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YOUR RESEARCHEffects of narrower tires
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Run 265 mm rears
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With my new winter tire set I am running 265 mm rears with 17 mm spacers as well.
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With my new winter tire set I am running 265 mm rears with 17 mm spacers as well.
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Suggestion
The Porsche recommended width for front tires on the 996 C4S is 225mm, not 235mm.
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Suggestion
I did run a 17mm spacer on my rear wheels because the 10x18 wheels are a little to sunken into the rear fenders for my taste.
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Suggestion
The Porsche recommendation for winter tires is to drop to a 10x18 rear wheel and use a 265 width tire.
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I recently put winter tires for the season on my C4S. Since they don't make winter tires in the stock 295 width, my winter tires are on 265 rims. The from rims are 225 rather than the stock 235.
Next spring I am going to put a new set of summer tires and new rims on. I am selling my 19 inch wide body lobster claws and going to 18 inch rims. I can't stand the ride of the 19 inch rims.
Does having 30mm narrower tires on the back and 10 mm narrower tires on the front make any significant difference in the handling? The 265 rims are easier to find and there are a lot more tires options for them. But I don't want to go to the narrower rim if it hurts the handling of the car.
Anyone with any experience with this or thoughts?
Reducing the rear tire width by 10% will only hurt the handling of the car in more extreme circumstances - at times of maximum g-load in a turn, in instances where you're braking while turning, and other instances where you find yourself at the car's limit of adhesion. If you NEVER find yourself there, probably not a huge deal.
Only you can know if this matters significantly to you. One of the reasons Porsche kept increasing the width of the rear tires on the 911 was to tame oversteer. If you do not think you'll be in a situation where reducing the tire width by 10% will make the difference between maintaining control or not, the narrower rim may be fine for you.
I would put a narrower tire on one of my cars intentionally if I wanted to make it easier to drift or otherwise hoon around; however, I wouldn't otherwise choose to potentially reduce the size of the rear contact patch. My driving style and the driving events I occasionally engage in would probably be affected by a ~10% reduction in tire width.
Thanks for the advice. I plan to track it at least three or four times next summer. I am not that good on the track, yet. But I hope to get better. Considering what you have said, I think my instincts to keep the wider tires on it is the right one.
Winter tires are normally a narrower tire...less likely to aquaplane in rain, more clearance if you need to add chains, etc. Look at the tires on winter rally cars. Wise move to go to 18"...you might even consider 17s. Remember that the original wheel on the 993 was a 16...and it was much much better for real world driving. I was thrilled with I found my 996 with 17s. The big wheel thing is like putting sweat socks in your jock strap...it looks interesting but doesn't really do much.
The Porsche recommended width for front tires on the 996 C4S is 225mm, not 235mm. I've always run that width with my summer tires and winter tires. The Porsche recommendation for winter tires is to drop to a 10x18 rear wheel and use a 265 width tire. I did this also, and I had no issues with it at all. I did run a 17mm spacer on my rear wheels because the 10x18 wheels are a little to sunken into the rear fenders for my taste. The 17mm Porsche OE spacers and lug nuts are for sale, FWIW...
With my new winter tire set I am running 265 mm rears with 17 mm spacers as well. It looks just fine to me and works great.
Interesting to know about the front tire width. The nonstock 19 inch rims I am getting rid of are 235 in the front. I will look for 225s when I shop for new wheels this spring.
I completely agree. Going to the smaller rims has made the car better in every way. I loved the car before but even I had to admit the ride was so rough you had to love it a lot to tolerate it. Now even my wife admits the ride is tolerable.
You can get 20 inch rims for the car. I can't imagine how bad those would be. You would buy them only if you literally only planned to use the car to cruise at under 25 mph and show off.
I can't speak to the "correct" wheel diameter for a 19" wheel. The 225 width is Porsche's recommendation for an 18" wheel and there isn't a Porsche recommendation for a 19" wheel for the 996. Perhaps the 235s were used to keep the diameter of the front wheel close to that of the rear wheel.
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