Searched...couldn't find answers regarding wheels and snow tires for C4S....Input??

Hi all, Ok...I've searched for a while...forgive me if I missed something. I'm not looking for what brand tire to buy. I am thinking about getting an extra set of wheels for my '02 C4S for winter. I know the car has 18" wheels. I've been seeing some grab 17" wheels for winter use due to cost....does this make sense for the car? Also....what is the smallest tire size I can put on my stock wheels? I'm kinda all over the place with this...any others out there with a winter setup...feel free to chime in. I just don't want to have to take tires off and on each season. Can I fit the 18" sport classic II's on this car without any issue? Thanks, Jon P.S. Can anyone pm me in order to tell me how I can find my signature setup in the Control panel? Thanks.

Can't help with the snow tires but... at the top of the page click on User CP (CP = Control Panel). The first selection under Settings & Options should be Edit Signature . However, I think only paying members can have Sigs, so that option may not show up on your User CP.

Oh....thanks Tim. I did pay, but only this weekend. Until recently...I've been a Pelican addict (I have an '85 Targa too)....guess I have to share my time now.....Maybe it will take the mods till tomorrow to make me a Rennlist Member. A small price to pay for a world of knowledge. Thanks.....J

Call Tire Rack. And then let me know what they said

17's are a better choice for snow tires. Their narrower tread will offer superior traction in snow vs. the wider tread that the 18's will require. I have had good luck with Blizzak's on my car.

I run 18's for my snow tires. I just didn't want to change the look with the 17's for 6 months out of the year.

ok... 18 vs 17 have no effect on the tire tread narrower or wider. The benefit of 17s is that given the same outer diameter as a 18" wheel/tire you normally end up with a 17" tire that has a taller sidewall which is good to have for bad weather driving where you are likely to encounter bad road surfaces. Many folks run 18s as mentioned and there is nothing wrong with that. Also, most 17" wheels and tire packages are cheaper than equivalents in 18. For me on all my cars wearing snow or winter tires (yes they are different) I choose to run slightly narrower than stock where it makes sense.... the 17" stock C2/C4 sizes are perfect imho as well as porsche's since that is their winter fitments. 17x7 and 17x9.

True in theory. However, if you use stock wheels narrow tires will not work on the stock 18's. Additionally, if you purchase aftermarket you will have a hard time finding narrow 18's in the correct offset. Finally, you will find a much wider selection of appropriately sized 17's in snow tires than 18's. I am not saying that 18's will be bad (they will certainly look much better). I'm only saying that for snow thin is better than fat (in general) and the OP will have a much easier time finding narrow 17's.

I've also just picked up a '04 C4S and have been in touch with Damon at TireRack. Here's what he's suggested for the 996 C4S (I've omitted the prices in deference to him but the wheels (replicas) and blizzaks run about $2K for the package) 18X8.5 5-130 POR ET52 SE>CUP3 Install using original Porsche lug hardware. 18X10 5-130 POR ET65 SE>CUP3 H&R POR 21MM SPACER/ADAPTER PR NB14X1.5 POR ALLOY NUT *BLK + NOTE: REQUIRES SPACER ON REAR AXLE. USE OE LUGBOLTS TO HOLD THE SPACER TO THE REAR HUB AND USE THE SUPPLIED LUG NUTS TO HOLD THE WHEEL TO THE SPACER. **INSTALL USING THE ORIGINAL** PORSCHE CENTER CAPS 225/40R18 BS BLIZK LM25 XL 265/35R18 BS BLIZK LM25 XL MOUNT AND BALANCE - NO CHARGE you can reach him at [email removed] I plan to order in late summer...will likely go with 18" for looks.

Read this link I've had no issues with this set-up on my C4S.

Not sure 17" will fit the C4S because of the Turbo brakes but I could be wrong.

Exactly was I was thinking. The Rear would be fine but not sure about the front because of the huge calipers.

That may indeed be a problem. 17's work on my C2, but they may not fit the C4S.

This is exactly what Damon sold me for my C4S. If I had it to do over I would get the 17 inch wheels with spacers. Yes, they fit. There are Rennlist members running 17s on C4S's (I believe that Riad is one of them) and they fit if you use the correct spacer. By the way, spacers were required for the rear wheels with the Tire Rack package. I'd call Wheel Enhancement (Wheelenhancement.com - they know a lot more about Porsche than Tire Rack as Porsche is their specialty) and see about the 17's and you might just save yourself $500 or more due to the cheaper wheels and cheaper tires.

17's will fit if you have a wheel that is scooped out in back enought to clear the calipers. If we had 17" wheels available from the vendors we carry we would offer them, but unfortunatley we don't at this time so only offer 18". The other consideration as well is making sure the tires hold enough air to support the weight of the car, and 18" just works better due to higher load capacity. The spacers we use are H&R 21mm and hubcentric with all the hardware to make everything a great fit. Not bad for not knowing as much as Wheel enhancement does......

Ok, first Wrong, as you can see from the following quote, Riad has 17" Mille Miglia Cup Three wheels fit with spacers. At that time, you sold Mille Miglia Cup Three wheels. I bough them in 18" size from you and they are or were a vendor you carry. Secondly You sold me 17 mm spacers. Were you wrong when you sold me those spacers or are you wrong now in saying that 21 mm is the correct size? Third 17" wheels and tires are fine for the weight of these relatively light cars. And finally Actually not good everything you said was wrong and you do know less about Porsche than Wheel Enhancement. As I said in the following quotes from posts I made a year ago when I realized that due to misinformation I received from you, that I could have saved $400-$500 (for smaller wheels and tires) and bought 17" wheels which would have been better in the snow based on the fact that the tires that fit the 17" are narrower than the tires that fit 18" wheels and everyone agrees that narrower tires are better in the snow.

I hope to be picking up a 2003 C4S next week. It has the stock 18" Turbo wheels. I will most likely be switching them out before winter time and would probably want to sell them to offset the cost of some new 19" RUF's The dealer has just mounted up brand new tires (not sure what brand yet) and I may sell those with the rims or seperately. e-mail me if you would like to discuss further.

A winter tire post at the end of May?! Now that's planning ahead!

Yeah, it sure is. Although I have heard that it is common for there to be a shortage of snow tires in the Fall. Not sure if that's true though...

Here in souther ontario, there are consistent shortages in fitments for winter tires in the fall. Know this as I do the advertising for a major tire manufacturer here in Canada. Summer makes a lot of sense. Supply and demand.

I don't know about that. I bought my snows last November and every place I called in Toronto including the dealers, had stock. I ended up ordering them from tirerack through Damon because the price was substantially less even after currency exchange, duty & tax and shipping. What he recommended and sold me was EXACTLY what the parts manager at the Porsche dealer recommended for my car.