993James993

In general, excluding closeouts, are a set of 17" tires significantly less expensive than 18" versions? Chris's recent post about her new track car started me wondering about this.

My quick search at Tirerack.com did not answer this question.

My '95 has 18" turbo look wheels that are scraped up. I am not a fan of those wheels and replacing them with 18" Kinesis wheels is just not in my budget right how. I like the original look of the 17" CUP II wheels and am thinking that when the time comes for new tires it might be a good idea to pick up a set of those.

What do you think?

RallyJon

How obsessed are you with steering feel and turn-in? As a general rule, you'll have to get a stiffer construction 4.0" sidewall tire to feel as precise as a more ordinary softer construction 3.5" sidewall tire. So you may lose some of your cost savings there.

TheOtherEric

I think searching tirerack.com will probably say "yes". Also, 17" wheels are typically narrower, so you'll have to use narrower tires. That means less grip. And I thought my car looked ridiculous with the narrow 17" wheels & tires.

Bokonon

I really like the look of my 17" Cup II's. I really doubt I will upgrade to 18".
That being said, I would pay to get my 18" wheels repaired before stepping down a wheel size, IMO.
good luck with the decision.
-terry

EDIT: By the way, here is a link I like to pull out in these discussions. If you have IE or a program that can read an IE MHT (internet archive).
http://www.corvettefaq.com/c3/wheelsizes.mht.zip. I archived this off Sport Compact Car magazine years ago. I don't see a link on their site anymore, so alas all I have is this archive.

It compares 16, 17, and 18" tires on the track to a "blindfolded" driver who has no idea what tire setup is on the car at any one time. Its interesting reading, for sure.

Bull

I find R compound track tires to be about 25% more for 18s than for 17s.

CP

James,

This is not for a 993 obviousely. However, when I researched the Cayman, tires for the 18" would run $850-$1k per set (depending on brand). Once I go to 17" I can get a set of good tires for $450. I went with 17" on my base Cayman.

CP

Edward

Yes. To the tune of maybe $200+ savings for a set of 4 ...unless of course 2 Benjamins aren't significant t you

IMHO, Cup IIs not only look great on a lowered car, but I would also submit that to any non-911-savvy person (yes, that *includes* "car guys"), one wouldn't even know the Cups were 17s since the fender well is cut to fit them nicely (again, on a car that is lowered) ...if this matters to you, that is.

Also, while 18s undoubtedly offer more crisp turn in, 17s are very close in feel (depending on the tire of course). So you must ask yourself whether that difference is worth paying for.

Don't get me wrong, I like 18s. But I don't think of them as a "upgrade" at all ...more of a lateral move if you ask me, and one that has to offer me perks in order to justify the added expense (and FWIW, the added beauty of an 02 5-spoke or RS "Supercup" is perk enough for me ).

Edward

Jack of Hearts

Okay, not to hijack this thread but can you guys give me some color (like the Wall Street analysts say) on the stock 8" x 18" hollow spoke turbo twist vs. the 7.5" x 18" that came on the early 996s? Is it worth it to scavenge up the 8" or is the difference so small that the 7.5" is fine?

RallyJon

There's another thread on that two posts down. Um, it's your thread.

Jack of Hearts

so you...

--don't know the answer?
--don't want to answer?
--want this Jack of Hearts fellow to just go away?