If you regularly put the baby to sleep in the garage for the winter you may be missing the best engine performance of the year.

It was a balmy 13 degrees in the neighborhood and the oil temp did not hit 163 F until I traveled over 10 miles which was the on ramp to a limited access highway. I went WOT and wow! It was not until I entered warp 2 that I remembered that cold dense winter air mixed with fuel yields lots more power than warm summer air. It was amazing.

Try taking the baby for ride in the cold.

 

I drive it every day in the Chicago area, love the Michelin Alpins...

 

Yup. 4wheel drive & Sotto zeros in Canada make for a nice DD , even though it's a cabrio.

 

RWD, Alpins....will inside most of the winter.....the first one anyway. Dry days only for me. SQ5 loves the weather.

 

Glad to see I am not alone. Our cars were meant to be driven.

 

Alright! This makes me want to get winter tires. The car is a garage queen but I take it out for short rides occasionally. 4s cab as well. How different is the ride and traction with winter tires. Really. Or can I get by on summer tires

 

When the temperature is under 45° the rubber of summer tires is harder, so traction is not as good . You can get by driving on light snow ( a few inches) but the stopping distance is considerably longer than with winter tires , and going on curves is less sure footed and possibly scary. Certainly the four-wheel drive and engine in the back gives you great traction while accelerating .
If you're going to keep the car for a while, then having a second set of rims w/ tires gives the car another look (providing of course you choose a different looking set of rims) , plus the tires last longer if they're only used half the time.
Of course the hassle is the initial purchase expense, then twice a year having a shop flip the tires -- Plus getting them to the shop with another vehicle and picking them up afterwards !

 

I wouldnt drive it on dry roads at all on summer tires. Driving on any snow on summer tires is a waste of time and youre asking for trouble. Virtually zero traction. I did an early change over to summers a few years ago and got caught in snow. Car barely moved. Stopping distance on dry is huge compared to winters.

 

I got mine at Costco , cheaper than tire rack and for 40 bucks every year they swap them back-and-forth with nitrogen and insurance on the winter tires. It's a hassle for a couple of hours twice a year but it's completely worth it.

Don't ever drive in the winter on summer tires the car will not stop and can surprise you on the areas where the road is clear. The tires become hard and lose traction and breaking power. Being flat all around , I don't really need the C4.

Remember that these cars are built for the German cold on the black forest with up-and-down's and very nice curves that they keep driving by in the winter. Germans don't often have winter cars like we do here. And if I'm not mistaken now it's mandatory to use winter tires from November to March there, so P-cars are just fine with winter tires. Check their winter drive camp, very cool.

One more thing, maybe it's my inherited dislike of the P-zeros, but I think the alpins are better than they are on intermediate temperature, around 45 Fahrenheit. Soon as I have a chance the summer tires will be Michelin as well (although no N series exist yet for my car)

 

A few months after I purchased the car I invested in a set of 19 inch porsche wheels and Pirelli Sottozero II tires. My dealer stores the set not in use and charges $100 to balance and swap the wheel sets.

The tires have provided 5 years of service and still have good tread. I change them out November and in April.

 

Alpins on original 20" wheels and HRE P101 being built for the summer with original rubber. Can't wait.

 

Just had these installed. Haven't had a chance to test them out. Pick up the car this week.

 

19" OZ wheels with Sottozeros and it's my DD here in Cleveland. Love the exhaust in the cold weather