Best 18 inch for early 993
#16
The attractive feature of the Tire Rack Cup 4 wheels, other than they are cheap, fronts are 7 1/2 inch wide (9" rears) allowing for the fitting of a 235 front tire, not quite 245, but 10 silly millimeters, not that much. The not so attractive feature, as one would expect, they are somewhat heavy. But then, what do you expect for $700?
So I bought another set of Cup 4 wheels, in black no less, just chomping at the bit to install a 235 front and 275 rear combo. Put the fronts on, looked great. Put the first rear on...whoops, clearance problems with the fender lip. My car is lowered to RS ride height and the fenders have been rolled. I now run -1.5 degrees of camber in the rear...formerly, about -2.5.....maybe the decrease in camber is why they didn't fit. Sold the wheels off at a significant loss, under $500 for the set. The point, if you order Cup 4, and your car is lowered, fit them to your car ASAP....if you have a rear fitment problem, send them back. Tire Rack specs these wheels for the 993. I am certain they'll take them back...and then what do you do with the 17" tires? Fortunately I had the 996 ten spokes, so it wasn't a total loss.
Later today, I will post up pics of the wheel I just had refinished for $129 from Wheels America. As the seller had revealed, one of the 18" rears had a little "bump" in it...that was fixed too. OK so now I have a repaired wheel on the rear...don't really care, these are street wheels seeing very little street time. And keep in mind, Wheels America will NOT repair a wheel if the bend is egregious.
#17
I like Carrera IIIs and bought this set from Chad for my brother's 95.
https://rennlist.com/forums/993-foru...ood-grief.html
https://rennlist.com/forums/993-foru...ood-grief.html
#18
If you don't care about handling then go ahead and use 7.5 & 9, they are just too narrow to support the tires.
w/ 8 to 8.5" front and the right o/s you can use 225/40 to 245/35 tires,
w/ 10" rear and the right o/s you can use 265/35 to 285/30(I've even seen 295/30.
Tire fit is all about o/s which places the tire in the wheel well and mounted tire width and height wrt the chassis ride height and any necessary dynamic clearance due to suspension motion
w/ 8 to 8.5" front and the right o/s you can use 225/40 to 245/35 tires,
w/ 10" rear and the right o/s you can use 265/35 to 285/30(I've even seen 295/30.
Tire fit is all about o/s which places the tire in the wheel well and mounted tire width and height wrt the chassis ride height and any necessary dynamic clearance due to suspension motion
#21
If you don't care about handling then go ahead and use 7.5 & 9, they are just too narrow to support the tires.***
w/ 8 to 8.5" front and the right o/s you can use 225/40 to 245/35 tires,
w/ 10" rear and the right o/s you can use 265/35 to 285/30(I've even seen 295/30.
Tire fit is all about o/s which places the tire in the wheel well and mounted tire width and height wrt the chassis ride height and any necessary dynamic clearance due to suspension motion
w/ 8 to 8.5" front and the right o/s you can use 225/40 to 245/35 tires,
w/ 10" rear and the right o/s you can use 265/35 to 285/30(I've even seen 295/30.
Tire fit is all about o/s which places the tire in the wheel well and mounted tire width and height wrt the chassis ride height and any necessary dynamic clearance due to suspension motion
Let's look at a 225/45/17 tire, they suggest a range 7.0" to 8.5"' for the wheel
Now consider a 275/40/17 tire, they suggest a range 9.0" to 11.0"' for the wheel.
This is the dilemma with the 17" tires with 7" wide wheels, you can't get enough rubber on the front without going outside of Nitto Factory specs.
Let's look at a 245/45/18 tire, they suggest a range 8.0" to 9.5"' for the wheel
Now consider a 275/40/18 tire, they suggest a range 9.0" to 11.0"' for the wheel. If you want something a little larger such as a 285, Nitto doesn't sell this, you need to go up to a 305, however, it generally won't easily fit in a narrow body wheel well, with Nitto recommending 10.0" to 12.0" wheel. It does work nicely for a 996 Turbo.
What I have found out, the 245/40/18 front gives me a much crisper turn in (Better lap times) compared to a 225/45/17....I was so impressed with this phenomena that I sold off my 17" wheels and now, and going forward, will be sticking with 18" wheels.
#22
According to Nitto, see: http://www.nittotire.com/race-tires/...d-course-tire/ there are definitive recommended minimum and maximum tire widths driven by wheel width.
Let's look at a 225/45/17 tire, they suggest a range 7.0" to 8.5"' for the wheel
Now consider a 275/40/17 tire, they suggest a range 9.0" to 11.0"' for the wheel.
This is the dilemma with the 17" tires with 7" wide wheels, you can't get enough rubber on the front without going outside of Nitto Factory specs.
Let's look at a 245/45/18 tire, they suggest a range 8.0" to 9.5"' for the wheel
Now consider a 275/40/18 tire, they suggest a range 9.0" to 11.0"' for the wheel. If you want something a little larger such as a 285, Nitto doesn't sell this, you need to go up to a 305, however, it generally won't easily fit in a narrow body wheel well, with Nitto recommending 10.0" to 12.0" wheel. It does work nicely for a 996 Turbo.
What I have found out, the 245/40/18 front gives me a much crisper turn in (Better lap times) compared to a 225/45/17....I was so impressed with this phenomena that I sold off my 17" wheels and now, and going forward, will be sticking with 18" wheels.
Let's look at a 225/45/17 tire, they suggest a range 7.0" to 8.5"' for the wheel
Now consider a 275/40/17 tire, they suggest a range 9.0" to 11.0"' for the wheel.
This is the dilemma with the 17" tires with 7" wide wheels, you can't get enough rubber on the front without going outside of Nitto Factory specs.
Let's look at a 245/45/18 tire, they suggest a range 8.0" to 9.5"' for the wheel
Now consider a 275/40/18 tire, they suggest a range 9.0" to 11.0"' for the wheel. If you want something a little larger such as a 285, Nitto doesn't sell this, you need to go up to a 305, however, it generally won't easily fit in a narrow body wheel well, with Nitto recommending 10.0" to 12.0" wheel. It does work nicely for a 996 Turbo.
What I have found out, the 245/40/18 front gives me a much crisper turn in (Better lap times) compared to a 225/45/17....I was so impressed with this phenomena that I sold off my 17" wheels and now, and going forward, will be sticking with 18" wheels.
say you want to use Nitto NT01 and 17s
225/45 best wheel is 8.5ET54
235/40 best wheel is 9.5 but that's a tough fit on the front of a 993 so next best is 8.5ET54
you go though a similar process in back or for use w/ other tires or 18s
#25
MY02 wheels. Lightweight, relatively cheap, Porsche factory equipment, open 5 spoke to show off your calipers, and look phenomenal on a 993.
You're welcome. You can close this thread now.
But seriously....they look great...I've got a set in matte black and LUV the car with those on.
You're welcome. You can close this thread now.
But seriously....they look great...I've got a set in matte black and LUV the car with those on.
#29
Looks are subjective, so you need to decide what you like.
MY02 are very popular and as noted are pretty lightweight.
Rufs are relatively heavy. There are numerous choices, but the wheels thread has lots of pictures to help you decide on looks. I love.the 996 GT3 wheel, but few have had success mounting them on a NB car. I'm not convinced that a street car needs to be so concerned with weight, as the extreme would be carbon fiber wheels, very light, very fragile and very expensive. It is all a compromise. Nice thing is wheels can be swapped relatively easy and change the look significantly.
Personally I have MY02s and love them. Are they the "best". Probably not, as I said, I like the Gt3 wheel, but don't want to risk them not fitting properly.
Good luck, I spent over a year toiling over which wheels to get, until a set kind of fell into my lap for a good price. My only regret is that I wish I had kept my cup IIs.
MY02 are very popular and as noted are pretty lightweight.
Rufs are relatively heavy. There are numerous choices, but the wheels thread has lots of pictures to help you decide on looks. I love.the 996 GT3 wheel, but few have had success mounting them on a NB car. I'm not convinced that a street car needs to be so concerned with weight, as the extreme would be carbon fiber wheels, very light, very fragile and very expensive. It is all a compromise. Nice thing is wheels can be swapped relatively easy and change the look significantly.
Personally I have MY02s and love them. Are they the "best". Probably not, as I said, I like the Gt3 wheel, but don't want to risk them not fitting properly.
Good luck, I spent over a year toiling over which wheels to get, until a set kind of fell into my lap for a good price. My only regret is that I wish I had kept my cup IIs.
#30
You +1 my post on MY02s, but your pic is of 996 twists...
Good point! Duh, how could I forget...these are my street wheels and its is perfectly period correct. Good luck finding them and "cheap" they will not be... I bought a set for $1.2k about five+ years ago...same set I think is $3k+ now.
Good point! Duh, how could I forget...these are my street wheels and its is perfectly period correct. Good luck finding them and "cheap" they will not be... I bought a set for $1.2k about five+ years ago...same set I think is $3k+ now.