Guybrush Wilkinson

This far my car has only been driven in the summer. However, the winter is long here and i just got the car - there is no way I can wait untill next summer. So, I am thinking about buying a set of rims and winter tires. At the moment I am bounching between the 18s and 17s. 18 look better but have less traction in the snow because the tires are wider. 17 inch wheels would also be a more inexpensive choise.

What do you think? Which ones would you choose? If I go for the 17s how big a difference will there be on handling on dry tarmac when compared to the wider 18 inch wheels?

The 17 inch wheels would be original with 205 in the front and 255 in the back.

The car is C2 manual without traction control.

Ubermensch

You're going to be on snow tires anyway so you're not exactly going to be outfitted for high performance driving during the cold season. I wouldn't worry about differences in handling in the dry.

I stick with 17's in winter for all of the reasons you mentioned.

Guybrush Wilkinson

Yes. I hate the looks of small wheels though. Somehow it seems a bit funny to me that Carreras rolled out from the factory on 17 inch wheels. Buying just tires and using the same 18 rims that I use in the summer would require less financial input. Spending money on 17 rims and tires does not sound tempting even though it could be the best thing to do in a long run.

Luckyr

I got an 18" set without thinking about it. They work fine, but if I had to do it all over again, I probably would go with the 17".

spiderv6

I went 17" for my winters (which I really will have to put on this weekend - it was snowing yesterday....) and honestly I dont really notice that much difference - as said above, you are not likely to be doing much performance driving. However, sliding around in the snow (with PSM OFF) is HUGE fun........

Bob Rouleau

For snow ice and water the 17 inchers are best. Handling will be acceptable if you choose a hi perf winter tire check those recommended by Porsche. Check their size suggestions too

johnny1423

in general the smaller the wheel size ...17 instead of 18...give better "bad weather" traction because there is more "give" in the sidewall...
17's are cheaper than 18's too..keep that in mind

Gaspasser19

+1 on the 17" winter tires. I like having the ability to switch them out at my convenience. If you need to depend on a tire shop to switch tires on one set of rims + rebalancing twice a year I would think it would be a hassle and an added expense. Would you have to bring the tires with you or would the shop store them for you? Try putting four tires in your car sometime...DIRTY tires.

Ray S

I hate to break it to you, but I use the 17's on my car in the winter (205f/225r) and they work great in the snow.

However, they are ugly on the car.......