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I've got a 2011 911 C2S with factory Turbo 2 wheels and 5mm wheel spacers. Since I plan to drive the car in the shoulder seasons here in Wisconsin I put Michelin Pilot Sport All Season tires on it. These tires only come in sizes up to 285's and then jump up to 325's. I opted for the 285's thinking that they might have a quieter ride and better all-weather traction.
The trouble now is that the 285 width rear tires look stretched on the 11" Turbo 2 wheels so I'm thinking of getting a new set of wheels that are 10" (and 8.5" on the front).
How do I figure out if a set of 10" wheels will work on my car and what offset is needed? (I'll email the wheel manufacturer and the shop that buys and mounts the wheels, but I'd like to understand this as much as possible beforehand).
For example, I found these that spec a 36 mm offset. Would these need spacers on my car to give it the same stance, or would the spacers be so thick as to be a no-go? https://www.apexraceparts.com/store/...che-wheel.html
Thank you for the specs of what you're using plus the pics. I will look into going with 18's - it looks like there are MPS A/S's in sizes that would work. I'll look into Carrera IV wheels or something very similar.
Cheers,
Erik
If you decide to go with our wheels I would suggest the 18x10.5"ET44 rear over the 10"ET36. This fits 2mm further under the bodywork than the 10"ET36 and the extra 1/2" will help pull the tire inward. A 285 tire looks pretty good on a 10.5" wheel, you can look at this POST on the "Show me your 997 with non-Porsche wheels" thread.
My 2011 C2S came with two sets of wheels. The "winter" wheels are 18" with Conti DWS06+. Great tires! Quiet and ride nice. Front is 235 and rears are 265 (I forget the sidewall ratio #s). The owners manual does list alternative sizes and those were listed.
For other info: My summer wheels are 19" turbo II with 235 front and 305 rear.
I do want to get some spacers - thinking ~7 mm front and 15 mm rear to make the wheels flush with fenders.
My 2011 C2S came with two sets of wheels. The "winter" wheels are 18" with Conti DWS06+. Great tires! Quiet and ride nice. Front is 235 and rears are 265 (I forget the sidewall ratio #s). The owners manual does list alternative sizes and those were listed.
For other info: My summer wheels are 19" turbo II with 235 front and 305 rear.
I do want to get some spacers - thinking ~7 mm front and 15 mm rear to make the wheels flush with fenders.
You can run 285/35 or 295/35 as well.
In my experience 265/40 isn’t great if you’re hustling the car.
In my experience 265/40 isn’t great if you’re hustling the car.
I totally get that. It was just another potential option if finding tires in wider sizes were unavailable.
Those were the tires that came with the car (on winter wheel set-up) when purchasing it. When they wear out, I'll replace them with a wider choice.
I think that I'll go with the DWS06+ tires with 18" wheels.
My next predicament. For DWS06+ tires:
The 285/35's have a load index of 101 and a load range listed as XL.
The 295/35's have a load index of 99 and a load range listed as SL.
From what I read, SL tires in passenger cars have a max pressure of 35 or 36 psi and a softer sidewall. The XL's have higher load capacity and higher psi rating - 41 psi, I think I read. Does this mean that the DWS06+ 285's are a wiser choice for my C2S? If so, then 10" wheels seem to be a better fit for 285's if I don't want a stretched tire. Is this correct?
I think that I'll go with the DWS06+ tires with 18" wheels.
My next predicament. For DWS06+ tires:
The 285/35's have a load index of 101 and a load range listed as XL.
The 295/35's have a load index of 99 and a load range listed as SL.
From what I read, SL tires in passenger cars have a max pressure of 35 or 36 psi and a softer sidewall. The XL's have higher load capacity and higher psi rating - 41 psi, I think I read. Does this mean that the DWS06+ 285's are a wiser choice for my C2S? If so, then 10" wheels seem to be a better fit for 285's if I don't want a stretched tire. Is this correct?
Try and find front and rear sizes that work and have the same.load index. For a 997, as light as it is, it won't matter which load index that is.
Two years ago I changed from 19” lobsters to 18” Apex SM-10’s, while increasing the front to 9” wide (was 8.5”). I found Apex to be extremely helpful in assuring me about wheel fitment (I have PCCB calipers), with many photos on like cars to help me choose. I’ve had limited problems in getting tires to properly fit these wheels, from various manufacturers. Note - since you have a 911, why would you reduce wheel or tire width? I have 315’s in the rear now and they easily fit. Front is tighter and a 9” might not fit your car without spacers and more camber. I have 255’s now. My 997 is mostly track so I wanted max grip (to the extent that pure width provides that).
Two years ago I changed from 19” lobsters to 18” Apex SM-10’s, while increasing the front to 9” wide (was 8.5”). I found Apex to be extremely helpful in assuring me about wheel fitment (I have PCCB calipers), with many photos on like cars to help me choose. I’ve had limited problems in getting tires to properly fit these wheels, from various manufacturers. Note - since you have a 911, why would you reduce wheel or tire width? I have 315’s in the rear now and they easily fit. Front is tighter and a 9” might not fit your car without spacers and more camber. I have 255’s now. My 997 is mostly track so I wanted max grip (to the extent that pure width provides that).
Two years ago I changed from 19” lobsters to 18” Apex SM-10’s, while increasing the front to 9” wide (was 8.5”). I found Apex to be extremely helpful in assuring me about wheel fitment (I have PCCB calipers), with many photos on like cars to help me choose. I’ve had limited problems in getting tires to properly fit these wheels, from various manufacturers. Note - since you have a 911, why would you reduce wheel or tire width? I have 315’s in the rear now and they easily fit. Front is tighter and a 9” might not fit your car without spacers and more camber. I have 255’s now. My 997 is mostly track so I wanted max grip (to the extent that pure width provides that).
Hope this is helpful and not too opinionated.
SteveP911, I'm not tracking my car nor pushing it so hard that I'm concerned about getting to my limits of grip, so I don't need to go wider. I'm more concerned about NVH, hydroplaning, or hitting a patch of black ice on the road, so 285's or 295's might be better for my use. Thanks for the input, though.
Brandon at Apex has been quite helpful to me thus far. Before I purchase a new set of wheels and tires, though, I'd like to understand a bit more about fitment because I sort of live in the boondocks, and don't want to regret my wheel/tire size decision again (I bought 1" larger diameter Michelin PS A/S tires for my 19" Turbo 2 rims a few months ago but don't really like how it looks and how stretched the rear 285 looks on the stock rim).
Apex has a good fitment article on their site. BBS does, too. BBS suggests 18 x 10" or 18" x 11" width whereas the Apex article suggests 11's (though Brandon gave me info for 10.5's and is getting me info for 10's, I think). I'll go with 285's or 295 DWS06+'s and I want a flush tire/wheel fit, i.e. not a stretched tire. The BBS price doesn't really bother me but I have a hard time justifying spending 5k for wheels on a car that's only worth 60-70k - it seems a bit excessive for one part.
Does anyone know if my take-off OEM 19" Turbo 2 wheels are more or less desirable than something like new Flow formed Apex's or BBS wheels?
08-23-2023, 08:51 AM
offset and wheel spacers
