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Tires and wheels should not extend beyond the edge of the fender lip even if running enough negative camber causes them to tuck up inside when the suspension reacts.
The other thing is that there are a lot of 997s where the body is not exactly symmetrical on the left and right, with the chassis pick-ups on the right being a little more outward, which make the right rear wheel project out a bit more than the left, even with the exact same alignment settings on both sides of the car.
I've just ordered a new set of wheels and based on the previous 3 sets I've had on my car and the 2 sets I've had on my wife's (both are 2005 997.1 C2S cars), I believe the absolute optimal wheel specs for a NB car are:
Front: 19" x 8.5" et 50 with a 235/35-19 tire and
Rear: 19" x 12" et 74 with a 305/30-19
Anything more aggressive in the front or rear will extend beyond the fender and this car is running GT3 alignment specs on Bilstein Coilovers, so more camber than the stock suspension will allow.
Here's a shot of my car with
Fronts: 19" x 8.5" with 42mm offset
Rears: 19" x 11" with 52mm offset
Fronts are way too aggressive for a NB and rears are mildly too aggressive IMO
and here's a couple rear shots of a 19" x 11.5" et 62mm which is a more common NB fitment (equivalent to a 19" x 11" et 56)
I'll certainly post up some pics of the car with the new wheels in 4-6 weeks or so when they arrive with the new offsets I've ordered them with.
Yes you are correct with the statement above. I installed a used set of Turbo 11 wheels with these offsets: OEM 997 19" Turbo II Wheels - Made by Otto Fuchs
OEM Center Caps with Colored Crests
Specs:
Front: 8.5 x 19" ET56
Rear: 11 x 19" ET51
I carefully noted the difference between stock and the new wheels. I installed them and noted the changes.
The rears do protrude 16mm. The Turbo 11 wheels came with 305's. Personally I think that the 305 is too wide so I switched to the 295 which did help as I think it looks a lot better with the reduced tire width.
I put a level on my rear wheels and now with the 295 even with the tire "bead" my drivers side rear is about 3mm inside of flush but my passenger side rear is 2mm protruding form flush, so your note is correct about the car not being exactly centered.
The fronts look perfect to me, with the 8.5" I'm gaining about 7.5mm towards the outside and 5mm inside. This is how the extra 12.5 mm works out.
I was concerned about the rears sticking out too much but the tires you use can help in the final look of the wheels.
I noticed that the Michelin PS2 N tires have a protruding bead of about 8mm that extend beyond the outside of the tire, but some other tires do not have this extending bead which will help with the final look.
As you can see the 305 Michelin PSS that came with these wheels when I purchased them protrude. For me when installed they looked too wide on the rear of the car.
Near as damn it, the outside edge of the wheel itself is flush with the outside of the fender. So any tire extension will stick out.
As you can see the 305 Michelin PSS that came with these wheels when I purchased them protrude. For me when installed they looked too wide on the rear of the car. Near as damn it, the outside edge of the wheel itself is flush with the outside of the fender. So any tire extension will stick out.
The protruding Bead is the rim protector .... it works and has saved my a$$ once - I was so happy it did
Mine looks same as yours.
WB turbo wheel set that comes with 305/30/19
I was little bit worry if tires touch body but today I had hard ride on freeway and local that include lots of bumpy ride and went very high speed.
And tires doesn't touch body at all.
It looks like it will touch but it won't.
I have run almost a week OEM 19" turbo wheel on C2
I used to have 18" OEM and I never worried or felt this sensitive steering feel before.
Anyway, after I replaced to 19" and my steering feels a lot sensitive than before.
Like when I go over bump, wheel turns itself and felt less confident about this.
I don't know this is normal on all 19" wheel or mine.
Just it feels different than 18" and 19"
I have run almost a week OEM 19" turbo wheel on C2
I used to have 18" OEM and I never worried or felt this sensitive steering feel before.
Anyway, after I replaced to 19" and my steering feels a lot sensitive than before.
Like when I go over bump, wheel turns itself and felt less confident about this.
I don't know this is normal on all 19" wheel or mine.
Just it feels different than 18" and 19"
I had this same unstable and twitchy feeling when running some wheels on my C2S that were too aggressive an offset. I think it was on account of the fronts, which were a 19x8.5 ET 42. It wasn't the tires, the pressure, or the alignment as those were exactly the same across both sets of wheels. As soon as I put my old wheels back on the car, the rock solid feeling was back.
What are the 19" widths and offsets you're running?