rustymon

I'm shopping for a new set of wheels and thanks to all the great info on this board, I've decided to stick with 18" and not go 19"... but now my question is this: are there good reasons to stick with a 10" wide wheel in the rear, or can I go to an 11" wide wheel? I'm about to purchase some OEM Sport Technos and apparently they came both in 10" wide (47mm offset) and 11" wide (63mm offset) for the rear. All fronts were 8" wide with a 50mm offset.

I'll be putting them on a 1999 NB C2 Cabriolet. Daily driver, but I do have fun sometimes. Not sure if it will make a difference, but I'm also converting this car to an electric (see other thread) and will be adding more torque to the car than it had stock.

I really appreciate any feedback!

Litesonic

simple... weight.

Plus tires for an 11'' section width are almost obviously going to heavier as well and more expensive.

FlatSix911

Take a look at this ... 19" GT2 RS Wheels

http://www.ebay.com/itm/271035988715...84.m1423.l2648

rustymon

Hehe - yes, I agree on both counts. I guess I was more interested in fitment and handling / performance characteristics.

Obviously weight is an issue in performance. According to http://www.944racing.de/wheelweights.php each rear wheel would be 3.3 lbs heavier than the 10" version, so that adds 6.6lbs plus whatever the difference is in tire weights. Tires, according to Tire Rack would be 2lbs heavier, so let's just say it is a 10lb difference between the two.

I believe my stock setup (without tires) weights about 110lbs. A set of Sport Technos should weight in at about 88lbs. So, in retrospect, I'd be giving up about 1/2 of my weight savings if I went with an 11"... that would suck. Damn, I thought I'd be saving more weight overall for some reason. Glad you made me do the math.

Are there any real performance benefits of the wider tire?

rustymon

http://www.ebay.com/itm/271035988715...84.m1423.l2648

Those are nice looking... not sure I want to go to 19"... besides what do those weigh? Weight savings is a primary reason why I want to change wheels. I know the Carrera style wheels are slightly lighter than the Technos, but I really like the Technos!

I see we are all posting after midnight on the west coast... who dares go to sleep first?

rustymon

Hmmm... maybe there isn't really a 10" option... http://www.suncoastparts.com/product...rera_Chassiswh

Or maybe the 10" was only for boxsters? http://986forum.com/forums/292202-post1.html

Litesonic

technos are a SWEET looking wheel. I have always liked those.

MY02s might be ones you could consider too... That is my current set up (stock on 40AE)

Other than that honestly, 17s would be lighter still. My Autocross set up is 17 for the reasons I listed above. If I could afford forged 17s (or 18s,) I'd go that way.

dotframe

Remember, the Technos are actually hollow spoke and very light

soverystout

The 10 inch wide technos are not an option fot your car as the offset is wrong. They are great wheels, just get the 11 inch wide version.

crochet

Ya, weight and fitment. The only reasons to go so wide would be if you were making big enough power that you needed much wider tires, or just pure aesthetics. My personal opinion is if you're going to the trouble and cost of getting new wheels, go for light as possible with the right fitment.

If money is no object and you wanted to go 19": O.Z. Superforgiata's are super light, 16.5 lbs. They come with the right fitment too 19/ 8.5f 10"rear. ET 53/61

18" you have some great choices and don't always have to spend huge money to get the lighter ones.

MiamiC70

Split the difference I went with Victor Innsbruck 10.5" rears

rustymon

Yes, I do want light - want to stick with 18" however. It is a relief to understand why all the technos that I've found thus far for the 996 are 11" rears - the boxter wheels were just a 10" decoy!

Overall, the Technos seemed the best OEM option, and as I can buy used, I'm not going to spend more than $1,400 (hopefully). I don't think I need the extra width, I'm sure it would look good. I was initially thinking the carrera 5-spoke, but like the techno look better and they are also light... just not quite as light. Any suggestions on super-light 18" wheels? Where to buy?

rustymon

Well, I guess scratch that... I've decided to go with the Sport Technos... I'll write back if I find any difference in the driving experience, however since I don't really push the car to its limits, I may not be the best to describe what I feel on the change. I appreciate all the comments... still am a little curious about how much lighter another set would have been, but hey, at least I can sell these if I ever need to change them.

targa996

I'm running 265/35-18 (10") rears - on 2002 C2 targa. Took my car to autocross DE - and found the biggest issue isn't grip at rear - but front understeer. Putting wider rears on isn't going to help that. On a widebody rear - the wider tire might look better - but adds weight - so if look is the reason you want to do it - sure - but if handling - not sure that will help - - - - -

Shark Attack

When I was running wider tires on the rear I had cupping issues and tires only lasted a season. I put stock size back on last season and just today I was thinking how they have held up a lot better. 2 seasons now and i think they will make a 3rd.