Hey guys, brand new Porsche owner - I'll have pics and everything up soon.

I am buying a car that is going to need tires right off the bat, Looking to get some Dunlop Direzza ZIIs - Use these on my current car and I really like them, very grippy.

They come in either 225/40/18 or 235/40/18 for the front but just 285/40/18 for the rear (no 295 size).

So - if I were to go 225/40/18 with 285/40/18 what size wheels would you run (width & offset)?

Is 235 fronts a better width for more aggressive driving?

Also, I like an aggressive look, wheels and tire just at the body line, with some negative camber to have them tuck into the fender wells at the top. What would be the ideal offset to run for this?

I am looking to keep weight down on the wheels, and I will be using the car for fun street driving as well as autocross and HPDE events. Car is stock height right now but I may get some Coilovers or springs/dampers in the future. So it won't be slammed, it will be very functional on height. Basically, it is going to be driven like it was supposed to.

I come form the Import world where there is choices aplenty so I am a bit out of my element here haha.

Thanks!

 

Welcome to the group. The best answer is to start with the wheels that are on the car. Next try a search on the tire question as it is covered extensively herein. The quick answer is Michelin works perfectly on these cars. Try that search option though as there are hundreds of posts on this very tire question. Porsche engineers do a great deal of testing before putting tires/wheels on these cars - you, me and everyone else herein can postulate opinions but that won't change what the engineers designed the cars and suspensions to work best with.

 

Porsche recommends a 225 width for the front tires. Adding width takes away steering feel. I'd suggest spacers to push the tires out towards the body rather than wider tires. As for the rears, lots of people run 285 width on narrow body cars. You should be fine with that.

Like Steve, I'm also a big fan of Michelin tires on the 996. They work very well. One thing to consider though - the 996 is typically set up with negative camber from the factory. With the factory settings, rear tires last ~10K miles. If you have so much negative camber that your rears tuck under the fender on the top, then you will probably get far fewer miles from a set of tires - maybe 5K miles?

 

Is something like this what you have in mind, or maybe not quite so low?

 

Welcome to the 6 Look forward to seeing your beast.

 

The Pilot Sport Cups or PS2s are nice, but I really like the Direzza ZII's, amazing grip and feel.

I didn't want to run spacers as I don't want to change out all of my wheels studs, and I will be doing some hard driving/track work.

How much negative camber does the 996 run from factory?

I was more asking about the offset and width opposed to tires, I guess I should have staged the questions better.

The fronts look good to me on that car, but the rears are a bit too much. I would want to run less camber and the wheel sticks out a bit too much.

Thanks!

 

If you're going to track the car, go with 235's up front, helps to cut down on under steer. I like 295's in the back also.

 

The 996 uses wheel bolts rather than studs, so spacers (wider than 3mm) just require longer lug bolts.

 

Thanks, I think I may go that route.

Ah, good to know!

 

OEM wheel spacers use the existing bolts to attach to the hub. They have studs that require lug nuts. Porsche sells them.

 

It's 285/30-18 for the rear, not 285/40, assuming stock optional 18"s on the car. As mentioned, 225/40-18 is stock for front, but 235/40 would work, as the difference is very small. Always remember that because a tire is great on one car, that's not always the case for another, especially if going from FWD to RWD, and totally different aspect ratios. Sidewall stiffness changes completely. I don't know anything about the Direzza IIs. The Pilot Super Sport has gotten rave reviews from 996/997 owners.