Philip in Bham

I have a chance to buy four Porsche Sport Design wheels with Continental Contisport Contact 2 tires. 225/40/18 and 285/30/18.

I have a narrow body 1996. The factory option is 225/40/18 (OK) and 265/35/18.

Will the rear be ok with the 285/30/18's or will they be too wide and rub?

Thanks,
Philip

Matt Vaughan

For a narrow body car, you should probably stick to the 265/35 option, unless you are running a suspension that is not stock.

993RS

I was originally running 285's (Ruf 18x10 inch wheels) on my 993 before my RS conversion with no problem. I am now running 285's (with negative camber, though) but even manage to use spacers. (the smallest officially available, but still...). I am not sure what the offset of the wheels you are looking at is. Viken can probably help you with this...

Philip in Bham

What mods would I need?

Philip in Bham

Front wheels(2) are 8X18, ET52, 996-362-136-50, with factory mounted and balanced 225/40ZR18 Continental tires. Rear wheels(2) are 10X18, ET65, 996-362-140-50, with factory mounted and balanced 285/30ZR18 Continental tires.

993RS

Forgot to mention, I rolled the rear fenders...

BTW: You are looking at 996 wheels?

Mr Michael B

Philip,

285's do work on the rear of a "slim body" without mods. I have several pals running them on "turbo twist" 18 inch factory wheels.

All of their cars are at factory ride height, and all have plenty of room for the 285.

Mdrury

Have you checked the offset on these wheels?
Narrow body needs 52mm front and 65mm rear.
If they're for a "S" body they'd be 52mm front and 40mm rear.

Cheers

993RS

Here is info on offsets from Robin's homepage:
<a href="http://p-car.com/technical/tires.htm" target="_blank">offset</a>

Mdrury

Doh! Not fast enough typist, am I?
Anyway, stock tires would be 225/40 and 265/35

Greg Fishman

They will work but may not make the car handle any better. Larger rear tires may make the car push more.
I also don't like the Conti tires. Drove a friends Boxster with these tires and they didn't have much grip, they are quiter than the BFG KD's he went to though.

Greg

STLPCA

Philip
Agree w/Greg. Don't think you'll gain in handling from the extra width, especially w/Contis & you'll add some weight & drag. More important, I don't care for the Contis and wouldn't buy them for my use. They wear well, but don't perform as well (wet or dry) as the big 3 competition (SO2/3, Pilots, or Assimetrico). All, of course, IMO.

993RS

An advantage I found on using 285's is that it protects the rims when parking...