mjh

I am a new owner of a 1981 911SC with losts of enthusiasm but little technical knowledge. I have a fair amount of driving school and DE experience and am interested in acquiring a second set of wheels/tires for track use, both to add performance and to preserve street tires for street use. At present, I have the factory Fuchs wheels (16x6 front and 16x7 rear) with 205/55 tires in front and 225/50 in the rear. The car is stock in all other respects. I have read much of the material in this forum regarding the pros and cons of larger tires, but am left somewhat confused.

I am looking for thoughts/recommendations regarding wheel/tire combinations for my car that might be good for track use. Specifically, what considerations are present in going to 17" wheels and lower profile tires?

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. Many thanks.

Bill Gregory

If you haven't already, you may want to read the 911SC FAQ on tech.rennlist.com which may answer some of your questions.

earlyapex

You've got to look at your car as a whole first. Going to wider wheels/tires puts extra stress on your suspension and brakes. You stated that your car is completely stock. I assume you are looking to improve its handling, but wheels/tires are but a small part of the whole picture. As Bill has alluded to, the FAQ section has all of the information that you need. I have upgraded the suspension and brakes in addition to going to 16x7's (f) and 16x8's (r) with 205/55 (f) and 225/45 (r) MPSC's. The front tires can go to 225/50 16 with more negative camber. I chose Porsche Fuchs wheels, which I purchased new from Wheel Enhancement. You can find them used although 16x8's and 16x9's are much harder to find. You can easily fit 17 inch wheels on you car so whether you go this route depends whether you like this look and if you want to compete in autocross, time trials, etc as this may not be allowed in the class that you intend to run. The lower side walls (and thus stiffer) on the 17 inch tires will give you better handling at the expense of a harsher ride. The 55 and 45 aspect ratio tires that I run on my SC have a better ride than the much shorter side walled tires on my 40th Anniversary 911. I much prefer the stock 16 inch Fuchs to 17 inch wheels IMO.