Now before you start throwing lug wrenches at me, I don't believe its as dumb as it sounds! My '91 $$$$4 originally came with 7" front & 8" rear, GT & GTS 928's with 8" & 9". I'm thinking (in my mind) that for just typical city driving and highway cruising that all four tires at 8" or 81/2" on 18 or 19" rims (with appropriate spacers on the rear for staggerd tracking) would work fine.

You see, I aint got no chips or supercharger, and my "normal" driving would consist of short BWAAAs where and whenever I can, but I'm too old to be a racer boy and with a liquor license for my restaurant constantly at risk I do not want to draw too much attention to my driving (and liquid refreshment) habits.

I read somewhere that there is less tendency to aquaplane on a narrower tire than the the big ones and I would have a tendency to want to drive my 928 as a DD during early, early spring through late, late fall in Michigan. That means the likelyhood of frost and or light ice or snow, and fat tires on the *** of these cars get just a little too squirrelly for my comfort in those conditions. Aside from the minimal difference in cost for the fat *** tires & rims in the rear, I figure I might even get a little rotation on the tires too.

Soooooo........ am I being stoopid, or not? No negative, monosyllabic replies, please. Your lengthy and passionate statements either way will be welcomed, enjoyed and respected.

Paul Barrera '91 $$$$4

 

in the stock tire and rim package range, dont worry about it. I think running 255s on all 4 corners would be a good thing. Vets used to run those. I would tend to run a lttle more staggar with size in the rear for street use. I run "4 square" at the track and 315s up front vs 275s are just a little bit heavier feeling up front.

 

given that the early cars came from the factory with the same size tire at all four corners (16x7's here), I doubt there is anything fundamentally wrong with doing this.

 

If its for DD purposes, go for it. Side effect will be light understeer when pushing corners too fast, but you'll also be able to rotate tires, so for DD purposes this makes sense, as you can wear the set down evenly, rather than going through several rears per set of fronts.

You can get a set of Cayenne wheels pretty cheap - the 18"x8 ones are ET 57mm (offset) which is a good match (928 CS 8" rims are ET60). By cheap, I mean like $300 for a set. You'd need some spacers for the rear - 12mm or so would do it, and you can fit 225, 235 or 245 width tires all round. 928's came with 225 and 245 on 8" wide rims, so anywhere in that range would be good I'd say.

I'm sure you know this given you live in Michigan, but for the benefit of others, you should get some winter tires for driving in snow/frost/cool conditions, as they'll offer much better levels of grip.

 

the correct answer to the thread title question is: understeer

 

My old 79 handled so good on all four wheels having 7" wide tires on it. I think the handling kind of went south a little when wider tires were introduced to the 928... IMHO... GO FOR IT!

 

It is just fine to run all four the same as noted 78-86 ALL came that way ! plus as mentioned you can rotate the wheels and even out the wear patterns. And yes wide tires do NOT work as well on snow or water it is 99% about the LOOK ! And gas mileage is BETTER with narrow rims. That is one funny aspect about the Prious "upgraded" wheels tires they drop the MPG but the car is tested for EPA with the base small efficient wheels

 

255's will not fit on a 7" wheel. Use 235.

As long as your OD and recommended rim range is OK, then there is no reason not to.

 

I'll toss a coin in the game... Perhaps the factory made the rears a bit wider because they could, because it made some snes with the added torque from the new motor, the more aggressive looks, and last but not least, to get another separation from the dreaded oversteer. All guesses.

 

Damon, you got any smokin' deals on 17" tires? 255 40 or 45 17. Four all together. PM me so we don't interject on Ninespub's thread.
Kevin

 

One customer put 7.5 by 17 (fronts) on all four corners it worked well with bolt on spacers on the rear.

 

Dr Bob 911s got flairs , spoilers and wing things plus wider rear tires......all those cool looking bandaids to fix basic design flaws Now many people think your NEED those ! The first 996 was properly flat sided but customer demand required the LOOK .

 

I run a Kumho Solus KR21 225/50/16 on my wife's car. Great tire, quiet, 80k mile tread rating, no real issues with it wet or dry. Perfectly fine for trips, and around town, but I hate to even think about how much the real performance must be degraded from the staggered 225 and 245 set of Pilot Sport II's on my 928.

Maybe its a waste of money, but I want me to be the limiting factor on my 928, not the tires.

 

Hey gang, thanks for your replies. What I must not have made clear was I would be going to 18 x 8" (ie: carrera 3's) or 19 x 8 1/2 inch rims (wagonwheels) all the way around and kick out the rears with a spacer to give it a bit more staggered look and fill up the rear wheel wells! Carry on with the dialogue; inquiring minds are watching!

Paul Barrera '91 $$$$4

 

Having the same size front and rear REALLY makes the cars with stock factory suspension settings handle so nicely. I run the same size slicks front and rear and prefer the handling feel and balance of the OB cars with 7" front and rear... VERY NICE and even.