I'm going to Germany soon and am going to pick up the winter tires there (the dif is CHF350).
Anyone did that before? I mean can they stop you at the border and make you pay taxes and all? In this case maybe it's better to ask the seller for tax-free or something?

I drive around on winter tires all year round. The philosophy is:

- they wear quicker than summer tires in summer but this still costs less than swapping tires two times a year
- because tires wear faster in general I have 'fresher' rubber (previous car, 10000km a year, in the end I had 2 sets of tires both 6 yrs old)
- in general just less hassle (no going to garage twice a year, no pile of tires to store)

I'd definately be interested in finding out the price for some PZero Corsas

isn't having the wrong tyres on some sort of offence here? just what I have been told, crash and you're in trouble

In the winter on summer tires: yes, but the other way around, I don't know

You should know that winter tyres have longer stopping distances when used in the summer. See the attached. They are actually quite dangerous when used in the summer as the stopping distances are considerably longer.

Îf you consider the increase in stopping disctance, I have no doubt that the Police would report that the accident was avoidable or made worse due to the tyres.

Just a thought.

Hi Ian,

I have a winter set for my C4S- exactly the same alloys as the summer ones- but the rears are 265s (fronts 225s I think). I'm surprised you didn't get a second set when you purchased the car (must have been a summer-use only garage queen!
Porsche prices are very high; have a look on Ricardo.ch and see if anyone is selling a set. Otherwise, there are plenty of original (and replica) alloys on ebay in the UK- but then you have the problem of transporting them!
I can recommend the Vredestein Wintrac tyres by the way.
Incidentally, THe OPC in Basel were charging a fortune for wheel swaps and storage, so I took the winter wheels home with me and swap them over myself. Does not take long, and you can do a proper clean of the wheels while you're at it.

When you say a garage close-by, do you mean in Germany? Also, when I go to the registration page, the only option for a country for my address is Germany.

isnt a cooper tyre size special anyway? (im talking the old models)

FYI,

http://www.tcs.ch/main/de/home/auto_...or.EPR-98.html

Good car with mediocre tires = mediocre handling, braking and traction

Mediocre car with good tires = handling, braking and traction at the best ability of the car.

All season tires are a compromise, neither good in winter nor summer and wear faster in summer. Waste of money and your safety.

I recommend the Dunlop 3Ds, available in most sizes. Don't forget balancing and the correct pressure. A periodic, competent alignment will contribute to longer tire wear and a lot to your safety.

I don't believe in saving on the only part of the car that is your only contact with mother earth.

well, they are based in germany, i think...
so, reifendirekt.de for germany, and reeifendirekt.ch for switzerland. there is a 'montagemoeglichkeit' link on the top right corner, which says "Zur Zeit bieten wir Ihnen Partner innerhalb der Schweiz." for .ch, and "...Deutschland" for Germany. Is it possible that your ISP is located in Germany, like bluwin, and the website is forwarded to the german website directly?

I put my Golf into a garage today for a service and for Winter tyres. Tyres are costing 406CHF including being put onto my current rims.

the thanks button is not visible anymore, but thx for the recommendation
used these guys, managed to buy the tires by last year's price somehow
so, they're fast and cheap!

Which means you will need the garage to change them back in the spring and so on twice a year. I have changed my complete wheels myself for the last 20 years here. I bought a torque wrench (Drehmomentschlüssel) from Coop Bua+hobby for about CHF50. Changing takes 25 minutes...

I'm amazed by your superhuman speed. To change 4 tyres:
10 mins of huffing and puffing to get tyres from cellar to garage (and I'm not particularly unfit)
1 min move car - my parking space doesn't allow me to change the tyres in situ
5 min to raise one corner/wheel
4 min to take tyre off
4 min to put tyre on
2 min to lower car
5 min to raise one corner/wheel
4 min to take tyre off
4 min to put tyre on
2 min to lower car
5 min to raise one corner/wheel
4 min to take tyre off
4 min to put tyre on
2 min to lower car
5 min to raise one corner/wheel
4 min to take tyre off
4 min to put tyre on
2 min to lower car
1 min to put car back
10 mins to put tyres back in cellar
Total: ~1 hr 20 min

I have put Continental TS830P on a 3-series BMW. I have never had tires before that were that silent. They offer the best performance on snow as per the ADAC 2010 Test.

I'll back this up from experience. One spring as my winter tyres were too worn for the following winter I left them on later than usual to use up the remaining profile a bit. Sudden 30° heatwave in May and the ABS was working overtime each time I touched the brakes.

Tyres are in the garage next to the car, which doesn't need moving to start the work.
Jacking up a wheel takes 1 minute, not 5minutes.
"2 min to lower car" ?!? C'mon!
Removing the wheels is a 1 minute job too.
Likewise replacing the wheel.

etc. etc.