Hello -- new to forum and just received build confirmation on a '15 GTS that will become my wife's primary driver and share our garage with my '86 targa daily driver (I'm keeping her prior car, an '04 touareg as an alternative to my 911 for bad weather duty).

Ordered the GTS with 20" turbo design wheels (and summer tires).

Living in Denver, winter tires are a must, so on to my question -- which way should I go?

1) swap between snows and summer tires on 20" wheels (and keep an eye out for a second set of 20" takeoff wheels in the future?), or

2) pick up a set of 19" wheels (likely panamera classics, as we like how these look) -- Am not getting ceramic brakes, so 19" is an option for me

Looks like both sizes are the same width, so trying to determine whether there's a real advantage to 19" snows over 20" snows. Plan on using the car to head up to the mountains for ski trips and to drive around the city's sometimes snow-covered roads, but can still use the touareg (with nokian wr-g2 winter tires) for really bad days.

GTS is scheduled for thanksgiving+ delivery, trying to get my ducks in a row. Also interested in thoughts on which winter tires to use -- love the nokians (also run them on my 911), but they aren't sized for the panamera.

Thx!

 

Yowza, that's a lotta RWD car for the winter. I don't blame you for getting tires figured out early.

Our PSeH was ordered with the option 20" A/S Pirelli Cinturato P7. The car is only two months old, so no winter experience, but they do feel biased toward warm/wet rather than cold performance.

I'm a big fan of Nokian, too. We always have a set or two around here for the winter vehicles. No dice on the sizing.

On my E63, I'm running the Pirelli Sotto II. Which I would consider to be a "winter" tire rather than a true snow. But they performed very well last winter. No issues with up to 6-9" (AWD vehicle, tho). So they seem like a possibility, rather than doing the huge compromise of an All Season. I'm not a fan of Pirelli after having a bad experience with a set of SUV snow tires, so this eval comes from the viewpoint of a skeptic to the brand.

The Sotto II's are available in stock 19" sizes at 255/45-19 & 285/40-19.

We get a lot of snow here. The average winter is abt 65". We can see up to 100"+ though. The big challenge is that it will melt fast and refreeze. So we can see icy roads, snow packed roads, drifts, and clear roads all on the same trip.

My preference is always to have winter setups on dedicated wheels. No hauling to the tire shop. No damage to the wheels or TPMS. Just pick a day that feels about right and do the swap in your driveway.

If we needed a set of winters for the Panamera, I think I'd shop for a set of 19" takeoffs on Ebay, and go with the Sotto IIs.

Quite a few people are running the 19" Michelin PA4s on the E63, but they're only available in a square setup. Which isn't of interest to me. Looks like they are available in the stock 19" Porsche stagger sizes.

Best of luck.

 

thx ace10 -- fortunately, the GTS is 4wd, so it should be pretty nice for winter driving.

Picked up a set of take-offs for our touareg for a song (had 1k miles on 'em and picked them up for less than the cost of the tires on the wheels) and def. appreciate having wheels.

However, not seeing the panamera classic wheels show up on the secondary market yet, so buying a set of 19" wheels that meet WAF will be $$$ at this point. Perhaps we'll start with 20" snows and replace with 19" wheels/tires after 2 seasons (based on how quickly the touareg went through winter tires, I suspect that's all we'll see from winter tires on this beast)? Looks like the pirelli winter tires are available in both 19 and 20" sizes (along with Continental WinterContact TS830 and Michelin Pilot Alpin PA4) . . . decisions, decisions

 

Oh yeah. Sorry. I get confused on the models, still. To me, the GTS should be RWD.



The older 19" Panamera Turbo wheel isn't too bad looking. Stacks of them on ebay <$1500. Powdercoat them a darker color, and you've got a decent wheel for under $2000.

For my winter wheels, I always look for a cheap and a simple style that will look better in a nice, dark finish.

 

I bought an extra set of used 18" Panamera S wheels off eBay. $600 shipped for all 4. My experience with swapping to/from snow tires is that the energy overhead is huge. Just before I sold my wife's Supra, we swapped the snows for summer tires, and the tire shop took 3 hours (!) before it was done. Snow tires mounted on dedicated rims cut the time on that considerably.

When I was looking around for possible inexpensive aftermarket alternatives, I found that relatively few wheels fit the Panamera. The offsets are much higher than normal. I wanted a set of Victor Equipment LeMans wheels in black/silver, but only the 20" versions fit - the 18" versions of those wheels don't, according to Victor's website.

I didn't see myself running 20" wheels in Winter. I could have bought a set for $1500 from Wheel Warehouse for summer, and put snows on the 18" rims that came with the car, but that meant throwing away the summer tires that came with the car. At which point the net cost rose to $2500 or so, and that just seemed too ridiculous for me.

It's not hard to find used OEM rims in good shape on eBay from tire stores.

 

you have alot of winter experience. I realize it won't look as nice as 20" wheels, but for winter, I have always believed a higher profile tire is better. 18" wheels would be better (and less expensive for both the wheels and tires). Your tire choice is good, but I've had luck with Blizzacks and Michelins, too.

 

JUST A NOTE, The GTS has larger brake rotors than the regular Panamera and the S. You need to check if 18" wheels will fit.

 

Just got a set of winter wheels ordered for my 2014 GTS. I went with the same OEM rims I have on the car now except in matte black. They are the 20" Panamera Sport design freshly removed from a new GTS and powder coated. Awesome deal. Michelin Alpin A4 winter tires were more expensive than the rims. New TPSM too. Looking at aftermarket wheels was sketchy due to the big differences in offset compared to OEM. Should look and drive great. Can't wait to mount the ski rack and break trail to the mountains in true style.

 

Yeah, Panamera offsets are unusually high. I found it difficult to find aftermarket wheels I was sure would fit, some places were saying 18" Victor LeMans rims would fit, even though Victor Equipment's website says they don't. In the end I bought OEM rims off eBay because I knew they'd fit.

 

I do have a set of 19" turbo with M&S listed in the market place. Living in FL I really don't need them. Not sure of the M&S are exactly the same. But the ones I have listed have TPMS and center caps.

Shameless plug anyway

Congrats on the new Panamera. I really love mine. It replaced a 981 Cayman S that replaced a 996 TT before it. My wife's turbo Macan is what sold me to look at them - glad I did. Perfect for our family and fun to drive. - although not sure about in the snow

 

According to the Tire Rack, M&S can mean either all-season or winter tires, depending on the manufacturer. If it doesn't have the mountain / snowflake symbol, it's an all-season tire.

 

Ah I see. The tires on those are Conti ProContact. Yep - tire rack says : "...low noise and a smooth ride while providing all-season versatility and year-round traction, even in light snow."

So light snow. I am now more educated! Thanks!

 

For what it's worth, the Continental ProContact is an all-season tire that the Tire Rack says is pretty good in snow. It's not a winter tire by any means, but it's better in snow that most all-season tires, which are really more focused on dry and wet traction.

 

Indeed sir! I had those on my cayenne s and left them on in winter. They were actually very good. With an AWD panny you will get a similar verdict. My plan is to switch over to summers on the GTS after st. Pattys day.