After deliberating/negotiating on a '10 C4S coupe with this one particular dealer in Long Island for two weeks, I finally got sick of the "its a Porsche, I'm doing you a favor by letting you buy it atitude", and pre delivery issues. I started calling a a few other dealers, and I just took delivery of an Aqua Blue "Launch Car" C2S Cabrio with the 5 spoke wheels.

I love the look of the car-however, driving it tonight it was REALLY struggling for traction, and am aware I need to get AS or Winter tires ASAP. The salesman who delivered it fully explained this to me (would HIGHLY recommend him/the dealership, PM me for his information).

Few questions for the forum-

1) Does anyone have pics of the OZ Allegrita's on a Aqua blue cab? I was on tire rack, and would want to reduce the rim size to 18".

2) Are all-season tires a viable alternative to dedicated winters? Reason Im asking is because I live in Manhattan, and the few days per year it actually does snow, I don't plan on driving it.

3) Anyone have any 18" or even 19" OEM rims that they are interested in selling? If so let me know as I'd much rather prefer them.

4) This car does not have Navigation .I find it senseless that its not on a 110k car, but the deal was too good to pass up. How difficult is this to install, and how much? I'm aware that the PCM 3.0 interface has changed, however I get conflicting information about installing this from dealers. Believe it or not, the one dealer I was dealing with the C4S ordered the navigation module from Germany, installed it, and then said the XM radio wouldn't work due to "licensing issues"- which rubbed me the wrong way/got me out of the purchase order. Additionally, they wanted $4,100 additional to do so, when from the factory it is a $2,100 option.

Thanks in advance

 

Partial answer to #4

Do you want to stay with PCM 3.0 or go aftermarket?

I took delivery of my 2009 C2 last Monday. After doing a lot of research and reading in the last week, I come to the conclusion there is no perfect solution for Porsche.

My upgraded Bose (with XM radio) would freeze if I 1) accidentally click on navigation, which I don't have, or 2) in disc mode, select a track too far in advance from the current track. Worse yet, while I was driving, there is no way to recover.

Kenwood 9140 seemed to be the current favorite. There are good reviews at Amazon and Crutchfield. It has two bad reviews at AVSforum. It can add navigation (made by Garmin), bluetooth, ipod connectivity, backup camera to your systems for around $2.2k. The downside is you would lose some "trip" information that you cannot get otherwise. This solution includes a Porsche face plate (from Suncoast) so that it would have an almost factory look.

I am currently on the fence, leaning toward the Kenwood solution.

 

I want to stay within the PCM 3.0

Another member sent me a PM, letting me know about a PCM 3.0 with nav/xm available on eBay-( thanks, I can't reply due to needing 15 posts or greater, weird).

Would this be installable by the dealer easily considering I have PCM 3.0 and all my current accesories(xm, cd changer) are currently compatible with it?

 

I was quoted $4k to stay with PCM, including bluetooth and ipod connection. Working the number backward, it would suggest an installation cost of $1k.

 

Congrats on a great car-great color too. If you get a chance, take some photos of the big butt for the 4S fans.

 

Stop driving with the current tires unless temps are above 40 F. Several of us went with the 18 " O.Z Alleggerita's (Anthracite or Matte graphite silver should work well for your color...you can view it on your car color on tirerack website) and the Michelin P.A's that tirerack has on a closeout pricing for our winter set up. I have not heard any negative comments with that set up. Call Damon if you want to use tirerack. Why would you want to give up on performance tires in a car of this caliber by swapping them out with allseasons. Yes all-seasons are a viable option going by the experiences of several members in this forum. A few all season tires seem to handle well. Even though I never drive my C4S in the snow, I got the above combo for the really cold days with black ice in the early morning frigid temps. May be someone with allseasons can chime in. If spending 3K is not an issue, get the above combo mounted with TPMS sensors and you are good to go. I have posted some pictures of the O.Z's on my GT silver C4S on a prior post.

 

First off you cannot add Porsche navigation to an 09-10, period. Many have written about this here and at RennList and the way Porsche did it this time is to pin the ability to have Nav to the VIN. Why is beyond me. The 05-08 was great - if you wanted to add it, you bought the module. Check with your dealer, don't go by what you read here at the forums.

For tires / wheels, do yourself a favor and go with an 18" set of high performance snows. Street rubber isn't going to do it and if you need to buy a 2nd set, why not get tires that are designed specifically for winter? The OZs are fine wheels for this, very inexpensive, give you a nice new look, are a very open design to help you get any built-up snow out. You can see what they will look like on your car at the TireRack site - just click to see them on your car and pick Cobalt - you won't be able to tell it's not Aqua (I know, I've owned both Cobalt and Aqua in a 997S).

 

I just installed 18" wheels and Pirelli Sotozero Serie II N2's on my C4S. Went with suggested size as noted in owners manual. Awesome traction on snow, slush, wet. Traction like a scared cat hanging on a pant leg.

Linky: http://forums.rennlist.com/rennforum...ozero-n2s.html

The ride on the 18" is also way better. Much cushier and far less "crashing" on expansion joints.

Money well spent and very happy with results

 

Here is the answer for your NAV question, http://www.e-partssales.com/miva/mer...9972electronic The tricky part is finding a dealer to install and activate for you. It is not cheap but it is OEM. I think the PCM 3.0 NAV works well and just as good as my previous Lexus'. Also I love the touchscreen function. It makes my Mercedes NAV so last century.

Regarding snow tire setup, if you live in a snow country like me, Buffalo NY, dedicated snow tire setup with TPMS is a must. I bought the Michelin Alpin snow tire/wheel/TPMS from Tirerack last month and couldn't be happier with them. Since you live in the city with public transit, why not leave the car in the garage during snow and take the subway. If I was still living in Boston I would've done that and forgo the winter tires. Also I wouldn't want to be on the same street with those crazy cab & NYC drivers cutting in and out on a snowy, slick street and dodging pedestrians.

John

 

i am selling a set of gloss black sport II wheels

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...#ht_500wt_1182

 

I guess my info might be "old". About a year ago many were asking about adding OEM Nav to their 09s and being told by PCNA, their Dealer, etc. that it's not possible. Perhaps this is Porsche's answer - you can "swap" out the entire PCM without Nav for one with Nav. Then the question is can you get anything for your non-Nav PCM to try to defray the $4k cost of just the module (or $2200 for the one on eBay).

 

Have 18" Victor Equip. wheels with Mich. Pilot Alpins...awesome set-up. I am also in NYC, figure you will have them on the car from Dec 1st-March 15th...never have to worry about getting stuck and will save some tread on the original tire set-up.

 

You can live without snows. I use mine as a DD, and drove an E46 M3 as a DD driver before this, everyday from Queens to Manhattan and there has only been 1 or 2 days out of the year in the last 7 years that I thought "Hmmm... maybe I shouldn't drive the car" High performance tires on both and never had a problem. The sanitation department is amazing with the plows in NYC. If you are not driving it while it is snowing, you are fine. The only reason to not drive it is because of all the salt they put down...

 

Thanks for all the input.

PCM Nav- I'm curious to hear from someone who's had it done, and confirms that its possible- considering I've read that Porsche wont release some sort of actvation code if it did not come from the factory with it.

Regarding AS/Winter tire debate- I also have Range Rover as my DD- it's not my intention to drive the 911 through snow, just the current summer tires are not suited to these temperatures, nor the icy plowed streets. The car is like a go cart, very fun to drive and begs to be pushed- just the lack of traction makes it feel borderline unsafe at times.

I do intend on driving the car year round, just not every day.

I see the pro's and con's of AS vs dedicated winters, and I think AS are a better suit FOR ME due to the versatility/dry wether stopping ability.

Personally I wish they made Continental Extreme Contact DWS in 19"- thinking I'd use my stock rims, with those tires, and get a nice set of HRE 547s? to use with the stock summer tires.

Anyone have any feedback on the Bridgestone RE960's on a 911 in a NYC like climate? They are the only AS solution tire rack offers.

Its hard to tell what the OZ allegrita's look like on the car with the virtual pic tire rack produces- I still cant decide if I like them.

 

I would go with a winter wheel and tire kit from Tire Rack. That's what I did. I have Dunlop Wintersports and they are great in the dry or in snow.