92tsiawd

I've done a couple searches and came up with results other than what I want. Anyhow, I was wondering if anybody uses 17" track rims for a NB 996, why i want to use smaller diameter rims is because of the amount of tires I go through in a season, I want to be a little budget conscious on that respect. I want to get the widest set of rim without having to roll my fenders. What is the optimal offset to rim width for these cars. Are there any brands you suggest that make 17" track rims? Anyone ever try putting a set of stock 17x8.5 et 50 rear rim in the front?

DanR

there are some for sale in the FS section at the moment

92tsiawd

So what's a good offset and rim width for the front and rear to ensure I don't have to roll my fenders but still have a wide foot print?

AudiOn19s

I run 17 x 8.5 (boxster rears) on the front of my car for the track.

The issue you'll run across is the widest factory 17' wheel available is 9'. Patrick E (I think??) has run the 8.5 F / & 9/ R setup and like it. I wanted a wider wheel at the rear so I'm running a stock 18 x 10 rear on my car.

running 245/285 or 255/295 tire combo and the car is very well balanced. Lost of people give me funny looks for running different diameter wheels front and back but it's cheap and effective. You obviously loose some feel in the front though with the taller sidewall.

Andy

AudiOn19s

Ride height and suspension will play factors in this. What suspension do you have...how low is the car. how much negative camber.

92tsiawd

Thanks for your help Andy! That's exactly what I was looking for, I was planning on getting a set of stock rears for the car and running the stock 996 17" rear rim in the front. I am currently running the stock suspension so suspension travel is not going to be an issue, while the alignment specs will for sure. I plan on running it like this for SOLO time trials next season, get the bugs sorted out first and then work on the suspension. Is there anything I should be aware of with regards to alignment specs? What are the limitations of camber adjustment with the stock suspension?

AudiOn19s

The limitation is you'll get no negative camber in the front..less than 1 degree negative...closer to .5 degree.

92tsiawd

Wow, that's bad news...I would assume getting camber plates or lowering the car would be the only way to get some camber out of it. Are there any good brands to choose from?
Andy: Is your car a DD? How often do you go on the track with your car? What's a comfortable but a slight bit aggressive camber spec for this car if I throw on a set of camber plates?

AudiOn19s

Tarett / TRG / OEM GT3 monoballs are all options for camber plates. None of the plates for the 996 are adjustable they're all fixed position and give you approx. 1 degree more negative camber than the stock setting. You'll need to make sure they will work properly with your stock springs if you go that route.

Lowering will help too obviously.

My car is used 70/30 for street / track. on street tires I liked -2.0 degrees of camber all around. This was with coilovers on the car though.

Shoot me a PM if I can help any further.

Andy

himself

A "cheap" fix for front camber is the GT3 lower control arms. With them you can get around -3 degrees. Cost is somewhere around $500 for the 996.

Not sure how much help it will be with a stock suspension though.

-td

92tsiawd

What about for rear camber? does GT3 lower control arms in the back create more adjustability?

himself

I believe you can get all the camber you "need" in the rear with the stock setup. IIRC, I was running ~2.0 negative stock.

-td

Paul 996

I too used to use the boxster rear 17x8.5 ET50 up front with great results. Challenge is as Andy said finding an oem 17 that is bigger than a 9, maybe from the 993.

I don't have a set of the 996 17s around anymore but the 17x9 ET55 rear is likely going to be a problem up front wrt inner clearance. If you have them I would try it out real quick. I have a 17x8.5 ET50 fikse and I clear (just) and prefer to run a small 6 or 7mm spacer to give a little more room so that the tire doesn't rub on the spring perch when pushed really hard.

jrgordonsenior

Definitely run the 8-1/2 inch up front with 245's. I've been testing this setup for the Spec Boxster series (same front end as the 996) and we're going to this setup next year. You will need a small spacer, 5-7mm, to clear the shock collars or perches as Paul suggested. You will need the GT3 lower control arms to make this work but it's easily worth it. It's better to get your neg. camber by spreading them out at the bottom than pulling them in at the top. I would stay with the 9 x 17 rears for now and run the 245/255 combo. We get neg 2.7 in the rear with the stock control arms. Your car should be really neutral this way and you'll love the balance....

Chaos

I run 17s while most of the other guys in NASA GTS @ and PCA E run 18s,for that reason.