MTNRIDE

I have driven Porsches aggressively for 50 years. This is about my 2003 996TT. Recently I experienced a LR blowout at speed but did not suffer any damage to the car. This car carries an inflatable spare. Once the tire was deemed to be toast, I began the process of getting the spare and tools out to change the wheel.
My rears are 315/25/19. It was immediately apparent that even if the little spare was drivable, the 19" wheel and tire would not go anywhere into the car. Flatbed time. All that is behind me.
I've decided to keep the spare and jack tools in the garage and use the space for my road materials. The tire cover fits back, leaving an empty boot.

My car is lowered 1.5 and running Champion wheels with these oversize tires. I am replacing all four tires with Sport Pilots but in the stock 295/30/VR19 and 255/35/VR19. I will take it in for a four wheel alignment and should be good to go. My question is: Beyond appearance, what is the purpose of the larger sizes, and is camber an issue with this setup.
Never too old or too shy to ask the question...
Donny

powdrhound

In a nutshell:
19s = cars and coffee
18s = performance

I had Champion 19x9x12 long time ago myself. Beautiful wheels but rarely ran them on the car. Ran 305/30/19 on them which had a lot more sidewall. You might consider the OEM foam trunk tray kit with an air compressor and fix-a-flat from a 996GT2. This keeps you going with a simple puncture assuming the tire is not destroyed. Solves the issue of what to do with the wheel and also removes 45lbs from the car.

911mhawk

I like the looks of your car and ran a set of champions in 19 for a couple weeks before ditching them for another set of 18's. There was no problem swapping between them and 18's in GT2 sizes with f-3/r-2.5 camber, you'll be fine.

I ditched the spare and went with a can of fix-a-flat and my cell phone. The empty boot has plenty of room for everything I need to be at the track for a day.

RngTrtl

what exactly is the point of your post?

dprantl

I had a rear tire blowout a few years back and also run 315/25-19's. I was pretty easily able to put the wheel into the front passenger seat (covered in towels / jackets of course) and then mounted/inflated the spare. I also forgot to turn off PSM when I first took off, so that was an interesting experience. As to your last question, a wider tire provides more traction (oversimplification).

Dan

RngTrtl

FYI you should always move the front tire to the back and put the spare tire on the front.

dprantl

Now that you mention it I may have done that but don't remember the exact details. I was too pissed off; it was 95 degrees outside and I was getting burned by the steaming tarmac.

Dan

Mike Roblin

I have those same wheels on my car and I really like the look and stance that they provide. The dished rears just look great IMHO, but powdrhound is right about 19's being for looks and 18's for performance. My track wheels are 18's with GT2 size tires and at Sebring (a very bumpy track) they are a blessing with all that extra sidewall to absorb the rough track.

For the street though, the 305/35/19 rears are acceptable for me in terms of not being too harsh but looking nice. But back to what I assume was your original question. In my car the tool kit has a really large plastic bag that is sized to fit a wheel/tire so that you can carry it inside the car in the event of a blowout, but really most punctures can be solved with fix a flat and the air compressor like 911mhawk said above.

About camber, it shouldn't be an issue unless you've got a bunch of other suspension mods but either way since you'll be doing a 4 wheel alignment they should be able to set it for whatever you want. Remember, camber doesn't wear the tires, toe does so if you are looking for a more performance oriented set up, you'll have more toe in the rear with negative camber at all 4 corners at the cost of eating through tires more quickly. If you want to wear the tires less, you'll have to give up some of that performance that is accomplished with the alignment.

Talk to a good shop that you trust who has experience setting up suspension and tell them which end of the spectrum you are on (performance vs. tire wear) and have them work up a custom alignment that suits your needs.

manimal

Theoretically, the point of larger diameter wheels is to run larger brakes.

MTNRIDE

I replaced the 315 rears with 295/30/19 and the fronts with 225/35/19 Michelin Sport Pilots and had the car 4-wheel aligned to stock settings by a top alignment guy. I am not looking for a track setup myself so the stock sizes on the 19's seem to be pretty darned good for my semi-extreme road running. The Turbo brakes are already huge. I believe I will get the performance level I want and still hold onto a little more tread life.
Thanks guys. I inflatable spare is going to stay in the garage...

TT Surgeon

Sharp looking car.

"02996ttx50

indeed.