Bruce In Philly

2009 C2S 127K miles MT

Let's have some fun...... Youngsters to the left, Oldsters to the right.....

Are you a youngster that want 25" wheels on your Porsche? Better performance you say? Hmmm......... Porsche is a "pure" sports car company that only builds what is best for performance? GT3s have big wheels so there! Bigger is better! Of course Porsche wants performance: sales performance!

From the following:

Road & Track Wheel Size Test Click here.

"...as the wheel-and-tire packages get larger and heavier, acceleration and fuel economy suffer."
" Subjectively, both the 17-inch and 18-inch wheels and tires were in the sweet spot of grip, braking performance, ride comfort, and steering feel. "
" If it’s acceleration you’re after, stick with the smaller, lighter wheels and tires. "
"... unless you believe it is better to look good than to feel good, take our advice and stay away from extremely low-profile sidewalls and massively heavy wheels."

More reading...

Sombody's blog: CarThrottle Web Site
"So the real question is, do you go for aesthetics or performance? "

There is more out there.... I have not found any website that denotes larger wheels = better performance.

My opinion: I never in 42 years of driving ever bent a rim until I had these stupid 19" rims..... Best "performance" I ever had were 17" rims. Period.

As I always said, "Enthusiasts make the brand, posers make the money!".

Peace
Bruce in Philly

Fined

The first article is what I was going to link right away. Empirical evidence that states a larger wheel is not better. Not someone just saying "my 20 inch wheels are fine". Actual data that clearly states heavier and larger wheels hurt performance.
If you just have your 997 as a fashion accessory, I get it. But trying to say that a 20" wheel doesn't hurt performance compared to the same wheel in 19" is factually incorrect. The same 19" wheel will always weigh less than a 20" wheel. And an 18" wheel would be even better assuming that you don't pick up the extra weigh running a larger and heavier tire (where the weight is on the outermost portion and has a greater performance impact)

Trying to compare a cast 19" or 18" wheel to a forged 20" wheel just to suit the argument doesn't make sense. If its like for like, and the wheel design is the same besides being larger.. smaller wheels weigh less and are therefore better for a sports car. There are 20" wheels that look good on a 997, but from a performance aspect its a losing proposition.

kisik

I support Bruce's argument completely. Problem is that fashion industry supports more and more larger wheels. 10 years ago it was very difficult to find 19" proper tires and even to mount them. Now 19" is become more or less "track" wheels since it is easier to find. My NT01s still supported for my lovely 18" Forgelines but I am afraid at some point they obsolete them as well. E36's M3 stock is 235/40R17. It is less than $200 for ultra performance tire.

ThomasCarreraGTS

I don't think there is any question about this. I am just astonished at all the changes people make to these beautiful car which only serve to negatively impact their handling, drivability, value and empty out the owners bank accounts. On a separate note, I always enjoy reading anything you post. thanks, Bruce!

Thomas
2011 911 Carrera GTS 22,000 miles
2003 911 Carrera 106,788 miles (now sold to my friend in SoCal)

GTS Sully

I moved from the 19" factory spyder wheels which were 11" wide on the rear and 8.5" wide on the front. I'm now running 19" HRE P101's that are 12" on the rear and allowed for a tire size change from 305/30's to 325/30's, and 9" on the front and allowed for a tire size change from 235/35's to 245/35's. The tires are now "thicker" than stock - more rubber between the rim edge and the road, which I like. To offset the increase, which would have the car riding slightly higher, I had H&R springs installed. Does the car grip better? Can't say I can tell, nor do I really care. The ride quality dipped slightly, but don't care about that either. The change improved the looks of the car, in my opinion, while keeping pretty close to stock specs. If there was any thought to wheel size other than width, it would have been to drop down to 18" versus 19".

Bruce In Philly

C'mon big wheel guys! Put on your gloves! Defend yourselves!

Peace
Bruce in Philly

zdeckich

Formula 1 is also going to a bigger wheel and smaller sidewall, they are dont doing it to hurt performance. I really dont get the hate on 19/20 inch wheels. If you have a forged light wheel with a good tire you will sacrifice 0 performance. There is several people here that have 18 inch wheels but awful tires on them and think they have the best handling car out there because the have the "proper size wheel". Im not saying massive wheels is better, but with the correct designed and forged wheel in a 19/20 i don't see any problems with performance. If 20 really hurt performance they wouldn't be on new 991's, 918, koenigsegg's, 458, etc from the factory. I for one prefer the look of a 19 wheel over a 20 but i dont think the right 20 wheel looks bad at all if done right. My 997 have 18's on it and hate the look and will get rid of them soon. Looks way to small on the 997 body. Again my opinion.

Batman33

One cannot defend the in-defendable...at least in terms of the impact on performance. (I'm sure you don't need me to tell that.) The physics involved speaks for itself

BIG smoke

Big wheels are fashion over function.
But I will add an additional factor. Money.
You can outspend the weight penalty, through exotic materials and carbon fiber.
My old rule for a rim, was 1lb per inch of wheel. My formula looses traction at 18".
When replacing the run flats on my X5. The Conti dsw was 7lbs lighter front per corner, and 8lbs per corner rears.
That is 32 pounds lighter. The car rides better, I think its faster, for a brick. And stops better.
I remember my 1984 Honda Prelude. Running 185/70/13's and dreamed of some plus 2 sizing. 195/55/15's, that would have been the bomb.

Four 18" OZ ALLEGGERITA HLT's weigh 73.6 lbs $1774
Four 20" OZ ULTRALEGGERA HLT's weigh 102 lbs $2410
Difference between an 18 to 20 michelin pilot sport 4 s is 2 pounds. With the 20's being lighter. Who knew.
18-98 lbs 20- 96 lbs

Carbon fiber 19 front is 16.5lbs back is 19.2lbs, and I don't have the mean$.

Dymag

I replaced my stock Carrera Sport wheels with forged wheels. I retained the 19" diameter of my 997.2, but did increase the width. Front width 8.5" stock moved to 9", rears moved from 11.5" stock to 12". With that increase, I moved up one size in tires, and
moved to Pilot Sport Cup 2. Each wheel/tire is noticeably lighter; even noticed and mentioned by Porsche dealer techs. This new combo dropped several pounds from each corner.

The move to lighter wheels/tires is certainly a plus. With that said, I would hesitate to move up a size in wheel diameter. The aesthetics of the wheel are important, no doubt. I would not, however make the change or investment in wheels if it added weight.

My $ 0.02

zdeckich

May I ask where you got the Brixtons at? I was looking at the CM10's UltraSport. The WR3's look amazing.

Dymag

I ordered the wheels directly from Brixton Forged. They were/are great to deal with. The wheels are custom made; not just offsets, but they will work with you on colors, finishes, and center caps. Brixton offers weight
reduction pocketing behind the hub and the overall weights are quite light.

I am very pleased with these wheels and Brixton. Highly recommended.

Bruce In Philly

Don't you get more torque (acceleration) with a smaller wheel radius?

Peace
Bruce in Philly

NuttyProfessor

Behold!!! B I G F O O T 911

Dennis C

I'm more of an old-school kind of guy, but I have to say that I don't mind the 20" wheels on my 991. My wife's Audi has 21" wheels.

In my opinion, buying a large diameter wheel for your Porsche isn't really about performance as much as it is about aesthetics. In most cases, a driver won't be able to tell the difference in performance when comparing a 19" wheel to a 20" wheel.

My only issue with the larger wheels is that they often look odd when they are mounted on a car that was designed for smaller wheels. That's not always the case, but it's frequently the case. I've seen a 996 with 20" wheels before, and it looked positively goofy. That car was designed for 17" or 18" wheels. On the other side of that coin, I think a 991 would look goofy with 17" or 18" wheels.

I remember when I bought my first car that had big wheels and performance tires. It was a 1988 Ford Thurnderbird Turbo Coupe, 5MT. It had 16" wheels with Goodyear Gatorback tires. I thought they were HUGE at the time.