Which wheels and tires sizes would work best and are legal for Drivers Ed and subsequent PCA Club Racing ?

The car is stock and this will be my first DE, in May, later this year.

- 16in OEM 944 Turbo Clubsport forged wheels
Stock tire sizes are as follows:
Front 225/50
Rear 245/45

- 17in OEM 993 Cup2 wheels
Stock tire sizes are as follows:
Front 205/50
Rear 255/40

What tire sizes do you guys recommend / what works for you. Thanks !

 

Steve,

At first I didn't realize who you are until I saw your list of VWs. I'm the bastard consultant you met at your employer last year. I'm with a new company so my e-mail has changed.

Glad you took our advice to keep your 951 and try a DE.

Stock wheels will work fine. You will still have some of the understeer dialed in by the factory (which can be a good safety factor when you're first starting on the track).

The C2 wheels will work, but you'll have more pronounced understeer with that tire combination. I use C2 replica wheels, and even with 235 & 255 tires, it still understeers significantly with factory alignment settings. Either set of wheels will keep you in a club racing stock class.

PCA club racing (for stock classes) allows 1" wider than factory-supplied, which means you can run 8" and 10" widths in any wheel diameter. However, several 951S racers pointed out that the front rims are actually 7 3/8" and gained approval to consider them 7.5". So, many use 8.5" fronts with no hassles from scrutineering.

I'd suggest running a season or so on your stock rims with good quality, but cheap, street tires (something that will hold up to the abuse and high temps). It will make you a better driver. Then, if you're serious about continuing DEs and potentially racing, look at a set of forged wheels in 8.5" & 10".

Good luck and let us know how your DE goes.

Regards,
Jerome

 

Jerome

Its good to hear from you again. Yes, we are now a 4 car 2 driver family, almost normal. We sold the '92 325iC about a month ago and my CFO/SO has informed me that the upgrade fund is in the black.

Its just that the Cup2 wheels look better than the Clubsports so I was hoping to use those wheels on the track on the 951 but I see your point and I didnt want to have a worse handling situation given the smaller front tire size.

The Clubsports have some older Michelin XGT tires and the Cup2s have older Dunlop 8000s. I suppose either tire would be okay for my first DEs.

 

I've never tried the Michelin tire you mentioned, but I used SP8000s for my first few events and they did just fine.

We're now also a 4 vehicle/2 driver family, but my upgrade fund is now way, way in the red.