Gentlemen,

With my now hopefully completely fixed drive train it is time to replace totally worn out street tires (how did that happen:-)? This is an excellent opportunity to update my poor quality aftermarket wheels for street use, and gives me the option to choose diameter and size. I have seen many threads on look of wheels and choice of tire sizes, but no concise summary of what dimensions and offsets fits with acceptable interference on a quite radically lowered 2001 996TT.
Can you guide me to a good source of information, or respond with recommendations?
After I know what fits I will decide whether to go with 18 or 19", partially depending on available tire sizes. Last time I looked the selection of 19" with the same front and rear circumference was very limited.

TIA,
Ola (Sarasota, FL)

 

HI,, 18'' wheels IMO..
Do yourself a favor use the SEARCH option on this site,,,Lots of info on this topic to learn from and many opinions..
Good Luck

 

19s look better IMO. If you are willing to sacrifice a little performance by running a slightly larger tire combo, the price difference isn't much more from 18s and the amount of sidewall will be the same as your stock wheels. I wouldn't do this if you regularly track or autox. Good luck. It took me a while to decide on going with 19s.

 

Just my .02 ... Put on 19 this past weekend, drove it for about an hour and so far I'm liking it. I went with 997tt fit because I found a used set of HRE's for a steal. 8.5 et51 235/35/19 front & 11.5 et43 305/30/19 rear. Had to put a 7mm spacer on the rear so it wouldn't rub (adjusted the rear fender liner bracket with John's advise - thanks powdrhound). RWD only so no worries about the front diff. I will hold on to my 18's for track days but for everyday 19's look great.

 

I'm **** about wheels on my cars…..in all cases I spent time PhotoShpg them to my car pics and littering the room with print-outs to decide. Also…probably just me but I don't think the 'parked' pics tell the whole story. How a wheel looks slow-rolling (parking lot or residential St.) is important……They all look the same at 75. but rolling slowly they either compliment the important thing (the car)….or if they're busy your eye is drawn to them rather than the whole package……almost a distraction. Anyway, here are a few random points:

· OE Turbo twists are 8J / 11J with 50 &45 offset. Many folks space those out with 14mm to an effective 36/41. A relatively common fitment for 19s is 8J / 11J and 42 / 30…..no spacer....and using something like 235/35and 315/25 rubber. BTW, a pair of 19s like that in the rear, say Mich PSIIs is around $1200.

· Since we mention tires……some would say start there for type/brand that you favor……then, on the sizes that are available, use the TireRack table to for the tire's ideal rim size…..then see if some of your favorite rims are do-able in that size.

· 18 for the track….as light as you can. 19s for bling street wheels, but 18s are just fine on the street also……actually much of whether a wheel looks good relative to the wheel arch has less to do with 18 or 19…..more to do w/ offset and suspension height…..IMHO

· If you find a car or a pic of a car where you like the wheel placement (in the wheel arch)….save it.....find out what the wheel size & offset was. It’s easy to transpose those numbers to a different wheel (8J to 9J for instance) while maintain the wheel position you liked on the car or pic that you found. Many ways, of course to deal w/ suspension but it sounds like you’re already are lowered.

· Buy quality…..and a good name….there’s lots of cheap wheels out there priced pretty much what they are worth

· You mention front-rear match of circumference…..several on-line calculators as you probably are aware and also on the Tire Rack site tables……but the 996T differential does not require an exact match.....rather I think the conventional wisdom says within 3%....someone correct me if that's changed

Hope something here helped. I have quite a few wheels…. different for different cars and different for different uses on the same car….I doubt that any of these align with anyone else’s tastes but as I said ‘very personal & subjective’……your's is the only opinion that matters.

None-the-less, there are wheels scattered through my site….many are custom or custom finished......you are welcome to take a look, if not for the wheels the offset and general placement.......have fun shopping.

 

Give me a call, I'm happy to help answer all the questions you have!

 

This is my setup:


19x8.5 and 19x12

235/35 and 315/25

 

I always hated the stock Turbo wheels. Found a set of BBS RS-GT's that were the stock size and they look great on my car with H&R springs. I'm running 235/40 front, 315/30 rear. Many people have said that they look like 19's on my car. I think lowering the car a bit is key.

 

Did you use spacer on your rear wheels.

 

not coincidentally, the best look on the car also happens to be the best handling. imo, that is a lowered car with 18's. with or without spacers, depending on wheel choice. why folks think they have to trade off(?) on looks/stance and go 19 or larger, i will never understand. it doesn't help the car do what we ask of it, to run a larger wheel. it just doesn't. then again, if ya think it really looks better then stay with the 19. but lower is better.