Tyre advice - 996.1 C2 - Mk1 GT3 wheels

Hi all Will soon be time to replace rears on my c2. It's currently fitted with federal 595 r-sr's which are, shall we say 'fair weather' (cough track) tyres and although they feel great in dry, not so good for road trips and British weather :grin: , so looking to put some more conventional all weather road tyres on, which will mean changing all four. As the cars also fitted with Mk1 GT3 wheels the current tyres are 285/30ZR18 A few questions: 1. With the GT3 wheels are 285's the only tyre that fits - seem to remember being able to fit different widths to my old 996 carrera sport designs. Not sure if this applies here? 2. What do the 996 experts recommend nowadays in terms of a great all rounder tyre. I thought Conti N rated (SC's) were usually the go to tyre but maybe not the case now? 3. Any recommendations for good deals currently? Pic for interest: Thanks in advance guys :thumbs:

As standard the 996.1 ran 265 rears & the 996.2 285, obviously you can run the 285 without any issues. For the 10inch rear that's about the maximum width you can run. if you want abit more width you could put some 10/12/15mm spacers on 👍 I ran Pzero rosso's on my 285s and also MPSS Before, I found the Michelin had more grip but the pzero lasted longer. I also used to buy N rated but wouldn't bother in the future unless I had a car under warranty 👍 They seem to be the two favourites tyres, hear good reports on the vredestein and never had any problems with Kuhmos 😅 Try oponeo or black circle for deals

Hi Adam, MK1 GT3 wheels had 285/30/18 r and 225/40/18 f. I fitted 295's on my first MK1 when I couldn't get 285's no problem. I keep hearing good things about some of the latest Bridgestone's but I've not experienced myself. Hope this helps :thumb: Dan

I have 265 on my rear 10 inch GT3 rim Adam, a 300 horse carrera is over tyred on 285 and most fit them for looks.

Yep that's the correct rear tyre for the 996.1, 996.2 requires the 285 👍

Hi All Thanks for all the comments and advice and sorry lame late reply! Understand the Carrara ran a 265 rear as standard, but if I've got GT3 rims (as opposed to 'carrera sport designs') would i need to go for 285's? Just wondered if there was a difference in rim size between as GT3 rim and the carrera sport design or if 285 were fitted on mk gt3's purely from a increased power perspective (300 > 360) ?? :dont know: So looks like suggestions are for Pirelli (pzero's), Michelin (pilot sports) or Bridgestones so far. :thumbs:

Hi Adam, Carrera SportDesigns are 10 inch rears with 7.5 inch fronts GT3 Sport Designs are 10 inch rears with 8 inch fronts. I specifically sourced the GT3 items for your car as they're much rarer and just nice to have. The correct sizes are those listed earlier and what are currently on it. I'd replace with the same correct sizes for those rims. 265's look under-tyred and a bit stretched. Some driving gods on here will tell you to go narrower (I don't mean Ian. I'm not being cheeky. :wink: ) but I'd be amazed if you could tell the difference. A C2 has 300bhp. A GT3 has 360 ish. Not a huge difference. Michelin's are generally the best. Cup2s will have the same issues as your 595s. Not great in the cold or with standing water. So you're left with PS2s or PS4s. I still stick with PS2s and have them on the GT3 but there's an argument for the 4 as they're more modern. The best Michelin road tyre is probably the 4S (not to be confused with the 4), but they aren't available in your sizes. Pirelli Rosso's aren't great. I'd just stick with Michelin. They're what most folk would want to see on there. :thumb:

Great, thanks Mark :thumb: Very helpful reply and yep will stick to the l right sizes for rim and also aim to hunt down some Michelin's PS2 or 4 in 285/30/18 & 225/40/18's (assume they're the sizes?) Hope you're well mate :thumb:

glad to hear it Mark

:grin: Yes Ian, that could have sounded bad. As I typed it I was thinking of one guy who used to always claim he'd gone narrower than Porsche specs so he could slide it around more. I just think 'How much drifting can you actually do on the public road?". I'd class myself as pretty sensitive to car characteristics and can notice tiny changes, such as a bush wearing etc, but I really didn't notice any difference going from 265s to 285s. However I didn't do that many miles before fitting the 285s, so I'd maybe have noticed more if I had. :thumb: Hi Adam, all good here. I hope that's the case at your end. Hopefully you'll be able to enjoy the car a bit more this year eh. :thumb: And yep, go for Michelin's. There's a reason most folk do. They're pricey but you won't be buying them very often for a summer toy. :wink:

Hi Mark Absolutely, really looking forward to some events the year (all be it uk) and have booked what sounds like it'll be great driving weekend round Wales (see road trip section) early July so car will get some good use then :thumb: Re tyres, that's exactly what I'll do.. go for the Michelin's :thumbs: If any one would be interested in a set of used federal 595 RSR's (probably for track use) then please PM me. Fronts have very little wear and think circa 3-4 yrs old Rears (same age) are worn on inner edges but went through MOT March and done barely any miles since. :thumb: