I am in the process of purchasing a set of HRE P40's for my 09 TT and would like some feedback on which size to go with. I know the 20" is the likely choice for the aggressive look that it gives the car however I want to maintain the stock ride quality (or very close to stock) and I have been told that the 20" tires have so little sidewall that the ride difference is significant. Can anyone else speak to this? I am undecided as to whether I should lower the car; if I go with the 20" wheels I think it will fill the well quite nicely w/o lowering versus the 19" which I think would definitely need lowering to give me the look that I want. It has been recommended that I use H&R lowering springs to maintain ride quality. I am in a bit of a conundrum.

Ken

 

I prefer the 19's for performance. I have run the P40 and P43 on my 997TT. I now run the C93. 20's look awesome on the 997 body style. They use a 245/30/20 and a 325/25/20 which is barely smaller then the 19 OE sizes. So you might have a bit more feel to the road. The H&R springs might be your downfall to comfort with 20's as you cannot set any dampening. You most definitely need to lower it though! I have a ton of info at www.vividracing.com/hrewheels.

Here is a customers car on 20's and my car on 19's.

 

20's for 'show'. 19's for 'go'.

 

I have to say those 19s look awesome on your car, Dan. I was all about 20s in 12 or 13 inch width on the rear but the lowered 19s still look best imho

 

Vivid, so you had to lower it with 19's or is it just if you run 20's?

 

As much as I like 20s all I see withe bigger wheels is the rotors and I think they look too small then.

 

I do not come to this section much BUT noticed the thread....
So I thought I would chime in and say for the street I love the look of my 20's and being that the streets have so many variables with the road surface....I do not see a few extra pounds making that big of a difference for performance...BUT that is just my opinion!

I am on my second set of 20's(check my album out if you want to see)
https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/...p?albumid=3611
https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/...hp?albumid=611

I weighed the wheels and these were the weights:

Wheel weights......all weighed on the same bathroom scale

Carrera Classic wheels(19") with Pirelli P Zero Rosso tires(50% tread)...

Fronts....45.6 lbs 235/35/19
Rears.....53.6 lbs 295/30/19

DPE S series (20") with Pirelli P Zero Nero

Fronts...48.6 lbs 235/30/20
Rears....53.8 lbs 305/25/20

Dpe SPSC-5(super concaved) with Nitto Invio tires

Fronts....49.6 lbs 235/30/20
Rears.....59.7 lbs 305/25/20

And the Invios were the widest(by 1") and the heaviest,even though the Pirelli's had the same 305 width number!

I understand that there is more to the "Performance" thing than weight...BUT I was REALLY REALLY surprised that the weight differences weren't more and being that you are looking at the HRE mono blocks.....the weight difference would be negligible over your stock size...

NOW as far as ride quality....I actually think the 20's,in my case,are more comfortable riding than the stock 19's and I cannot tell you why!
But one thing to note our roads here are really good!

Either size...those HRE's will look stellar on your car!
GL with your choice...

Cheers,

Stacy

 

To all, first thanks for your input. I can not say enough about the generosity of the members in this forum.

I am going to take a ride tomorrow in a 997 TT with 20" wheels and H&R springs to get a feel for the ride.

What it is the consensus on the best lowering method? Springs, coil over, etc. Again with emphasis on ride quality but looks are obviously a huge factor.

 

If your shopping 20 inch wheels sounds like you dont track much. Assuming that I would just go with GMG springs and to get it all aligned right the RSS metal bits on the rear.

 

19s for sure.. car is more comfortable for city driving, and it's more ideal for the track

 

19s and a gmg spring/sway setup is incredible for the street

 

I wouldn't know where to track in the carolinas so assumptions are correct- no track. It's a third car but does get driven almost every day....when it's not raining.

 

if your not tracking the Turbo or doing any road course racing, then there's only one way to go.......20's

 

Thanks Bogg!

 

Your making me drool with your new set of wheels! Out of curiosity why'd you go with a smaller sidewall on your new set on your fronts?