Planet 9

TheHueg · #1 06-14-2009, 05:30 AM

I'm contemplating the purchase of a 2008 Cayman. Is it OK to use winter tires on the original rims or must I buy new wheels, too? With the tire pressure monitoring system, this gets almost twice as expensive. I know, if you can buy a Porsche, why not spend the money. Any helpful advice on using the OEM rims with both winter and summer tires would be appreciated.

**KS-CS** · #2 06-14-2009, 07:37 AM

Sure, you can swap out just the tires in winter if you want. I have my winter tires on my OEM rims. The problem with your plan is you would need another large vehicle to deliver one set of tires to your tire installer, in addition to driving in your Cayman.

Some of us just want the convenience of being able to swap tires on the car, without having to take it to a shop to have the tires swapped on the rims; many just buy a second set of used, or OEM take-offs from someone for this purpose.

**jake** · #3 06-14-2009, 10:56 AM

Swapping winter and summer tires on the same rims adds up to money, too, so the savings over buying a dedicated set of winter wheels diminishes over time. Also, every time you mount and dismount tires, you run the risk of the installer scuffing or scratching your rims, depending on their skill. I decided to go with a separate set of winter wheels for my Cayman and have no regrets.

**KS-CS** · #4 06-14-2009, 11:15 AM

Originally Posted by jake

Swapping winter and summer tires on the same rims adds up to money, too, so the savings over buying a dedicated set of winter wheels diminishes over time. . .

Good point - it costs me nearly $200 to dismount/remount and balance a different set of tires - that would be nearly $400 just to switch to winters and back to summers in 1 season.

**jim@tirerack** · #5 06-18-2009, 11:09 AM

Over the course of 3 winter tires it would probably pay for the set of wheels. Plus with a separate set of wheels you can go down to the 17" and get narrower tires that will cost less and work better.
If I can help let me know.