wet, though less sharp handling in warm and dry so I wouldn’t do it to my Taycan.

 

[simcity]

was experiencing chronic "Ackermann Effect" (look it up - most Porsche's/sports cars with wide tyres suffering from a 'scrubbing' sound while manoeuvring at slow speeds in cold weather) & decided I had to do something about it.

I did a lot of research and decided, for me, the best option was to buy a set of winter tyres (and to avoid Pirelli's as they seem to be the worst regarding this specific problem!).

Yes Ackermann effect is pretty appalling on Spyder 21-inch wheels shod with Pirelli Pzero summer tyres from factory - when it gets properly cold! I can vouch for that!!

I have the 20-inch Turbo Aero (matt black) wheels with Pzero Winter rubber fitted and they are a dream in the colder months. I bought these as a drop-in “winter wheel and tyre pack” replacement from Porsche Chester not long after I bought the car.

They are transformative in winter. It doesn’t worry me we don’t get regular snow - the rubber just performs better in the cold wet gloomy winter conditions than pure summer tyres. There’s no getting around that.

The best “all season” rubber as far as I’m concerned at the moment readily available in UK / Europe is Michelin CrossClimate 2 (in extra load guise). I’ve run several EVs with that rubber.

However…I definielty wouldn’t put “UK/Euro” spec all season tyres on a car like a Taycan though. It willl be fine in winter but squirm and dance like a wench in the warmer summer months. Maybe it could pass muster on a base RWD but you’d be absolutely crackers fitting this sort of rubber in summer to a Turbo or Turbo S.

I’m also of the firm opinion that 21” wheels / rubber is a rubbish combo in the UK winter months - too little sidewall / too little flex - rigid like wood when it gets too cold. Put 20’s on with a bit more fat in the wall height and get a way better tyre that will cope with conditions and also our terrible third world potholed roads.

 

[peterjames]

I'm considering giving it another try next week. I'll pose the question and act disappointed, hoping that the dealership might throw in some winter wheels for free or knock down the price. I'm skeptical, but it's worth a shot .

One thing I've observed is that Porsche sells all-season 21-inch wheels in the US, but not in the UK.

 

[W1NGE]

Hi everyone, I'm new here and not very knowledgeable about cars.

Yesterday, I was considering buying a Taycan, but I decided against it due to a concern about the wheels. The Porsche dealership couldn't provide me with a satisfactory answer, so I'm hoping one of you knowledgeable folks might have some insights.

The Taycan saloon comes with 21-inch wheels fitted with summer tyres. My concern was whether it would be okay to drive with summer tyres during the winter. The dealership claimed it's fine, and most people do it, but after conducting some research, I found strong recommendations against it.

Some individuals have mentioned the need to switch to winter tyres in cold weather. Some said you need to change the wheels. However, I was told by Porsche that they don't sell winter tyres for 21 inch wheels. Is this accurate, as it seems quite unusual?

I've attached an image of the research I found, which strongly advises against driving with summer tyres in the winter. It appears that when the temperature drops below 7 degrees Celsius, changing the tyres is recommended.

Thanks

20" is the max size currently for the Taycan (go to Porsche Tequipment website) for a look. 21" I think are becoming available.

I've never had snow tyres or wheels on any of my Porsches BUT it is the right thing to do.

20" or 21" all season / summer tyres have worked exceptionally well for me but I don't make a point of driving in the snow or ice. The Taycan because of it's mass 2.3T and the fact that most braking is via the motors and not the discs there is less opportunity for lockups and loss of control. You'd have to be doing something rather stupid for that to happen.

If you can store the wheel sets and don't mind the seasonal changeover then it would be a wise investment - not just for snow but when the ambient is low enough to warrant it.

Most folk don't bother - not mandated by law, inconvenient, expensive, relatively short term requirement, storage etc.

As a rule of thumb if the weather is that bad stay at home.

 

[satchurator]

Even in a moderate climate like the UK with rare snow, I would not want to be emergency braking on summer tires at 0°C ambient. Consider safety before performance.

If you want to stick to NF0, go like @f1eng and order the car on 21" summers and buy a separate 20" wheel set with winter tires. It's not too inconvenient swapping them a couple of times a year.

 

[alexsas]

Thanks for your response. Initially, I had planned to purchase a Taycan as a company car a few days ago. It was an ex-demo model with a reduced price, only 50 miles on the odometer, full extras, and qualified for a 100% capital allowance. .

hi Peter, it’s very unlikely to qualify for a 100% allowance in the first year as it was pre-registered. It’s probably VAT qualifying, but most businesses can’t claim that VAT. It’s not the end of the world, you can still claim 19% allowance every year, just not 100% immediately..

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