rs10

I just checked Tire Rack. Not all the 235/45/17s indicate what wheel sizes they work on, but the two I looked at worked on a maximum wheel width of 9", including the Sottozero 3s, which would be my choice in this size.

On the other hand, the PA4s, which I'd prefer, are available in 245s ... .

KoB

I'm probably going to pull the trigger on the Generals ... a 9" rim is the maximum recommended width for a 235/45-17.

rs10

Did you get the Generals? I'm curious to know how they work out - please keep us posted!

KoB

Actually, I did not. Damon from Tire Rack said that although most tables list a 235/45 as an acceptable fit on a 9" wheel, he thought it would be overly stretched and might expose the bead. So I decided not to proceed.

He recommended a 245/45-17 for the rear, but that looks to be a bit taller than I want to use. So I am back to the drawing board.

rs10

I'm surprised he didn't recommend the 40s (245/40/17). It's closer to the stock diameters & sidewall heights, as well as to the stock front/rear ratio. Any idea why he recommended 45s?

Howaboutthat

Not sure if this helps, but I ran 235/50/17s last winter (fitment from a 2010 Cayman) on my 2000 996 cab, and ran the same size summer tires (the guy I bought the winter snows and rims threw in the summer tires, so I figured I would give them a shot) over the past eight or nine months with no issues. The rear rims are 8.5". I thought the tires would be too tall, but they ended up working out, if only barely by way of height. So, unless I am doing the math wrong, the 245/45 set would seem to fit a 996.

KoB

Nope.

245/45-17 would fit. They're about 3/4" diameter larger than the stock 255/40-17, which probably isn't very much, but I just didn't know if I wanted to add that much height.

My rear wheels are 17 x 9, 55 offset. At one point I thought about trying to track down a pair of 8.5" rear wheels from a 986, which I think would've been better suited to the 235/45 that I was planning on using.

Then I said the hell with it and went with Plan C, which was the Falken Eurowinter. It's not a great snow tire according to the reviews I've read, but probably suitable to my purposes as I don't drive my 996 in bad winter conditions anyway (I also have a AWD SUV with 4 Blizzaks). On the rear I'll use the Eurowinter HS439 in a 255/40-17. I'll be using a Eurowinter HS449 on the front, in the stock 205/50-17.

Hopefully the rear tires will arrive early next week and I'll have them mounted up by next weekend. This weekend's job is to put the Blizzaks on the SUV, which I think I should've done last weekend.

rs10

I ended up with Pirelli Sottozero IIIs, stock size in front, 245/40/17 in the rear, and I'm very pleased with them. No complaints on wet or snowy roads (though I've nothing to compare them to). Lots of fun in the dry. More compliant and less noisy than the (7 year old) PS2s that came with the car. I was worried that the rear diameter would be too low when stretched over a 9" wheel, but when I measured the circumfrence, it seemed to slightly larger (under 1 mm) than the front. Though I still think I must have measured wrong ...