angelo1404

Looking to upgrade to a dedicated set of wheels/tires for track days.

At this point, track days consist of DE only. Maybe some Time Trials in the near future.

Car is in my avatar -- stock 2005 997 18" wheels

Any suggestions?

Am I limited to 18" wheels and 235 40 18, 265 40 18 tires?

angelo1404

Thanks for all the great ideas!
I can't wait to try them out!

quickxotica

Lots of choices out there. Did you try searching the RL for threads mentioning "track wheels"? That could soak up all your free time for a while. :-)

You are not limited to 18" technically, but most people agree track tires are cheaper & more plentiful in 18" sizes rather than 19". As far as width goes, you can certainly get wider wheels which will enable you to run wider tires on the track without any other mods to your car... at least up to 295mm in the rear and maybe 245 or even 255 up front (although those fronts may be harder to find... 235s are more plentiful). Eventually 19" track tires may become common in the future though, so if you really want 19s for the track, it's doable.

Wheels brands to consider in your initial research: CCW, BBS, Champion, HRE, (or factory wheels for light track duty).

Enjoy your search!

Modoc

Just listed a set of 18 Forgelines in classified with pic and contact info if interested
Joe

hp18racer

18" CCW's (http://www.ccwheel.com/files/home.php) with NT-01's. They can tell you the best sizes for your car. Give them a call, they ship with tires mounted and balanced.

mglobe

Unless you are really seriously trying to win some sort of competition, I'd advise that you go for an inexpensive set of used Porsche wheels. They won't be the lightest, but they will be inexpensive and strong. Definitely go with 18", as your choices of tires greater, and tire costs will be lower. Search, and you can find a set of old 996 turbo-twists for less than $1000. With respect to tire widths, you are not limited to the stock sizes. I think Porsche runs a large stagger in their street cars to keep the back end from breaking loose. This ends up giving you understear. You could go with a wider front tire relative to the rear in order to get more grip up front and hence less understear. For example (and it may not be a great example since it's a race car), I run 245's front, and 275's rear on my 996.

RonCT

Just saw this post for the first time. There are probably dozens of similar posts that will give you all sorts of ideas. Today, I think the best value for a new (read: undamaged, rock-solid, warranted, etc.) wheels is the OZ Alleggerita that Tire Rack has in 18x8.5 front and 18x11 rear. Extremely light and reportedly to be very strong and definitely inexpensive. Tire choice is a good question as there aren't many with the correct 26.3" rear diameter. I ran 245/305 RA1s a few years ago and today I can still say they were my favorite on the 997 platform. If you can get a set, have them shaved to 5/32 to get to the 2nd stage of their tread pattern - RA1s unshaved are terrible until you wear them down.

4porsh

^
ya, i agree. i called Tire Rack today about the weight 18-19 pounds for the fronts and 22-23 pounds for the rear. All for under 2k.

I do not have extra $ right now do to the economic tsunami.

Trying to figure out if the NEW OZ Alleggerita's for 2K with around 5 pounds weight savings per wheel or USED BBS Forged Magnesium RE
Monobloc with around 10 pounds of weight savings per wheel at $3,000 used is even worth buying for HPDE track days.

Sure if you have $ to spend then go light for big dollar. Has anyone tracked rims that were 5 pounds less then or rims 10 pounds lighter than stock?
Big difference? Worth the $ for 5 pounds or 10 pounds or save the money and have fun with stock rims?

Thanks for any advice,

Joe

mark kibort

god no!

any weight on the wheel is worth about 1.5x as if it was in the car. you buy light track wheels when you need strength, and you want lightness.

an 8lb lighter wheel is like having (x 4 for 4 wheels ) = 32lbs x 1.5 in the car. For DE, can you tell if you have a half a tank or a quarter tank of fuel? There is the difference.

Giacomo

+1. Sage advice.

Chads996

-1 Porsche wheels are notoriously heavy. There are only but a few out there that are relatively "light".

I agree with the comment on the OZ's. Lightweight, strong and won't break the bank. If you are on a tight budget, only then would I suggest going with OE wheels.

Kilbort is dead-on about the wheel weights effects the handling and drivability of the car. It is VERY noticeable from a 25+# wheel to one in the in the mid-teens.

C.

RonCT

When a brand new (with warranty) never dinged, damaged, warped, etc. set of OZs cost between $1200 and $1500 (depending on what sizes you buy) and weigh about 18/20 lbs, I can't see how you could go wrong.

Ray S

+1 to what others have said about wheel weight.

Years ago I DE'd my 986 with the boat anchor 18" turbo look wheels I purchased my car with.

Were they strong?.....hell yes, but the fronts weighed almost 25 #'s and the rears were over 29 #'s. I purchased some forged BBS wheels for the track and it made a huge difference!!

Personally, I would stick with 18's and as other have said there are a ton of good choices out there

- CCW, BBS, Champion, Forgeline, etc, etc, etc.

}{arlequin

that's one way to force some answers. sweet strategy

mglobe

So you were losing all the DE's before you went to lighter wheels? I completely understand the difference lighter wheels make. I personally just don't see the need to spend a lot on wheels. I still like the low cost option for non-competitive situations. Here are a set of wheels for $650 for example (no afilliation)

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...SS%3AUS%3A1123