Hello..I recently purchased my first turbo and absolutely love it! 2009 997.1 TT. The car came with 20x13 rear and 20x10 front rims on the car. The current tires are shot and need replacing. Current tire size is 325/25/20 rear and 245/30/20 fronts. I love the look of rims and am not really In the market to replace at the moment however having issues finding any tires that seem to work and or make sense. Is anyone running this large of wheel and have any recommendations? My concerns are finding something that is both safe for the car (awd and no rubbing) long term and an occasional weekend Track run. Everything I am finding is either not giving enough clearance as far as ride height, is way off from oem front to back sizing, or does not have the proper load rating for the car (nor does the current tires for that matter) Any advice or suggestions would be appreciated!

 

First and foremost, Thank you for your comment to the 6speed thread,

Wait or, hold up, you actually measured your clearance on tire/fender? Did you also consider your alignment?


Everyone states their experience with their current setup but,

In a 20" rim, I have been very disappointed with a Ruger set that I have. For the average user, its "perfect!" Yes, personally, I don't like them and have a dealt that deals with a smaller lug. I even thought about fabricating an extension lug to make their system work with the correct spacers.


Always ask for a "stock accessory lug option!"


If they cant provide that, Run away!

 

Thanks for the reply. I am not following. The car came with the current setup. The current tires seem to work I guess although appear to be very stretched on the rear rim with a fairly large lip of the rim hanging out. My goal was to get a wider tire to fit the rims better if that is an option. Everything I have found is a taller sidewall which concerns me with the ride height. I am fine with 20's I just can't seem to get any info with how to handle such wide rims on the car as far as sizing goes. Want the car to remain safe and not have any longterm issues. Have you or anyone seen guys running rims this wide without trouble and what tires?

 

The tyre size you have is correct as the rolling diameter is within 3% of OEM spec. You should not go larger tyre wall as you will them run the risk of ruining your 4wd system, diffs etc.

 

I have seen some people run 255/345 setup without any issues. But with this wide, the wheels offset will be a factor.

 

Thanks guys.. I figured if all else fails I'll just stick with the current size that's on the rims currently. Only concern is most of the tire facilities say they will not touch the car since the load rating is not sufficient with that tire. Is there any truth to that and should I be concerned with potential safety of that tire?

 

what type of wheels ?

 

any pictures of the wheels?

 

I could be wrong, but 20x11 and 20x13 wheels on our cars sounds like a problem waiting to happen. 20s look great, but ride much harsher than 19s. Widths of 11 and 13 just seem too aggressive. If it was my car and I needed new tires, I would look for a nice set of 19s no wider than 9 and 12. but that's just me. As stated above pics would be interesting.

 

good advice!

 

Ride is more harsh on 20's is an incorrect statement, I have both 19"s and 20"s on my cars and my 19"s is more harsh and louder than my 20"s. Tires makes a huge difference. Nitto NT555 on 19"s and Michellin PS2 on 20"s. My 20's ride like a luxury sedan. But I do agree, 9 and 12 is ideal.

BTT. OP you only have two choices when it 20"s in your size, Continental SportContact 3 and Michellin PS2 (if you can still find them) or Michellin PSS. 19"s wheels has more choices in tires and is probably ideal for the 997.

 

OP, did you measure the wheels or were you told they were 20x10 and 20x13? I'm asking because that's pretty aggressive as kwiksilver mentioned. You have to measure from inside of the lip to lip, not overall outside width. For example my 20x9 and 20x12 wheels probably have an outside width of 10" and 13". Just wanted to double check.

On my 20x9 and 20x12, I run the same size tires you have 245/30 on front and 325/25 on rears. They are Michelin Super Sports and the load ratings are 90Y front and 101Y rear. The OEM wheels I believe are 87Y front and 102Y rear. I assume your tire store is complaining about the rears? I haven't had a problem. The national chain stores are really **** about the load rating. I don't normally use them because they aren't as careful with large diameter after market wheels so I use tuning shops that specialize in these larger sizes.

 

Thanks for the replies.. I will post a few pics in a day or so when I am near the car. I know going the 19" route or 20" with less width is probably overall my best option I just hate to drop the cash since I just bought the car! Lol. And I really do like the look of the current rims (post pics soon). Just seeing what if any options I have and that I don't damage the car longterm.

Zero911.. You are correct, they are concerned with the rear load rating and 101y is the max I am seeing out there which they claim is too low for the car. (Really prefer not to have a blow out when getting on this bad boy!) They are investigating running those with a higher psi however which may help.

National shops won't touch, Porsche says the car can't handle with its awd system, (and prefers not to speak of anything "non-Porsche" of course) specialty shops tell me it's fine and to stick with the same tires.. Not sure what is right or wrong! Posting a few pics hopefully by tomorrow

 

Found a few. I believe they are Klass wheels. They were measured from the ground with a tool for measuring. Discount also gave me those widths because I was not certain.

 

And another..