I just recently purchased an 02 C2 Cab with 21K miles. The previous owner upgraded to Porsche 19" Carrera Classics with Conti Contact Sport 2's in 235 35 front and and 295 30 back. The wheels look super and are in as new condition!


The tires have about 11K miles on them so I started researching tire replacement. I'm a PCA member so I started a chat with the PCA 996 tech specialist. Very nice and extremely dedicated guy. He told me that my wheel tire combo was totally incorrect for a 996. Tire/wheel diameter size should be 25" and I have 25.5" front and 26" back. He said my acceleration will suffer with taller gear effect,as well as handling as the center of gravity is higher, abs light may come on, speedo and odo error, and on and on. Are these concerns valid enough for me to take a bath on selling or trading my absolutely gorgeous as new 19" Carrera Classics or are they overblown? Are these theoretical concerns or if I went to the 18" Carrera's would I really notice a difference?


He said to ditch the 19's and go back to the 18's. I have driven the car for a couple of weeks now in a variety of situations and it seems plenty fast with strong torque and corners quite nicely. The car also has a carbon fiber strut brace and the previous owner insists that the current tire and 19" wheel set up with strut brace is superior to the 18's.

I'm confused. I looked at different 19" tire sizes to get at the target 25" and came up with 235 35 front and either 275 30 back or 315 25's. I worry about the 315's in the rain. These sizes would also not be N rated. Is no N rating something to worry about?


I'm thinking just keep the 19's and buy 235 35 and 295 30 Michelin Pilot Sport PS2's as they will be N rated and call it a day.

What do you think?

Thanks.

 

I was going to buy those same wheels for my c2 but read about the adverse affects of 19" wheels on 996 suspension and decided against it. If your car is a weekend joy car then you should be ok but I drive my car alot and would rather play it safe.

 

I switched to 19" on my 996 and really noticed no appreciable difference in performance or handling. Perhaps if I commuted 100 miles every day or if I did track days, but for most 996 users the car is used infrequently and driven very carefully. The PCA guy saying "totally incorrect" is totally incorrect. The 1/2" difference in diameter shouldn't be that big a deal, especially when we have 6 gears to select from.

The switch to 19" is VERY COMMON and tons of 996/997 cars are driven to the limit on 19" diameter wheels.

 

Just get the correct size tires and that'll solve your problem.

18" vs 19" debate really depends on how often you drive the car, what type of road condition is in your city, if it is a dedicated track car and/or if you like the harsh ride of 19"s or not. Nobody can tell you otherwise since all these answers are different for everyone.

 

My tires are 235/35 19" front and 285/30 19" rear. Ride/performance unchanged from the 18" turbo twists with 225/40 and 265/35 size that came on the car.

I find PCA club guys are often opinionated and inflexible where common mods go.

 

I have the carrera classic 19's on my carrera 4. My tire sizes 235/35/19 front and 295/30/19 rear. I will say that on the first day of the switch my steering wheel felt a little softer. But I took the car up to mountain roads and wore her out and felt NO noticeable difference on backroads. I dont take her to the track, but im sure the difference is negligible. I have no ABS light either. Its slightly tighter with the 18's, but im 100% pleased with the 19's. I dont think it will be worth the money downgrading back to 18's.

 

First off. Thanks everybody for the response.

ske- I'm leaning in your direction.
alan berry- I test drove a couple of cars with "proper 18's" and noticed no difference.
The backs are 1" taller. I talked to Wheel Enhancements and they said they do lots of 19" upgrades with no problems.
ekam- the car will only be summer driven on nice days and will never see track time.
Our roads here range from excellent to bad. When I test drove cars with the "proper 18's" on bad roads they were just as bad as the 19's.On smooth roads, life is wonderful.

I'd like to hear more comments on my original post. AND Is N rating a factor? Anyone running 315/25/19's on the back? They are 25.2" diameter.

Thanks.