Hello .. according to the manual my 997S has 19 inch wheels with this

front 235/35 ZR 19 (87Y) 8 J x 19 H2 57 mm 58.5 in./1486 mm
rear 295/30 ZR 19 (100Y) XL 11 J x 19 H2 67 mm 59.7 in./1516 mm

I also have 5mm spacers in the rear (option)

I have an opportunity to get a set of OZ wheels at 18" with the following offset

Front : 50 mm offset front @ 18 " X 7.5
Rear : 65 mm offset rear @ 18" x 10

would these work and would I need to remove the spacers ?
These wheels would be for track purposes..

thanks !!

 

Matt --

I have just been through this whole exercise and ended up with a set of Volk wheels from Tire Rack. Offsets are 49mm front and 60 mm rear. They fit fine without spacers of any sort. The wheels are 18 X 11 rear and 18 X 8.5 front.

I would think that a 7.5 inch wheel on the front would be very narrow for track use. I am running 295/30 tires on the rear and 235/40 on the front - Yoko A048Rs.

 

wheels are way too narrow for a 997S. You need at the minimum 18x8 and 18x11. Like Lblackman said above I too have just gone through all of this and I looked at the Vols and they will work perfect. However I went with CCW ww.ccwheels.com and used most of last year 18x9 front with 18x12 rear running Toyo RA1's 245/40/18 and 305/30/18.
From looking at all the wheels to be used as track wheels and staying under $4000 for the whole set tire and wheels the CCW and Volks are pretty much it.

 

Nice wheels Lorne.

 

Do you mind telling me the offsets our 997s need with 18x9 and 18x12? I have a rear wheel drive.
Your setup is very much what I am looking for.
Want to stay under the $4000 you talked about.

 

when I called CCW and spoke with John he set me up with the same wheels he sells to the GT3 guys and others that race 997 type cars. I do not remember the exact offset he used but it is somewhere at 48mm front and 58 rear. He set me up with a little more track width than the standard 997 factory offset..in other words my track wheels are pushed out a little more.

 

It's good you asked. Like Lorne and Mike, I am not diggin' those wheel widths. I could sorta understand running 8's and 10's because you got them cheap and you just want another set of wheels to go abuse some tires at the track and build your skills, and 7.5" and 10" is nearly the same. The offsets on the wheels you want to get are fine, I know those will fit within your fenders.

Given that us 997S drivers are jaded on giant wheels and tires, it's easy to forget that the optional size for the 996, nearly as heavy and powerful as the 997, was 18x8, 225/40 and 18x10 285/30, and standard size was 17" with little 205 and 255 width tires, IIRC. The base Carrera 997 even puts up with 18x8 235 and 18x10 265 tires. Certainly if you are saving money with these OZ's I would say go for it, if it helps you get to the track where you can have some fun and build your skills.

But here's my reservation about the OZ's. Unless you are really selective about the tires you get, you really won't have ideal tire sizes. The typical 225/40 and 285/30 sizes a tire shop would put on those wheels for a 911 (which as stated above was the up-size for the 996), has a larger front tire diamater, which is the opposite of the 997 in which the rear axle tires are .5" larger diamater. You don't need to emulate the front-to-rear split exactly, but you should aim to be reasonably close, becuase as the tires wear that front to rear difference can increase, and your rear tires will lose tread faster than the fronts. In my mind three good tire choices come up for the 7.5/10" or 8/10" 18" wheel sets. This assumes you want a premium street tire and aren't aiming for all the compromises involved in using R-compound tires:
1) The Falken Azenis RT-615 is a fantastic street/track tire with a 200 treadwear rating and huge tread blocks that hold up well under track abuse at full tread depth. Luckily, Falken makes two tires that will perfectly emulate the front-to-rear diameter spread of the 997: 225/40/18 and 275/35/18, which wil fit beautifully on 7.5"/8" and 10" wheels: http://www.falkentire.com/rt615_sizes.html
2) If you aren't budget conscious and want to spend $$$ to go faster than the Falken Azenis, get the Yokohama Advan AD07 in 225/40 and 295/30, which gets a little closer to emulating the right diamaters.
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/Spec.j...VAN+Neova+AD07
3) Get OEM base 997 Carrera tires, in 235/40 and 265/40, from Michelin, Continental or Bridgestone. These tires have softer sidewalls than the choices above and have smaller treadblocks that won't fare well under severe track abuse - but for less than the most aggressive drivers, they'd do fine, and they are all excellent tires. Price wise they will fall under the Yokohamas and the Conti's and Bridge's will be down close to the Falkens.

My advice? Get the OZs if you save a lot compared to the Volk and CCW choices, and get the Falkens. Go tear it up at some track days and autocrosses. If the OZs aren't cheap, or if you aren't too price conscious, get the CCWs or Volks. I personally have the CCWs in 9x18 and 12x18.

- Ted