Anyone able to get a 17inch wheel on a 996 NB with regular/standard brakes and rotors? I have a chance to buy a sweet set of BBS 3pc gold center E26 wheels that would look sweet on my black C4. Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

 

17" wheels were "standard" on early model 996's. I know my buddy has a set of 17" Turbo look wheels that he uses for winter tires. You do need to check the offsets.

 

I have a set of 17's and 18's. The 17's are fine. The stock size. I think the ride is better with the 17's but the look is better with my18's.
I had an opertunity to weigh each and the 17's were lighter.

 

17's

 

That's what my 2001 911 came with and still has. The fronts were set too far in so I installed H&R 15 mm bolt-through spacers with longer lug bolts. Here's a photo.

 

my mkII came with 17's as well

 

Is there a benefit to running 17s?

 

good ride, cheap tires, winter use.

 

17's are supposed to give you better acceleration and slightly better handling because you have less unsprung weight per wheel on each corner of the vehicle. 17's are smaller sized rims than standard on most Carreras this should give the car shorter gearing therefore more low end to mid speed in the RPM band. I will expierment on my part and try some super light 17's vs. my factory 18's and I bet my car will be a little faster with 17's. You have to choose between functionality and looks sometimes.

 

17s won't affect gearing if overall diameter is maintained with the use of correctly sized tires. Due to the 17" tires having a higher aspect ratio and narrower width, I doubt it would give better handling. Better acceleration, yes, but only a few tenths of a second which is insignificant for daily road use.

 

If that is true then why does the car feel slower with bigger rims? Is it just the speedometer reading slower then?
I didn't expect better handling with narrower tires but keep in mind certain rims make a difference.

 

I apologize for not being clear. As cheekyguille seem to have 18s and he asked the question, my answer was based on a comparison between stock 17s and stock 18s. Of course, jumping from 17s to heavy aftermarket 19s, you'll definitely feel the difference. Any 5lbs additional unsprung weight can be felt. But, between stock 17s and stock 18s with 300hp minimum, it is very insignificant for road use.

Rims does make a difference and there are a lot of factors that could contribute to the overall feel and performance. Like I did, one can always get the lighter weight 19s (my 19s weight similar to heavier 17s and standard 18s; around 5lbs-7lbs lighter than standard aftermarket 19s) with the use of lighter tires. I get the looks of the 19s with the performance and feel of 18s and 17s.

The speedometer will read slower only if you use tires that would contribute to a larger overall diameter. If you follow the Plus concept as well as do some computations (1010tires.com has a good calculator) to maintain proper OD, speedometer & odometer reading will be maintained as closely to factory specs.

Now back to 18s going to 17s in terms of handling, to maintain factory OD, one would have to do the opposite of the Plus One concept going to a higher aspect ratio and narrower tires. That would affect grip and steering response which are part of handling performance.

 

Alright this makes more sense now when I think about it. What material rim (quality wise) do you think is good for the 996? Light, strong, and not too expensive. What do you think about Carbon Fiber rims has anyone bought these yet? Ever heard of Dymag brand?

 

whats the widest tire you can get on 996 C4 rear with 17inch rims?

 

I think 11' wide if I am not mistaken.