All Season Wheel/Tire options for C4S?

New C4S owner and boy am I hitting a wall all over the internet trying to find a suitable Wheel and all season Tire combo that is safe for the c4S. Feels like every thread either has tires that aren't made or concerns with the viscous clutch being ruined by the sizing. Is there an easy button or preferred combination available now for those of us in the frozen north who want to run the car all year long? I would be fine with any stock or other vendor supplier ideas for wheels. Is it as easy as just getting a Wheel +Tire combo for a C4 and adding spacers in the back? Not super worried about deep snow, that is what the Macan S's job is.

When I faced this problem with my wife�s BMW, I called Tire Rack, the local dealer, and a local tire shop. They should each give you what you need for a good tire choice. You should be able to get Michelin AS/4 for your car, one of my favorite AS tires. What size wheels and tires are on your car now?

OP - Should you even bother with A/S tires? They only get you an extra few degrees. Through the years many 996 drivers have gotten winter 8” and 10” wheels with Blizzaks (etc) and enjoyed the snow.

I feel your pain. My 03 C4S came with summer tires when I bought it, and I definitely wanted to drive it all year. Finding all seasons is not impossible, but it isn�t as easy as many other cars. In the end, I dis get another set of wheels with dedicated snow tires; now twice each year I get an additional workout as I swap them on/off. In my experience, when you do get some snow on the road, snow tires are vastly better than all season tires. If you can afford it, the snow tires is the way to go (and there are some snow tire options that won�t break the bank, if you don�t turn your nose up at the brand name).

Here is the official document from Porsche regarding winter tire sizes and a very suitable in stock all season tire. You would need a 10" rear rim

Invest in a set of rear winter rims for the 4s, I did after wrongly stretching 265 on the summer 11" rear rims. It looked a little weird but I survived one winter and then found 10" rims and have used them the past 3 winters including this current winter season.

If your getting wheels/tires for the snow, and have summer tires/wheels, well, with a name like "Frozen_Andy" assume you intend to do some extended deep snow driving. Thats cool. Some of the most fun I've had in a Porsche is pushing thru the back/mtn roads in fresh early morning snow going skiing in Vermont/NH/MA. Car was more on the 'Rally Car' set up then the road racer norm. You've got a C4S,,,Go for 4 quality snows on 8 & 10 rims, go at least stock ride height imo, with the biggest snows that will fit. You'll luv it. Have really enjoyed the Blizzacks. What a sweet rally snow car the 996 is. Thing hangs in there impressively well, can push it hard for a ton of smiles... Had some high speed cable type 'snow chains in my Frunk in case needed, then it was like a snow plow... jmho

Keep them skinny. The old farmers had it right. They didn't have time for fooling around. Pizza cutters. Then just laugh at the Fat Tire folks.

There aren't many options for winter tires either. I just put Michelin Pilot Alpin 4 on my TT which has the same tire sizes, using the stock 8" and 10" rims as listed in the Porsche document mentioned above.

I've used these tires, the Continental ExtremeContact DWS 06 Plus, with zero complaints even with snow and ice conditions. Drove from Great Falls Virginia to southwest suburbs of Philly during a nasty winter storm. It snowed/icy rained during the entire trip and along the way saw multiple, multiple cars pulled over to the shoulder and stopped because of conditions and several cars that slid off the road completely. It was about a 150 mile trip and my 1999 911 C4 handled it without a problem. Had traction and control of the car at all times, felt solid as a rock.

All the advice is super helpful. Goal of the car was to allow me to drive all year in a fun car. Leaning now towards dedicated snows. Makes more sense with my temp/frequent snow on roads in WI. Sounds good, where is the best place to get a good 8in/10in setup that I can buy? Is that the stock wheels on a C4?

You will need 18x10 et47. It took me a while to find 2. It's not a stock size on any other 911. I see this online, who knows if they actually have any: https://www.wheelcollision.com/store...05XXSI-911.htm

996.362.140.02, I believe this is the part number

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I have a set of 265s stretched on 11� rear rims right now. It works fine and doesn�t look too bad. Sure, Porsche recommends 10� for this set up, but the tread width remains constant (contact patch unchanged) whether you have a 10� or 11� rim. As others have said, winter tires make a tremendous difference. I drove 400mi on the interstate to Ithaca and back during that mid-December snow storm that went through the northeast. Not an issue for the C4S at all. Others were not so fortunate.

When I was searching, I could not find stock size snow/winter tires (295/30-18) for the rear wheels on my C4S. I ended up going with Blizzaks on a spare set of rims (8" and 10"). 225/40-18 on the front and 255/35-18 on the rear. The 255s are borderline stretched, but do fit on 10" wide rear wheels. The wheel circumference differs by only 0.4% between front to rear, with the rears being very slightly smaller than the fronts. I believe this is ideal for the viscous coupling AWD.

Recommended rears for the 10" rims are 265/35

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Yes but winter tires in that size are non existent. 255 is the widest I've seen available. 255 rim width range is 8.5-10". You have to go with what you can find that's a close enough fit, especially in a winter tire.

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Agreed. There were no 265 width winter tires to be found anywhere! The other potential issue with 265/35 rear tires (even if they did exist) paired with 225/40 fronts is that the rear tire circumference would be 0.8% larger than the front. My understanding is that this isn�t ideal with viscous coupling AWD because then the differential isn�t �primed� to kick in if the rears start to slip. It works best when the rear tire circumference is slightly smaller than the front.

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Huh. I didn�t have this problem when I bought rear winter tires just a couple months ago. I just used this new website I found recently ( www.google.com , check it out, it has really helped me), and I see a few 265/35 18 winter options out there. But possibly I am doing something wrong�.all these electrons are very confusing to me.

I got my Pirelli winter tires back in 2020, didn't realize the 265/35 rears weren't available anymore.

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Lol� true� There is an option from Nokian in 265, but they were out of stock when I was looking. Also, I ended up seeking out either 255/35 or 295/30 rears to have the rears slightly smaller than the fronts for AWD reasons mentioned above.

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Which tire did you get? Probably sold out quickly.

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Looking above this is the Porsche recommendation. Weird they would recommend something out of spec that would hurt the coupling.

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A 0.8% difference seems like that difference wouldn�t even be more than having more worn tires on the front than the rears. Or does Porsche recommend that all 4 tires be replaced at the same time regardless of wear? I just dropped $4100 installed on a 2nd set of BMW rims and winter tires. The wheels are more narrow than what the car came with, the summer set, however, the tires are the same. Question: have you looked into stretching the tire, is that an option?

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20 sec with the google device says the Nokia Hakkepelitta R3 can be delivered to your home in 2-3 days in size 265/35 r18. After driving this tire for two months now, I am pretty pleased with it. Worked great in that snow storm in December.

Blizzaks, 225 and 265s. Bought a set of slightly narrower 993 wheels (18�), put them on, measured how much more offset I wanted, and ordered the spacers. Fabulous in snow.

Wanted to let folks know where I landed on this one. I went with new wheels and got some all seasons. 3mm spacer up front and 10mm spacer in the back + stud conversion kit. 3mm was to clear the caliper and the 10 in back was to make everything flush. Front: 265/35r18 (rear) Rear:235/40/18 I went with Apex wheels, which look great and their customer service was top notch. Specifically SM-10 18x8.5"ET45 front and 18x10"ET36 rear wheels. I was told " this will be a bit more aggressive fitment in the front leading to a good look but 4mm inset when compared to stock on the rear. The tire sizes you mention will work on this wheel setup but I would suggest going up to the 235/40-18 front to get the rolling diameters back in check where the rear tire is about .1" smaller than the front like the car came with."

I run my 265/35r18s on 9 inch rims: If you read this article, https://motoiq.com/how-to-properly-s...r-performance/ You will see that not all 265s are the same. Tire rack actually measures the tread width. The tread width on these PZero AS+ tires is 9 inches. Thus, nine inch rims. AFAIK, most 265s are 9 inches. The outlier is the PS All Season 4, which is listed as 9.6 inches. Yes, I have to run spacers.

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Interesting option. You can get in 225/40/18 and 275/30/18 as well. Max speed seems to be quoted at 118 mph. Why did you choose R3 over R5?

I'm looking to get Michelin Pilot Sport AS 4 225/40 and 265/35 for my Turbo-look 18" wheels. Any additional feedback or issues from those who ran this setup? Also, what are the spacer recommendations front and back? Thanks.

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C4S or Carerra?

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Forgot to specify but C4S per the thread title. Thanks.

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Don't know if this will help you, but i picked up a set of the Michelin AS4s for 8F and 10R 18 inch Carrera 2s. Used 235x40x18 Front and 285x35x18 rear. About a 0.5 bigger diameter in rears over front. I have a 996.2 Carerra. I went with the 235x40 in the front to reduce the rake and to be able to run the 285x35. Tire sizes work well on the wheels and softened the drive quite a bit for the street. I wanted a set of all seasons on my second set of wheels for colder weather and driving around town since my suspension set-up is set for the track. Did a 2000 mile round-trip over Easter weekend from Chicago to Phila and back. They were excellent tires on the street. Glad I got them. However, they provide a "softer" feel with muted inputs which don't make them performance tires to tear up the canyons or to track.

On an awd C4S aren't the front tires supposed to be slightly larger than the rear tires?

Tire Rack should be able to give you the diameters of each.

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Thanks @GC996 . Do you think this is a better setup than 225/40 and 265/35? Will be only for road use and prefer to not have separate tires/wheels for summer and winter.

I run 235/40 and 265/35 for all season on my 4S (although PZero AS+). Tire Rack lists the actual, measured diameters and revolutions per mile. They also measure tread width. For example, in the AS4s: 235 are 8.3 wide, 25.5 in diameter and have 815 RPM 265 are 9.6 wide, 25.5 in diameter and have 816 RPM 285 are 10 wide, 26.0 in diameter and have 801 RPM So, you can decide if getting .4 inch tread width is worth neutering the AWD system.

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Good info. Thanks. Will check this out. Will most likely run 225/40 or 235/40 paired with 265/35.

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So I just double checked with tirerack. Question was which of the two setup is more ideal: 225/40 and 265/35 vs 235/40 and 265/35. The agent initially said that 225/40 was the preferred front size, but when I highlighted the diameter and rpm, he agreed the 235/40 better matches the 265/35 rear. So I'll be going with the same setup you have but with Michelin PS AS4. Thank you! Now i need to research the perfect spacers sizing to get a nice flush look...

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I have run 225/40 and 265/35 in the past with winter tires and the car handled well. After running 235/40 with 285x35 and feeling the effects of so much rubber on the front 8 inch wheels from softness, delayed steering response and more rubber grip leading to more front end bias in steering, I probably would never run 235x40 / 265x35 on my car unless I reworked the suspension to adjust for more rubber up front and less in the rear. Hence my decision to go with 235x40 / 285x35 configuration to get more rubber in the rear for grip to balance out all the additional rubber in the front for the street. It really is a comfortable "softer" street set up. But its not for canyon carving or the track. If money was no object, I would like to try 225x40 / 275x35 in comparison, to feel the difference in handling characteristics. My bet would be a tighter feel with slightly less "softness" on the street. Comes down to what type of ride you are looking for with your "all seasons" and the diameter constraints you have if your car is awd. Just remember that the 996 was set up from the factory to have understeer so the owner isn't able to loose the back end as easily. When you add more rubber up front and take it away from the rear, you will move your bias forward and reduce understeer. Also, the larger you go in diameter with tires, the softer the ride becomes and most likely the less responsive the tires will feel. It's a balancing act for what you want. My preference is a stiff track set up for both the track and street using 225x40 / 285/30 because they work so well and I enjoy the "go-cart" handling of my car using those sizes. But to be able to run a set of "all-seasons" I had to rethink application given size constraints. Good luck with it. Let us know what you decide.

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Thanks for all these info. I already ordered the 235/40 and 265/35 combo. I will be doing a suspension refresh as well soon so I'll make sure to note the forward bias you mentioned. I went from new 992 C2S and 992 GT3 Touring to a 2002 996 4S. I feel like I'm getting more excited thinking about all the projects I could do on this old car.

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You had some great cars. You are going to have a blast with the 996 and its analog feel. It's a fun and rewarding car to enhance the way you want it and to drive. After 22 years it's hard to imagine not having mine.

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If you are going to get a set of coilovers, you can easily adjust the settings to alter the bias and compensate for tire characteristics. It may end up being a wash on the C4S because of having more understeer than the C2, or just one or two clicks away on a set of coilovers. You will be in good shape. After 22 years of driving mine, I feel the effects of any change. I drove to Phila from Chicago over Easter in my 996 with the new Michellin AS4s and spent the first 4 hours dialing in the proper air pressures to get the characteristics i wanted. Believe it or not it was alot of fun.

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Can you show us how the 235/40R18 and 285/35R18 AS4s fit on your C4s? What are your camber settings? EDIT: I wish my brain actually worked. It thought you said 235/45 and clearly you didn't.

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Sure, I'll get a couple of pictures this evening. I am running GT3 specs with -1.5 front and -2 rear. With the 235x40 and 285x35 I originally ran it for a couple of days with 15mm spacers and went to 12mm for the phila trip. I heard some rubbing with 15mm in the front and didn't really look into it and just swapped the spacers before the drive. I may be able to run 15mm the whole way around because I think the rubbing is coming from the rubber/plastic piece in front of the front wheels. I will probably put some Chalk on it to identify where and then use a heat gun to push it back. It does look great w 15mm spacers. Add: Quick note, I have a C2 not a C4.

Here are the pictures of the Michelin AS4 235x40x18 and 285x35x18 on my 2002 C2. 12mm spacers, GT3 spec set up. Probably can run 15mm with them. Just didn't want to mess with any potential rubbing on my round-trip to phila so I put the 12mm on. The tires look good on the car. Haven't washed it since the trip, so it's a little dirty.

Looks good GC996,,, 35 is the way to go. Great offset Looks beefy with enough rubber to soak up some of those northern potholes. low enough to toss around confidently on the street.

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Thanks allcool. I am pretty impressed with the Michelin AS4 on the street. No doubt I can get them dialed in further if I want to change my coilover and swaybar settings to adjust for the wider tires and grip in the front. But I doubt I will. Did it years ago when I first put on the coilovers, sway bars and drop links and after adjusting it 1x after a track day back to a street setting I learned to live with a stiff ride on the street and the enjoyment of crisp turn in around town. Nobody beats me to a parking spot at the grocery store.

So after purchasing the 235/40 and 265/35 Michelin AS4s I was informed by the installer (my Porsche dealer) that the 265s were too narrow. If the tires were damaged while getting mounted I may not get my money back but I told them there is aTR agent that signed off the size so an investigation is in progress. Anyway, tried to see what rear size TR would recommend next but this time they won't commit and told me it's up to me to pick the size and I should assume responsibility. @GC996, I think my only option is 285/35 for the rears. Or should it be 285/30? Don't worry, I'll own this decision but would like to triple check your experience on this. Thanks again!

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Unfortunately they don't come in the 285x30. If I remember correctly, the MAS4s come in 275x35 as well as 285x35. I believe the 275x35 may give you the same diameter as the 235x40. The 285x35 are about 0.5 inches taller than the 235x40. Best to check on tire rack for the stats. I am just going by memory which may be off. Looking fwd to hearing about what you decide.

One more thing to think about. Choose the tire rack installer carefully. Firestone, discount tire, and many others are not all set up to handle our wheels and varying tire configurations. I usually have all the tires I buy from tire rack shipped to my Indy for installation. But I made the mistake being short of time approaching a track day to have a set of Bridgestone RE71RSs shipped to the mobile installer to put on in my driveway. They didn't have the equipment to get the very stiff set of 225x40x18 and 285x30x18 tires sealed on the wheel. They even took them to a few tire installation partners amd they couple get it done. Luckily my indy said bring them over and they did all 4 pretty easily. Point is that non-oem sizes or very stiff tires create a panic for many installers and they just say no. But you don't know that until after the fact and it can be a real PITA.

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Thanks again.I reviewed the TR specs for Michelin AS4. Looks like the 275/35 is the better match for 235/40. I should have checked the rim width range before placing the order. Can see now that the 265 is half an inch too short. FRONT 225x40x18, 8� rim width range, 7.7� tread width, 25.2� diameter, 825 revs per mile (preferred per TR) or 235x40x18, 8�-9.5� rim width range, 8.3� tread width, 25.5� diameter, 815 revs per mile REAR 265x35x18, 9�-10.5� rim width range, 9.6� tread width, 25.5� diameter, 816 revs per mile or 275x35x18, 9�-11� rim width range, 9.6� tread width, 25.5� diameter, 816 revs per mile or 285x35x18, 9.5�-11� rim width range, 10� tread width, 26� diameter, 801 revs per mile

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I am having my Porsche dealer do it along with a few other repairs.

I am a new c4s owner and I am running into the same issue that started this tread. Has anyone tried moving up to 19” wheels. I am looking at 225/35-19 fronts and 255/30-19 rears. Thoughts?

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The problem with your chart is the rear wheels at 10" wide. Stock P-Wheels are 11" wide in rear. In viewing 80%-90%? of tires for 11" rim, all are straight tread looking with 3- 5 (thereabouts) 3/4" grooves going around the tire. All Season and Snow Tires and diagonal smaller grooves and "Sipes" in them. The "Sipes" are knife-thin cuts in diagonals and these help a tire grip better in rain, and then some snow. Of course you can avoid this problem if you get 10J x 18 rims with standard 8J x 18 rims for All Season or Snow Tires. I do not want to bother changing tire/rims 2 times a year and also storing them in limited garage space. Noticing that tire ships store tires vertical and not stacked up on one another means floor-space or some hefty shelf system. I don't have that space, and S.O. does not think they are ornamental accent pieces on the loft/library. I just received some Falken Azenis FK510s that fit 11" rims. Size: 295/30R-18. They have 3 radial big grooves and angles blocks plus Sipes. I am hoping these do well in (as advertised) in rain and light snow. There are other brands besides the Big Guys, and I really wanted the Conti DWS06 or the "Plus" version. No Deal. Try Priority Tire, Tires-Easy, or other shops. Maybe a compromise is the only way out because the kicker is tire size - a "30" height, not a "35" height (for 18" Wheels) in the rear tire. Front tires Must be larger (less revs/mile) than rear tires for the AWD to work correctly. The fronts are easy to find. I have no idea what happens if you get the sizes backwards. Knowing Porsche engineers, it may not be a good thing. YMMV

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Many folks do put 19"s on 996. Suspension wasn't designed for 19"s, but people do it. Affects? IDK. Do your homework on ETs for 19" rims. ALSO, make sure you get the diameters correct if you have a C4 or C4S. JMO. YMMV

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You'll bend wheels with sidewalls that thin. There's nothing wrong with 19" wheels if the dampers aren't too harsh but if you're going to upsize, may as well get bigger tires. The larger rolling diameter helps with bumps, more sidewall helps with bumps, the only thing you're harming is raw forward acceleration and it's not noticeable without timing it. I would suggest 245/35 and 285/30. Very close rolling diameters for the C4S, not too big in the wheel well (I only rub the liners a bit at full lock), takes up the fender gap visually without actually reducing bump travel.