Hi All, I'd like to have some fun in the cold months in Chicago with my F12 but I'm hesitant to take it out on it's Pzeros while the temps are in the mid teens to mid 20s. I wouldn't take it out in the snow etc, but on cold and dry days it would be nice to enjoy it a bit. I think it would also be good drive it rather than have it sit on a trickle charge for months. 1. Does anyone else drive their F12 on cold days like these? 2. Anyone use winter tires and if so, which ones and where to get them? (I have used Michelin Alpin on my previous GT3, however finding sizes for the F12 seems challenging) 3. Anyone heard of/used Vredestein tires (they offer a winter tire in the size and are available). Any reviews/thoughts? 4. Do they have to be dedicated winter tires or would all season work well for this purpose? 5. Would all season tires be a reasonable replacement for the P zeros in the summer? Thank you all in advance!
Let's just get one thing out of the way. In the summer, rear wheel traction is not the F12's strong suit. Stick to MPSS or MPS4S in the summer. The Vredestejn Wjntrac Pro are awesome tyres. Much better than Pirelli winter shoes. Those will be a great tyre for using your car in the cold months. I use them on a few cars and our fellow Fchatter @Caeruleus11 has them on his Lusso. A great choice for sure. Sent from my SM-G930F using FerrariChat.com mobile app
Vredestein Wintracs are great. I had them on a couple of X3s but no experience of them on a Ferrari. As others have said, don’t mess around with all season compounds. They effectively give you the worst of both worlds. There is a real world use case for them but the weather window is so narrow that few places experience such conditions. My FF is on Michelin Alpins and they’ve been great so far. Image Unavailable, Please Login
I can tell you the Wintrac Pros are great in low temps, slush, rain, muck, and a few inches of fresh snow. I dont think they hydroplane any worse than any other tire. I have not tried them at really high speeds because thats just not how I drive in those conditions. Just to state the obvious, the tire is all that's between you and the road.
Just swapped the standard pzeros for sottozeros on my 812 here in the UK after a few too many sketchy moments when the temperature drops, even when dry, and I have to say they are fantastic. Feels like a completely different car; much more predictable, especially notable improvement in stopping distance under braking. for me, this is not about being able to drive fast in poor conditions, but rather feel confident that if I want to take the car out when the weather is not ideal, I have the confidence that the car will behave as expected. Agree with prior post that all season tyres are perfect way to ensure sub-optimal handling all the time.
I just installed the Vredestein Wintrac Pro's on my FF here in Detroit. The car was running Bridgestone all-season tires but it really felt too loose and the tires became too hard when the temperatures dropped below 40F. The Wintrac's are fantastic and make a huge difference. This morning with the temps around 20F the tires warmed up quickly to 51F and remained really sticky without feeling loose. As dedicated winter tires they are compliant but the steering feels even more direct than with the Bridgestones. I've been super happy with them so far and credit Il Co-Pilota for his excellent advice. I must note that I selected slightly higher profile tires 40s not 35s to get some more sidewall for pothole protection. So far so good. However, I do have wheel spacers and so I now get a little rubbing in the wheel arches with slow tight turns. Also as reference I have the Michelin Alpin on my BMW. A great tire but I feel like it maybe softer and less direct than the Wintrac Pros. Personally I would go with the Wintrac's over the Alpin having used both tires. Just my 2 cents.
So cool to read the comments…where FF and Lusso seem to be the preferred ‘winter-Ferrari’. Just sold my F12 and instead kept my FF…it suits the bad weather so much better!
Lusso is a great daily driver in the frozen tundra of Wisconsin (on Pilot Alpin). I get a little nervous about it starting after sitting outside for 8 hours at work in 0-10 degree Fahrenheit temps, but I never worry about tire traction. #gopackgo Image Unavailable, Please Login
I appreciate everyone’s insights and wanted to offer an update. I ended up getting some Michelin pilot sport all seasons because they were available and the winter options were not. I took them out today on a 32F day today and they worked reasonably well. Wasn’t really pushing the car but felt much safer than on the Max performance pirellis. I would have liked to have had the Alpins, Sottozeros, or Vredsteins, but the earliest availability was March for the Vredsteins and I just couldn’t wait that long. I plan to use the all seasons for this winter and swap to the max performance summer tires in the summer. While I wish I had the patience to wait for true winter tires, I wish more that they were available…. I also just got my F12 and wanted to have some fun rather than waiting 3 months. Again, I appreciate everyone’s input! Sent from my iPhone using FerrariChat
I have a 2017 GTC4Lusso and intend to run in the winter. I am located in a ski resort, Sun Valley, Idaho, and will get snow, and fairly cold weather. What winter tire do you recommend, and recommended place to buy? Thanks much. Image Unavailable, Please Login
i’ve run Michelin Pilot Sport Alpins on my Lusso for the last three winters, and the car handles beautifully during the Wisconsin winters. I’ll drive it in everything but the heaviest of snow storms
I put those on my 2014 FF about 18 months ago. Here in Kansas City we can hit 110F in the summer and -10F in the winter. That said, climate change has pretty much warmed things up and we very rarely get below 0F now. I agree what most say about all seasons, but this tire may be an exception in my opinion.
