I've been looking for a dedicated set of track wheels and wanted a bit of clarification on what the thinking was for many to downsize to 19s from stock 20s on a 991.

Both my cars have the identical OEM stock wheels:
Front: 9 x 20" - 51 mm offset 245/35 ZR20 Rear: 11.5 x 20" - 48 mm offset 305/30 ZR20
http://www.suncoastparts.com/product/SKU50YRWHL.html
that are a bit pricey to run at the track and therefore would like a dedicated set.

Though I'm not exactly sure how much room the brakes really need, or if they were specified by Porsche for aesthetic reasons, the offsets preclude many wheels that I would like to consider.
I don't need the latest bling with the right brand name, really nothing fancy, just light wheels that aren't hard to look at, used OEM or new 3rd party will do. To me it's more of doing the optimal thing.

Re tires, calculations say that if you maintain the diameter, the sidewalk on 19's would be higher, thus more flex ~ bad?
Otherwise do people run both smaller diameter wheels while maintaining a proportionally smaller tire diameter?
I've also seen people going to thinner, more narrow wheels/tires as well.

My logic would think that wider tires with lower profile sidewalls would be best grip-wise for the track. While I understand that smaller is lighter, is the weight savings worth the smaller contact patch?
Is it to save money on tires since 19s are cheaper? Are the OEM wheels too heavy? Too precious?

Would someone please shine some light on this. Economically, while saving $75/tire would be nice, does it make sense to make the initial investment of new wheels/tires to save on future wheel costs? On the low end, let's say a decent 3rd party wheel setup will cost $3,000, it would take ten sets of tires in the new size to see the savings vs using the OEM spec (assuming a $300 savings per set of tires).

Let's say that weekend warrior track performance is the sole goal, how would you roll?

Many thanks in advance

 

I have 19" OEM Carrera Classics (from 997.1) that I've used very successfully on my 991C2S without any spacers or problems. They are currently mounted with Toyo 888's that have 2 track days on them, and are for sale since I don't plan to track this car any more. Please PM me if you're interested -- I am pricing them to move and they are 5 minutes from NYC (in Fort Lee, NJ).

 

I run a dedicated set of track wheels (19" OZ Racing Ultrallegro) and Michelin Sport Cup 2's.
The difference between 19's and 20's on the track are night and day. The 20's have very little feedback, while the 19's communicate with you.

As for the cost savings, its hard to predict a break even point as it depends on so many variables. This is a fun thing, so you can't really put a price on it.

 

My street tires wheels are 20" Sport Technos. On track, I run 19" BBS CHR. Good selection of tires available. No, more sidewall is not necessarily bad. Don't forget, You have the ability to adjust lateral tire movement with air pressure. You get better feel and feedback, imho. Low profile can sometimes feel like sliding on bricks.

I need to drive my car to the track so I use street tires. I chose Michelin Super Sports and am happy with them.

Why 19"? Good tire selection and the fact I didn't want to muck up my pretty 20" wheels and tires that I use on the street. Also some track tires, even streetable tires (especially worn) can make pretty lousy (comfort, noise) daily driver tires. Price was a consideration, too, though not a huge one.

My sizes:
19x8.5, 245/40-19
19x11, 295/35-19

 

Though what you see in the photos below are 20" because only 20" will fit the 991 Turbo/S - We do have Widebody and Narrowbody options that are available in 19" if you wanted to use them for the track. Best of all we have them onsale as well so you could be getting a set with discount included at $2000 flat for the set in 19", so you'll be able to spend a little more to get really great track tires!

The tires which we would recommend just in case you want to see what is available in the market is 235/40/19 and 295/35/19. Though I'm biased of course, having a solid wheel that I would trust with a serious investment in a 991 GTS would be a good idea to make sure that there aren't issues with the wheels when you're going around a fast bend.











You could send me a PM if you have any questions of course

 

Thanks for the input everyone

As a follow-up, I bought a used set of wheels for the track and I wanted to find out if anyone had experience with fifteen52 wheels?

http://www.52outlaw.com/order/#!/For...330/category=0

I have quotes for their monoblocks and three piece wheels, they're a bit pricey but nice to look at. I thought they would complement either of my 911s well with their designs.

I'm thinking of these just for the street so I'd want to be as close to OEM as possible while building in custom offsets to bring out the wheels a bit, 5mm in front, 10mm in back.

So the question is, while building your custom wheels on a widebody 991, were there any limitations, considerations for the offsets?