Ghibli winter tyres comparison

outrun

outrun

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So I've sourced some nice 18" Vulcano wheels for peanuts from the USA that I plan to use for winter tyres.

Trouble is, I'm not 100% clear on the size variations and need some help from you clever lot.

The wheels are larger at the rear (Health & Safety, Philip) and standard tyres are 235/50/18 front and 275/45/18 rear. As usual with Maserati, this is where it all gets complicated. Nobody seems to make the rear size except Pirelli for the Winter Sottozero which is a whopping £275 per tyre before fitting ! The fronts are £160 each. So that's £870 for tyres plus fitting and I also need pressure sensors too at £50 each as the wheels came without.

Seems like a lot of cash, I wonder if there's a better way?

I'm thinking that I could alter the tyre sizes by one step to open more choice.

Can someone please advise on what would be the best sizes using a similar step for fronts and rears to maintain proper balance as far as possible? I tried using an online calculator tool but tools confuse me :)

Help much appreciated.
 
drewf

drewf

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How about these?

Both Dunlop and Pirelli are available.

Going down 10mm in size is no worries on a winter tyre. I'd never go up in width, only down. The rolling radius will be trivially different, around 1.5%.
 
P R

P R

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I got 2 rear Michelin Alpins on my 20" rims for £190 each delivered from mytyres. Have you tried them for your 18"s?
 
outrun

outrun

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Yes, they don't stock the rears and are looking for £174.50 per front fitted. The rears are £266.79 without fitting from tyreleader.

Looks like i'm going to be spending around £1000 on these ! Good job I know how much better they are, especially with a RWD car.

And that's why no politician will be brave enough to make it the law here!

On a plus side, i've found pressure sensors for about £25 each which is reasonable.
 
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bigbob

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Remember how long winter tyres last. My SottoZeros have already done about 50% more miles than a pair of rear P Zeros would last so they are better value than you might think on a per mile basis.

Interested in where you found the cheap TPM sensors and whether they need dealer programming.
 
P R

P R

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Can't you get another brand for the rear? I have bought Vredestein for the front and the Michelins for the rear. Same snow rating so ok on that front...
 
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bigbob

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It depends on where you stand on mixing brands front and back. Some will, some (like me) won't.
 
outrun

outrun

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Prefer not to mix brands where possible. The fronts are easy but the rears have an unusual size. I also took tyre insurance when I purchased and I understand that only "approved" tyres are covered so I'm 99% likely now to bite the bullet and put on the MGT code Pirellis. One puncture will easily cover any extra cost.

Agree with what you say on wear Bob. I ran my Subaru STI for 3 seasons on a set of Kumho winters with no wear issues.

The sensors are from Ebay USA. I've to confirm the factory code before they will guarantee that they will plug and play. Will let you know once I have this information. All Maseratis appear to run on 433Mhz which should work without programming as I understand it.
 
B

bigbob

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Interesting, thanks. My car is four years old so this issue is close to presenting itself to me.
 
P R

P R

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I wouldn't mix tyre types (summer v winter) on a car, and I would prefer not to mix brands on an axle but front and rear isn't an issue.
 
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bigbob

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drewf

drewf

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outrun said:
Prefer not to mix brands where possible. The fronts are easy but the rears have an unusual size. I also took tyre insurance when I purchased and I understand that only "approved" tyres are covered so I'm 99% likely now to bite the bullet and put on the MGT code Pirellis. One puncture will easily cover any extra cost.

Agree with what you say on wear Bob. I ran my Subaru STI for 3 seasons on a set of Kumho winters with no wear issues.

The sensors are from Ebay USA. I've to confirm the factory code before they will guarantee that they will plug and play. Will let you know once I have this information. All Maseratis appear to run on 433Mhz which should work without programming as I understand it.
Click to expand...

I've checked the prices for you at the local Feu Vert, and an independent a few kms away from my place, Athol, and there's no real difference in Euros to the online prices from Mytyres/Delticom. The rears are the problem - it's an unusual size, so not much choice about. What width are the rims? Have you looked at how narrow a tyre you can fit to the rims?
 
outrun

outrun

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Thanks Drew but I've given up and decided to go for the proper spec Pirellis because of my tyre insurance. I've not tried the main dealer yet although I understand that the American's have a half price winters offer currently so maybe there is a European one too. Here's hoping...
 
outrun

outrun

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Bob - now confirmed that the Maserati sensors will learn as you drive and do not require to be recoded to the chassis number. Not sure about on the GT but certainly true of the Ghibli, confirmed by main dealer who called Italy.

I've decided to get sensors from these guys...

https://www.tpmswarehouse.co.uk/index.php?route=product/search/tpmsmake/

They are supplying all 4 for £216 delivered. Once I added in the customs duty and postage from the USA guys, I thought it was not enough of a saving. Still much cheaper than the main dealer prices.
 
B

bigbob

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outrun said:
Bob - now confirmed that the Maserati sensors will learn as you drive and do not require to be recoded to the chassis number. Not sure about on the GT but certainly true of the Ghibli, confirmed by main dealer who called Italy.

I've decided to get sensors from these guys...

https://www.tpmswarehouse.co.uk/index.php?route=product/search/tpmsmake/

They are supplying all 4 for £216 delivered. Once I added in the customs duty and postage from the USA guys, I thought it was not enough of a saving. Still much cheaper than the main dealer prices.
Click to expand...

That's worth knowing, thanks.
 
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