Hi folks.

I was wondering if anyone knows if putting 20' wheels on the rear and 19" on the front works/looks okay.

I had an RX7 and NSX in the past and mixing the sizes was common. I don't see it so much on Porsche'.

Is there a reason?

And if anyone has done so, could you please post a photo.

I tried doing a search but really couldnt find what I was looking for.

 

For some reason I do not think that mismatched wheel sizes look good or is functional on German cars. That said, would you even out the overall diameter of the wheel by properly selecting rubber that would be taller on the fronts Vs the rear?

 

it is not usually done on porsches

 

THAT IS SACRELIGIOUS !! Turn in your keys!

 

Someone else did that a while back, they said it worked fine. My thoughts are that the engineers in Germany are a lot smarter then most of us here, and came up with a setup that balances the car out fairly well.

 

20s in front and 17s in the back may help better with weight distribution.

 

lol, and cheaper to replace tires too. I don't see anything wrong with it, as long as you keep it close to the diameter of OEM, personally I would not do it. Even at the same size the rear usually looks larger anyways, even more so if you have deep dish wheels.

 

Many sports cars have a conventional wedge shape, with the front visually lower than the back. Porsche, however, relies on a pronounced coke-bottle shape (wider rear end) to impart a sporty appearance to the car. This allows the car to have its signature teardrop (reversed wedge) profile.

IMO, larger rear wheels help fill up the expanse of space at the back end of a conventionally shaped sports car. The larger rear wheels also help echo the car's wedge shape while advertizing where the power is being delivered to the road.

With Porsche's reversed-wedge profile there isn't that much vertical space at the rear that needs to be "filled up". Additionally, the 911 relies more on its wide rear end to advertize power delivery at the rear wheels. As a result, the 911 may not need bigger wheels in the back to complement the design.

There would also be some performance considerations. With a larger rear tire diameter, which you may need to maintain ride comfort, you would need a bit more torque from the engine to push the car. Then there's the problem of additional unsprung weight added to the rear of a (theoretically) tail-happy car.

Of course, this is just my non-expert analysis, without being able to get inside the heads of the Porsche designers and engineers.

Nevertheless, taller wheels/tires at the back may actually look really good, and I would love to see it. Who knows, if you do it and post some pics, you just might start a trend!

 

I liked it on my NSX but I don't think I would like it on my C2S.

 

Here is the thread where someone did it.

https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/...m-heretic.html