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It turns out my 02 4S has after market 19 inch wheels. I find this very annoying since it seems to be much harder to find replacement rear tires. Also, I have heard that the 19inch wheels don't ride or handle as well as the 18 inch.
Is it true that the 19th inch wheels don't ride and handle as well and if so is the difference enough to justify switching out the wheels?
If anyone has a set of OEM 18 inch wide body 996 wheels and has been dreaming of going to 19s, I would be receptive to a trade.
In order to keep your speedo accurate, you must reduce the tire sidewall height by an amount that corresponds to the increasing wheel size (you want the circumference of the mounted tire to be the same, regardless of whether the wheel in the middle is 18" or 19").
Reducing the sidewall height by half an inch can drastically affect the ride quality. It can also affect how "twitchy" your PSM feels, since bouncy tires spend more time off the ground than compliant, taller tires that can absorb impact without bouncing completely off the road surface.
Whether it's worth going back to 18's depends on how awesome your car looks with 19's. Mine looks fantastic (in my opinion, of course), so I'm not willing to go to the smaller wheel in order to get a more compliant ride. I did, however, adjust my shocks to increase the ride height by about half an inch when I purchased my car - the very low stance left the car too tightly sprung for my taste. Giving the shocks an extra half inch of travel was enough difference for me to be willing to keep the 19's and not jiggle my kidneys into jelly.
Thanks. Frankly, I am not a fan of the wheels. It is the one thing on the car i don't like. I bought the car because it fit the bill in every other area and in spite of the wheels. The problem is that replacing them is going to cost a fortune and I am not confident I can quickly sell the ones I have to get my money back.
But, my car rides rough. All things being equal, I would rather go back to the 18s.
If your suspension has been upgraded, you may be able to adjust the preload / ride height to make the ride more comfortable.
You may be surprised at how much you can sell used 19" wheels for - it may be worth posting up a "gauging interest" thread to see if anyone's willing to buy/trade.
Yeah, I should take some pictures and put up a thread here and on Pelican parts and see if someone makes me an offer. They are in perfect condition. They are just not my cup of tea. If I could get a decent price for them, I could then afford to get new 18s.
The car I bought came with 19s and I have zero issues with ride quality/handling. And did not realize it then but REALLY like how my car looks with 19s (yes, flame suit is on )
It is not that they are 19s. It is just I don't like these wheels that much. They could be 18s and I still wouldn't like them. And I haven't driven my car with 18s. Maybe they don't make a difference. A lot of people seem to think they do.
Yeah, I should take some pictures and put up a thread here and on Pelican parts and see if someone makes me an offer. They are in perfect condition. They are just not my cup of tea. If I could get a decent price for them, I could then afford to get new 18s.
Pics needed. Maybe someone may wanna trade with you as well.
I'm right there with you - 996's can look AWESOME with 19's - but apparently OP's 19's aren't as sweet as ours.
Originally Posted by kromdom
The car I bought came with 19s and I have zero issues with ride quality/handling. And did not realize it then but REALLY like how my car looks with 19s (yes, flame suit is on )
09-03-2014, 03:25 PM
18 vs 19 inch wheels
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