wanna911

They were slow all year. Looks more like a desperate attemp to find an edge that failed. Proves nothing at all. The fact that no one has tried them since is very telling. That they are for show. So just the opposite.

Petevb

No one runs them today because they banned them.

http://www.24h-lemans.com/wpphpFichi...tions-lm-p.pdf

Please read the thread.

wanna911

They aren't banned everywhere.....

Please use some common sense. Its not like awd where its been eliminated because someone used them to dominate a series.

26's are banned too.


Common sense....

Petevb

Ask yourself why they would need to ban them at all if they were slower?

Maybe you should explain to all the Le Mans teams that they'd be faster on 17s.

wanna911

I sure as heck dont have to try hard to tell people they arent missing out by not running 20's.

Hahaha

Whats next? 22's?

SMH

Petevb

Most people running most cars would be foolish to run 20s. But the Porsche factory is not most people. In their case running 20s isn't about bling, it's about making the best performance car they can.

And yes, if cars continue to grow in weight and power we might eventually see 22s. Given that we went from 15s to 18s in about 20 years it might take another 10-15 years.

Dan39

And McLaren have made the same decision - at least from what I remember of the rear wheels I inspected at the showroom I was at recently.

Of course, they also may be poseurs - that McLaren outfit, not serious about performance at all...

And Ferrari, well let's not even consider the 20s they run on the 458 - clearly the Italians don't know what they're doing.

wanna911

Man, you sure told us Dan....... There is no arguing Ferrari being uncompromising sports cars. They really could care less about looks and are all about performance. Their cars are built to run all day at the track.

I guess we lost this round.......

Petevb

If that's all you've got, I might agree.

wanna911

Sarcasm recognition fail.

The fact that you are now trying to make an argument for 22's as performance and racing wheels enders your opinion null and void in my book and makes your whole angle Porsche apologist.

Going by your weight scale the gtr should already be on 22's. My 996 tt should have been on 21's and the 997 gt3 on 20's.

I really hope you are just joking at this point. I cant take you seriously any more.

Petevb

You know what? I concede- you're right. After 120 years of automotive history you've determined the ideal performance wheel size for now and all time. They are the 18" wheels you have on your car now!

We know they are not 17" or smaller, because Le Mans cars are all allowed to run them and none of them do. And we know they are not bigger than 18", because after Porsche won Le Mans with 20" wheels in 1998 they realized their error and had wheels bigger than 18" banned so no one would repeat their mistake.

So when the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport Mark III is released a decade from now with 2800 hp it should wear not the 21.25" wheels it wears now, but 18". Of course it will wear 23" wheels because 18" wheels would look silly.

I hand it to you- you've solved a great engineering riddle. I'm remarkably impressed, Bravo.

wanna911

Yeah, let's use a car that got mauled all year, beaten into submission and gifted a win at LeMans to prove that 20" wheels are the real deal for racing. Only no one in the racing industry has caught wind of that.

Let's completely ignore that there are standard wheels sizes in every series and you can't go bigger OR SMALLER, and that the rule makers may have just wanted to create parity in tire choices.

Let's completely ignore that safety regulations may have been at play to eliminate larger size wheels due to lack of testing and that many concepts are introduced and forbidden due to this. The 20's could have only been banned because they were used to dominate all series on the planet. Sure glad they didn't happen to try those 22's.

Or better yet, we are Porsche fanboys so lets defend every decision they make tooth and nail and convince all of those who are clueless that Porsche put 20 inch wheels on their car to maximize performance........ Knowing there are even more limited tire choices than the already limited 19" wheels that were on the previous generation.

But surely they did that to make sure you have the best opportunity to go fast in your GT3......

If Porsche did it, it has to be the best choice right? Like center locks.......

Petevb

You might want to brush up on your reading comprehension. Please see post 45 or page 30 of the link I copied above. http://www.24h-lemans.com/wpphpFichi...tions-lm-p.pdf
Le Mans rules regulate maximum wheel size only, not minimum.
Safety? This is getting good. Wheels used on the street and track by most sports and supercars manufactured today are too dangerous for top level pro racing? Because of how dangerous they proved to be when they were winning Le Mans... I think you're on to something there.
Actually I'm on record here complaining about the lack of a manual, no real engine in the Cayman, not getting rid of the Mezgar sooner... But you're on a roll, don't let that stop you.

Of course you must be right- this is actually a giant conspiracy by every top sports and supercar manufacturer - when they come out with their fastest models they need to intentionally slow them down a little. Can't make them too quick, you know, bad for business.

Dan39

So, in summary, Porsche, McLaren, and Ferrari are all putting looks ahead of performance with their use of 20in rims instead of the optimal 18s - that your view?

wanna911

Dan, why are you still posting?

Pete, stop trying to act like LeMans is the only race, and only series on the planet. Grand-Am and World Challenge both restrict use to 18" wheels period in the GT classes. No bigger or smaller. Your selective tunnel vision is not going to work here. Not only that but you are still using as the basis for your rationale, and last I checked prototypes are not based on fully streetable chassis cars. All of the same rules will not apply.

And yes, because a wheel is used on the street or tracked on street tires does not make it fit for pro racing. Anybody should know that. Common dude, you are getting to emotional to make a decent point now. Calm down man. It's just a discussion.