Here's my 2009....



She has the stock 18" wheels... on the stock OEM wheels, is it possible to put wider tires on? I'm wanting to do this more for appearance than anything else as I don't plan to track the car (assuming that wider rubber would be safe on the stock rims).

Second question, can you please tell me more about "spacers"...

From the pictures in other threads, they seem like a very EASY install... just take the tire off, use longer lug bolts and place the spacer on first, then the wheel. Is it that easy?

Okay, if I can't/don't go with wider wheels... what size spacers for the front and rear do I need? Can you please give me a source to order from? This "seems" like a pretty cost effective appearance mod (yes/no?) ???


Thanks,
Mark

 

I'm running the same wheels on my 4S with 17mm spacers on the back. It really improves the look. Porsche makes a spacer kit that includes everything you need. My dealer handled the installation, but you should be able to do it yourself if you are comfortable changing a wheel. If you have a narrow body car, you will probably need a different spacer kit.

 

Spacers add unsprung weight.

 

Huh?.. How much?
__________

If it were me (and it was, I passed on a '10 w/ 18's to buy my C2 with 19's), I might wait until I could pull the trigger on some take-off 19s, and save the 18s for track days, or put 'em up for sale here. Guys who do track days frequently look for stock 18s.

That's just my .02 cents.. but I certainly wouldn't concern myself with unsprung weight as a reason not to go wider.

 

Every extra ounce adds unsprung weight. Either you are after performance or bling - not both. As you say, track guys prefer 18s.

 

You can put wider tires on your car, however you are limited to the width of your wheels. I run a 315/30/18 in the rear (track wheels), as for the spacers, yes it is as easy as your description, and yes it will add some extra unsprung weight, but you won't notice any difference, as they aren't that heavy. The wider stance will make your car look a little more aggressive.

 

I wouldn't exactly call a guy who buys a new 911 but doesn't 'track day' it a bling freak..

I suppose I could have bought a new Prius and saved 60K ... nah, that ain't me..

 

Good lookin' car.

I keep looking, but I still can't find a wheel that I think is worth upgrading to (I actually traded down to these from Carrera S II wheels when I got the car because I thought 18's would be better for ride and I liked the styling - replacement tires are a lot cheaper too, I realize now) - there's a nice clean look to these wheels and they are really easy to clean up.

I'm adding the 5mm Porsche spec'd (C2/C2S) spacers - my motive is neither performance nor bling - if realized I'll post back the benefit I'm expecting - it'll be silly, I promise. I've seen others do larger spacers, but I think 5mm will work for me and keep the car in spec.

If you are going to DIY the PAG spacers, Suncoast has a really good price on them.

 

Suncoast has spacers from 5mm all the way up to 15 and 18mm.

I'm thinking 5mm spacers wouldnt be very noticeable...

Would the 15mm ones work well on my car?

 

as for spacers - it is all bling IMHO unless your modified suspension requires some additional offset for stock wheels. i run 15mm in front as i have GT3 upper mounts rotated to let 9" wide rims go deeper into wheel wells. But if you like it - why not. order up 5mm and 10mm sets and see how it looks like, it is not an extreme waste of money. they will come with lugs.

for tires - you have probably 18" 8" fronts, 10.5" rears - you can fit 245mm front tires and 285/295 rears, preferably 295 in rear.

hankook r-s3 has 245/285 option you can use.

conti dws has a lot of options for 235,245,285,295 so you will need to check tires diameters keeping fronts a bit smaller than rears, like pairing fronts with 295mm rears you got: 235/40r18 is 25.4", 245/40r18 is 25.7 (which is better) and 245/45r18 is too large at 26.7 so just keep attention on what exactly do you order.

as of wider rims - you can fit up to 9" in front and 12" rims in rear, that is what I run for track on 265/335 rubber but it is way too much rubber for street driving. on street i use my stock carrera classic rims currently on 235/265 rubber, nest season will change it to 245/285 r-s3 hankooks.

 

Thanks a bunch Utkinpol,

I'll be needing new tires in perhaps less than a thousand miles... fortunately, I do business with a local tire company. I barter my dental services with the owner and his family all the time... I can literally get any tire from him at his cost.

Next go around, I think I will try your suggested bigger tire sizes, and the 15mm spacers all around.

One more question... so lets say I go with a 245/40R18 for the fronts and 295/40R18.... would this be appropriate? And you say that tire diameters are okay so long as the diameter on the fronts are an inch less than the rears? Did I read your comments correctly?

Sheesh... this stuff is beyond me... Sorry dude, I literally need some to say: "Order ###/##R18, diameter for front, and then the same for the rears".

Mark

 

I'm sure I could ask my tire guy what to order... but up here in mountains, very nice guy but probably not knowledgeable about sports cars... I expect that he will know what will fit on the rims, but NOT what will handle appropriately.

 

245/40r18 fronts, 295/35r18 rears just check first which tires do you get - go to tirerack.com and use their 'specs' tab to see list of available sizes. it shows there what rims will that particular size fit.

 

Got my spacers installed today - lot of $$$ just to get another 1/4 clearance to make it easier to clean the front calipers, but ya gotta do what ya gotta do. I did promise it would be silly. But I figure any reason is gonna be silly - may as well be practical as well. And even though it is barely anything, I can see a visual difference - looks good, but not outrageous. Physics - hard to know - sometimes not intuitive - maybe that infinitesimal widening of the track add something?

I'm thinking 19" wheels - maybe some classic 5-spokes or RUFs would make it even easier to get in there to the inside of the rims where the calipers are always in the way.

 

utkinpol,

According to previous posts of yours, your track rims are 9x18 ET 50 and 12x18 ET69, right? Do you use 15 mm spacers up front with these??
Do you use rear spacers as well, with street and/or track rims?

Thanks