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What's the widest tire I can use?

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Old 09-04-2003 | 09:49 AM
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Default What's the widest tire I can use?

My ride is a non-widebody, '96 C2. Previous owner put on AT Italia Riva wheels from Tirerack. 17x9 rear and 17x8.5 front. Tires are Kumho Ecsta 255/40/17 rear and 205/50/17 front.

Wheels look pretty nice, but they weigh a ton. My front tires look new, but my rears are almost shot after 5k miles. I'm gonna keep buying Kumho Ecstas for the rears until the fronts wear out and will probably go with 18" wheels then.

For now, I'd like to get the same rear Kumhos, but in the widest rear size that will fit my car without any mods and without worrying about tires rubbing or blasting my fender walls with debris. Tirerack's website recommends the sizes I have, but I'm wondering if I can go with wider tires in the rear.

BTW, my 993 broke loose on the skid pad at the track MUCH more easily than my Carrera did with Yoko ES100's. But again, I'll stick with Kumhos until the fronts are gone. Sorry for the rant.
Old 09-04-2003 | 10:34 AM
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Rick - With 205/50's on the front, you should stick to the 255's at the rear. I suspect most 993 drivers have moved to 225's up front while maintaining the 255's on the rear to try to remove some of the built in understeer the car came with from the factory. Even if you could get a larger tire on your 9" rims, I suspect you would not be happy with the result.
Old 09-04-2003 | 10:40 AM
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FYI my car has 285 SO2s on 18x11 rims. My fenders are rolled and it looks like I'd be able to fit 295s or perhaps 305s. Also be aware that tires from different manufacturers will have different widths even if they are labeled as the same size.
Old 09-04-2003 | 11:06 AM
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Hey Dave, by chance do you know the offset for your rear rims?I'm trying to buy a 11" rim for the rear of my car, and need the correct offet thanks!

chris
Old 09-04-2003 | 11:22 AM
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Chris - Someone else had previously asked the same question. I didn't have the answer but Viken did and he posted it on the thread...do a search and you should be able to find it. I think Viken got it from Gemballa's site. IIRC the rim is also available in 18x11.5 and I think there is two offsets for the 11" wide rim. Also, if you go with these wheels, you should also be able to fit 9" in front...I didn't but sure wish I did.

Sorry I couldn't be more helpful.
Old 09-04-2003 | 11:27 AM
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I have seen guys use 305's on the back of a narrow car but they have a race suspension with smaller diameter springs. For a street car go with 245/285 or 245/275
Old 09-04-2003 | 12:09 PM
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I am running 295\35\18 on my Narrow body C2. I have a set of factory 18" Hollow Spoke with the correct offset for narrow body. No fender roll.
Old 09-04-2003 | 12:17 PM
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Any close up photos, Mike?
Old 09-04-2003 | 12:24 PM
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Default Re: What's the widest tire I can use?

Originally posted by Rick Lee
BTW, my 993 broke loose on the skid pad at the track MUCH more easily than my Carrera did with Yoko ES100's. But again, I'll stick with Kumhos until the fronts are gone. Sorry for the rant.
Hi Rick,

Are you referring to the Kumho Ecsta MX? Or the Ecsta Supra 712 or Ecsta 711?

Tom
’95 993
Old 09-04-2003 | 12:29 PM
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I think they're the Supra 712's.
Old 09-04-2003 | 12:35 PM
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This is the closest I have...
Attached Images  
Old 09-04-2003 | 12:56 PM
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They look like AVS Sports and it looks like your car has not been lowered. Mine has been, so I'm a little nervous about bigger tires throwing up debris.
Old 09-04-2003 | 12:58 PM
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Yes, I need to find out about lowering my car with those rim/tires. Rides great on the street but suspension is too soft for DE events. I use my 17" cups for the track.
Old 09-04-2003 | 01:01 PM
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Hey dave thanks for the info on the gemballa site, I just checked it out. They do have the offsets on their that I need.

front: 8.5 / 33
9.0 / 40
rear: 11.0 / 52
rear: 11.0 / 65

Ill problay do the 9.0 40 offset and 11 65 offset. I have a 52 offset on my 10" rim right now and it rubs, so I figure another 1" and lower the offset and I should be fine thanks~

chris
Old 09-04-2003 | 02:32 PM
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Rick,

I just purschased a set of 18" Fikse FM-10's and MPSC's in 225/40 front, 265/35 rear sizes. They haven't arrived yet but Paul Marcoones at Radial Tire (301-585-2740) assures me that they will fit my lowered, PSS-9-equipped car.

If you're worried about stone chips, why not put the 3M clear bra material from a vendor such as Xpel in those areas? Whether you run a larger tire or not, you're going to have all kinds of debris whacking the wheelwells anyway. I had a guy named Rob Freeman do my work and, although not inexpensive, he did a fantastic job on the car. For just the openings, the Xpel kit is $20 or so and is most likely easy enough to do yourself.

Last edited by Mark in Baltimore; 09-04-2003 at 03:30 PM.


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