Hello, all!

I plan on driving my F-Type R RWD in the winter, and obviously I am going to have to get a decent pair of winter tires.

My question is, can winter tires go on my existing wheels or do I have to buy wheels and winter tires together?

I’d much rather just buy the tires as I know wheels for this vehicle can be extremely expensive. Anyone have any experience with this?

Thank you!

 

Do not own an R but I do fit all-season tires on my 380P using original rims.
I am still running P-Zeros during the Summer but switch to Michelin PS4 A/S for Winter.
I d not drive the F-Type in ice or snow but do like to drive on cold clear days, so need a tire with lower temperature rating.
I have had no issue with rim damage during change-overs.
When the PZ's expire I shall probably just leave the PS4s on year round.

 

Few snow tires exist for the stock size but they are there, namely pirelli sotto zero.

i had them for 2 winters over stock wheel, great for dry cold days, so so for actual snow and slush.

Problem without dedicated winter rim is Mount and balance twice a year, these aren’t free for most people and it’s rarely done at home.

This winter I’m going with a squared set up for better better performance and more selection in tires, 245/35/35 x4 most likely

 

I bought my PS4 A/S tires from Town Fair Tire (Massachusetts).
They do the change-over and balance for just $62 for as long as you own the tires.

 

Other thoughts:
You need somewhere to store the Summer or Winter wheels depending on the season.
They are heavy and take up a lot of space. Managing just the tires is much easier.
I am able to lift and store mine on an elevated rack in the garage.
Also, unless you intend ice/snow driving (why??), you likely have more options with all-season tires.
Considering how much people "love" their PZs, why buy a Pirelli snow tire?

 

Not F-type specific, but I did that for many years with a E46 M3 that I used to own. I had the lifetime balance on the tires so I just had to pay for the tire swap each time. Honestly, it was more than a pain. I eventually switched to a winter and non-winter set of wheels and tires. While the storage can create a bit of a problem, it's much easier doing the change on your time, and not having to take the car somewhere.

You can also get a slightly more narrow set of wheels which will do better in the winter. I ran spacers on my winter wheels since they were a bit more narrow. While this is not representative of today's versions of the tires, I did the Pirelli Sottozero and they were the worst winter tire of the ones I tried during that time. I know they are a bit better now, but going with a different wheel will likely open up multiple winter tire options.

 

+1 This.

It's also not great for the integrity of the bead of a tire (especially a low profile tire) to repeatedly mount and dismount a tire on a rim. Plus you risk the inherent rim damage from the mounting machines each time you do it (which, again, is more prevalent on a low-profile tire with less sidewall flex). And a narrower tire is definitely better for a winter setup (especially RWD only) and if you live in snow states you also deal with salt corrosion so all the more reason to have a dedicated set of rims for the winter.

 

If you buy the tires from Discount you get lifetime change over for free but that’s not the way I do it. I use the original set of Gyrodynes with my A/S’s in the winter (don’t need snows in STL with AWD) and I have a separate set of Gyrodynes (tech grey) I sourced from the UK via eBay for the PS4S summers. Easy peasy to do the swap twice a year with a good HF jack and a DeWalt high torque impact.

If I were to do a set of dedicated winters for the R I’d look at a set of wheels and tires from The Tire Rack, square not staggered as suggested above. They come mounted, balanced and with the correct TPM sensors, if ordered that way.

I have two sets of factory wheels for the XF (4.2 RWD), it got PS4S’s this summer and will get something wintery soon. Last winter on P7 A/S’s was scary.

 

They were the only winter tire available in our stock size as far as my research goes, so not only do we “love” pirelli, it is also a necessity!

 

I went for a full set of winter wheels for ice and snow, why? Why not, it handles winter in the Midwest perfectly and I'll be a heap of rust before the Ftype.

I chose a square set for narrower tires in the slush and added a rear spacer to keep the wheel aligned with the arch. Storage is not a big deal as they stack on top of one another. Much easier for me to quickly switch out the wheels when the time comes than to lug spare rubber to a place that can switch them out. They are not fitting in the Ftype, so always a 2 people job.

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