Are tire options why people are going 18s vs 17s?
 

I've thought for a while I wanted 17" wheels for my NB 964. But I'm starting to realize that tire sizes are limited (not to mention wheel designs).

Weight is important to me and I personally like the look of more sidewall on older cars. But If I want an aggressive street tire, or a treaded R comp, I'm really limited when I try and put a lot of tire under this car.

Are there options out there for tires over 255 in a 17 in a "good" tire? Or has everyone already figured this out which is why they buy 18s?

It's not possible to cover all the different uses of a 911 with one tire. I like a good set of 17" street tires, I am partial to Continental Extreme Contact DW in 225/45/17 & 255/40/17. Then I would get a set of track wheels that would fit my tire of choice for track days, and you are right in there are more options if you go with an 18" set up.


:cheers:

BFG G-Force Rivals in 225/255 17" sizes. Extreme Performance Summer 200 treadwear tires. How much more aggressive of a street tire do you want?

I just think 18s look better :-D

I just think 17's ride better :burnout:

lots of front tire options. Its the rears that are troubling. I only drive the car 4-5k/yr and I live in costal socal. So honestly, if they made NT01s in 265s I'd probably just use those. RS-3's, AD08s, or some other performance tire would work for occasional track day use.

17" side walls provide better ride but also are generally lighter. I guess I will consider 18s tho...

Just put ps2's on my 92 c2. Think the fronts were 235 45 17 and back were 275 40 17.

Caliper clearance for me. 17-18 look good on these

This - There are lots of reasons (aesthetic, ride quality, Porsche whitepaper) to run 17s rather than 18s on a 964 - and I just got a set of Conti DWs in 225/45R17 & 255/40R17 for $450 shipped... It's hard to argue with that.

What's your reason for wanting wider tires?
If you are looking to make them look closer to the lip of the wheel well, then changing wheel offset may work or some spacers.

I think the 17s ride better and the 18s are a bit harsh.
Since you mention street driving, I would lean towards 17s.

Now if you want to have wider tires so the car looks more 'serious' then yeah, perhaps you want to move to wider tires.

17-inch also here, on both cars (yet). For 17s-tyres, you`ve the michelin ps2 and, from this year on, also the cup2 in 225/45 and 255/40. For me, that is enough selection. For my track-purpose car, i`ve two sets of wheels with both mich-tyres.

The convertible has (at the moment) 17s. It came from 18s when we bought it, but the move downwards to 17s was a big step forward in ride quality and style (for me). Next week, i`ll get my D90 (7 and 9 inch wide) with 225/55 and 245/45 done with new tires (that is a real disaster tyre size! but i`ll be an early adopter in the new pzero in 16-inch size) ... Old cars need big(ger) tire-sidewalls in my opinion...

Yokahama makes some reasonably priced R-compound tires 17 inch 225 front and 255 rear

Besides the ride consideration there is the tire height consideration
To get wider tires w/o taller tires you have to go to wheels w/ larger diameter and tires w/ lower profile.

ex 255/40x17 is ~24.9" OD, 285/30x18 is ~24.9"OD

My AX setup is 17" Carrera 2 nine spokes (7" and 9"). I run 225/255 tires.

Not a championship winning setup, but I need something street-able as I have to drive to and from events on those tires.

If you search Tire Rack for those sizes in the Extreme Performance category, you have the pick of the litter among the tires favored by the SCCA street tire AX classes.

I have a set of the Bridgestone RE71R's on the way, but I could also have gotten the new BFG Rivals, Dunlops, Kooks, Yokos....you name it.

And 17's are a lot cheaper too.

When I ran R-tires for autocrossing in stock classes I had good results with the 225/50 and 245/45 combo on D92 wheels (sometimes called "16" Cup 1's)