Typhoon

Hi, I have just got my first Porsche, a 1997 C2S in Vesuvius last week!
I have 17" Turbo look wheels on my C2S at the moment (with Red Callipers). I have been offered a set of second hand original 18" hollow spoke wheels off the 993 Turbo. With new tires and selling my existing wheel and tires I guess its going to cost me around £800 for the swap. Do you guy reckon that this will make a noticable worth while visual improvement. Is my ride going to suffer much? It going to be road rather than track car.
Cheers

GrantG

It will improve handling a tad, make the ride noticably firmer (and potholes more lethal to the wheels), and make your brakes look smaller...

Scott 1996 993c2

Just bought my 993 2 months ago and I've got an itch that has not been scratched yet to switch from 17" to 18" wheels. All of the advice I have read leads me to think this is a great idea -- though I'm sure you'll get lots of varying opinions in response to this thread. I going for it, REAL SOON! Good luck and welcome to the club!

Scott

slaaw

I switched from 17' cup wheels to 18" turbo twist (non-hollow) mainly because I preferred the styling of the twists. I didn't notice much difference in handling in street driving probably because the added weight of the twists offset the increased diameter advantage. The setup cost be less me than $1000, and I still have the original cup wheels. Your cost sounds very high for the switch to an increased wheel diameter, and you may not really feel a handling improvement unless you track the car.

mborkow

not unless you really like the aesthetic (and don't mind shelling out more $ on your tires)

Typhoon

Yes I am mainly thinking about the looks and most wide body cars seem to have 18" wheels. I just can decide if the differance will be that noticeable!

Viken

The only thing you will notice is a slightly harsher ride. Otherwise, and if you are an aggressive enough driver, the 17's have a slight edge over the 18's in terms of ultimate handling. If you want it mostly for looks, then do it.

Dr. No

Viken, why is that?

Viken

Mainly lighter unsprung weight and less drag. Also, the suspension on the 993 was never fine tuned for 18's. In fact, it was tuned for 16's and was never revised for the upgraded sizes. Porsche continues to do the same with the 997 and that's why the Carrera is much better balanced than the Carrera S. Not to mention the fact that the front/rear tire size differential is greater on the S.

GARY 95 993

I made the change to 18" for the look and I love it. I have no desire to go back.

robroy72

Looking at the pic in your avataar, if that is your car, aren't those 18" turbo twists on there already?

FisterD

18's for me too. I like the look and the ride is still fine.
As far as tire prices, just got all 4 for $550. Dunlop SSR's.

mborkow

"Mainly lighter unsprung weight and less drag"
but if he is going from 17s to hollow spoke 18s then he would actually be shedding some weight, right? that would just leave drag

Dr. No

The 17" cups are also hollow spoked, though I don't know the weights.

Forever993

I went from the factory 17" cup wheels to the 996 18" 5 spokes which are pretty light. After driving Chris's back to back with my car at the track, I was sold. She was on 18" Fikses at the time. The amount of sidewall flex was very noticable in my car. Not to mention, it allowed me to go to the 285 width rear tire on my narrow body with correct front to rear tire aspect ratios. On the street, the comfort level was reduced by a minor amount. I should mention that I was planning on staying on the 17's for my first track season and wanted to like the 17"s but an objective, back to back comparison changed my mind. And, how can I forget to mention how bad *** a 993 at RS ride height looks from the rear on 18"s with wide tires and lots o negative camber!