the F-Type in winter
 

I'll be ordering my F-Type S next week and will have it in time to break it in before winter sets in (northern Ohio). After that, I'm wondering about tires, since I drive it all year.

Are all-seasons sufficient, or have you put winter tires on yours? Which brand do you recommend? Does your dealer store your 2nd set at no charge?

Thanks.

I live in central Ontario and we can get a lot of snow. My experience with my XKR (have not driven the F in winter yet) is that it was surprisingly good in snow, however, I needed good snow tires for sure.

In my case, I bought 4 wheels sized to the front and good snow tires and the car was great up to the point of snow being deep enough to high center the car. Used the smaller wheels in the rear to reduce the issue of tires snow planing.

Also, I had a set of Pirelli snows and they are ok for small amounts of snow, but last set were deeper lugged and had 'walnut technology', can't remember the brand, and they were really good.

If you get snow anywhere near what we get and plan to drive it most days, you will need snow's or you will end up stuck or worse.
Lawrence.

I'm in Kansas, so somewhat similar climate. Snow tires are a must if you intend to drive in the white stuff. Having said that, ground clearance will ultimately be the limiting factor in many cases. I'm guessing you don't want to use the front splitter as a snowplow, so your snow tires will almost certainly have more capability than you're willing to use. Still a much better option than all season tires, though.

I would say it depends. I drove my 2015 V6S throughout the entire winter - winter in Maine mind you - on the OEM P-Zeros without any trouble whatsoever. Everyone here will tell you they are not suited for winter temperatures and I will not disagree in the slightest, but will say I put on lots of miles on them; needless to say not driving like a nut-job and always depending on the conditions. Further, most of the roads I travel on get paved quite quickly and often and I rarely found myself in very snowy conditions. If that were the case then I would very likely switch to a true and dedicated winter tire.

The F-Type is quite capable in winter conditions - most winter conditions - and probably more so than many previously thought possible (and it helps if in capable hands).

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Good luck!

Best rgards,
RJ52

I can avoid the snow. It was the cold that I'm concerned about. Now correct me if I'm wrong, RickyJay52, but my understanding was that performance tires like those on the F-Type turn to glass and crumble (slight hyperbole) at temps below 45 degrees F. How can you drive in Maine winters?

That's a bit more than slight hyperbole. They don't crumble, but they don't have any grip either. I drove mine on dry pavement and on days below 20ºF, and they were very slippery. It can be done, but one has to be very careful with the throttle.

EDIT: I suppose the upside is that even a base V6 feels like a 700HP supercar.

Frenchy, unlike many of the fine people here, I do not have any "technical" or engineering or scientific background or knowledge. I do not profess to know much, and that's all perfectly fine by me. Lance, Clay, Scott, Kyle and countless others here have tons of facts and figures based on their infinite experience and knowledge - and obvious love - of all things automotive and especially the F-Type. I too have a little bit of track/racing experience, long in my past, but nothing like those I've mentioned along with many others here.

Having said all that, I can simply tell you I picked up my car last mid-October and I don't have to tell you how brutal a winter much of the country experienced and especially the Northeast. While I did not anticipate driving my V6S much, or frankly at all (I even bought a Battery Tender Plus; anyone want to buy one, still in its package?), considering the cold, snow, ice, sand, salt, and general crappy conditions - and on the OEM P-Zeros no less - I found myself taking it out far more than I had expected. I'm about to cross 3,000 miles - many/most of those through winter - and while I never got carried away or drive like a nut-job, I did find myself driving in what most would call a spirited fashion. Whether the car or tires or even me were "technically" up to the challenge I simply cannot tell you. I did it, had loads of fun - the very ocassional drift (under appropriate conditions and where and when I thought I could afford to) - and look forward to getting behind the wheel every chance I get. Including, based on my diatribe, winter. Your and/or other opinions may and likely differ.

I daily mine in Montreal with 8000km this winter, you definitely need dedicated winter tires, I highly recommend dropping down the back tire widths to 245 instead of 295 as it'll greatly increase your traction in snow. With the winter mode, the locking differential and proper snow tires you won't have any issues, the only limit will be how much you want to plough the streets.

I have had to replace my differential twice so far as I appear to have abused them more than they're built to take... (snow/ice with RWD means the diff is constantly working hard to control 500hp). Apparently i'm one of the few people driving the f-type in such severe winters in the world as JLR are baffled and have yet to permanently fix the issue.

As Arte Johnson would say: Veerrrrry interesting!

Hi all. Just about to pull the trigger on a V6S AWD. In Iowa we get quite a bit of snow but I still fully intend to use the F-type as my DD. Do you think all season tires would work given the AWD? Thanks.:icon_snowman::icon_snowman::icon_snowman:: icon_snowman:

yes.

Could also pick up a spare set of rims here

and have your winter tires permanently mounted and owner swappable.

Although the AWD comes with 19" std, 20" optional, don't see why a set of 18" Velas (most reasonably priced) wouldn't work for winter use, and 18" tires are going to be the cheapest option.

With good winter tires, here you can see how good traction you can get (studless tires):

https://youtu.be/Qu4PHzL0ayc//

18" might not work depending on the brake option. I don't believe the rotors on the super performance brake option will fit inside 18" wheels.

With the R, 19 inch are the smallest that will fit over the brakes on the front, not sure about the S.
Lawrence

Winter package
 

I have purchased the special winter package which has 4 18 inch wheels mounted w mud and snows. I have zero snow issues w awd and clearance not an issue. The cost is a bit high though at 38k ......its a Ford Explorer. Given I'm in metro nyc clearance, potholes, unplowed driveways, and most importantly idiots who don't know how to drive in the snow convince me to leave my sports car home on those snow days and a few thereafter. My driveway had a 4 inch lip of ice from the plows that took two weeks to finally go away this past winter

Aha, makes sense - I stand corrected on using the 18" wheels on all versions!