Jacks911

I have stock 17" on my C4 - with the new Conti DW - which are very well rated in survey & tests on Tire Rack. While you would not be able to swap sides - I believe you will find these a very good deal $ wize and a very smooth ride on 17's. I doubt you will loose anything in handling in general street use. I am very pleased with these tires and have a very stiff Coil-over lowered setup.

ivangene

As stated I think it would be fine, I still would like to know what wheels you have and wonder if a stronger wheel wouldnt be just as good as swapping to 17's - I had 17's on my car for winter and as much as I would say its OK... I really could not wait to get them off.

Here is a pic with mine on 17's

V225

The smaller wheel + taller sidewall makes the tires look like racing slicks.

ivangene

IMO it drove a little wierd too, but those were blizzaks so not sure if that was part of it... the steerinig was extra light and girlie

francars

What type of wheels are you considering in the 17s? I personally upgraded from the OE 17s to 18s. No major difference and no bends that I can tell. I live in NorCal and roads are decent. I try to avoid potholes, etc. when I can to avoid issues. Depends how and where you drive your car to I guess.

tooloud10

That's the winter tires more than anything else, IMHO. The lightness of my steering always shocks me when I put my 18" winter wheels/tires on the car.

RallyJon

Put on Direzza Star Specs. The sidewalls are stiffer than aluminum.

Mark I

Thanks for the replies. I have the regular 5 spoke wheels (not the twists). Staying with that general look would suit me fine, but will be scouting for interesting alternatives. I'd really like something polished, but not chrome. It's all totally subjective, but I think Ivangene's car looks fine with the 17s. Sidenote: I also picked up your link from another thread to rimsntires - the calculator is very usefull. A 265 takes you up .4" in tire height and a 275 up .7". Not sure if those increases would cause clearance issues at stock ride height or if makes sense anyway. I like Jack's idea about the Continental tire - even better, I think from the picture (if we're looking at the same tire) I think you actually can rotate them. Happy Holidays!

Gaspasser19

I'm not sure what the max. would be in terms of 17" wheels. I know the stock setup is 17x7 ET-50 w/205 50 17 up front and 17x9 ET-55 w/255 40 17 in the rear. I run this setup in the winter with hub centric spacers 5mm front and 10mm rear. There is still a significant amount of room left under the fender with this combo, especially up front. I should add that this is with the ROW M030 suspension. I think your biggest issue will be finding wheels and tires available in non-standard sizes if you try to go bigger.

The ride is definitely less jarring with the 17" set but you give up a measure of control. BTW, I run 18" Sport Designs in the summer and have yet to bend a rim.

Good luck with your search.

Jacks911

Mark I, The Conti DW is an Asymmetrical tire tread. Labeled with "OUTSIDE" on one side of the tire to keep a particular tread pattern on the out side edges of the tire for max cornering control. This said you may swap them left to right and they would be the same... However consult with TIRERACK consultants before considering this. Back in the day (yes I am that old) when radials where a new thing the story was you never want to reverse direction of the tire once it has been rolling in one direction for part of it's life. Story was that there could be belt separation caused by that reversal of rolling direction. Maybe that is not the case any more - or maybe it was an Urban Legend???
I think you would be very pleased with these tires. And if you want to go wider and taller - based on my experience the standard sizes leave a 3 MPH window in the Speedo. Strange but these replaced the OEM Conti II's in the same size but the same street-side speed radar units now show I am going 3 MPH slower - so the tire Diameter is smaller. TireRack just published another tire test with these tires against the Michelin & Goodyear competition and they came out #1. I bought them cause of the (yes it is true) frequent rain in Seattle - and they are highly rated in that aspect.

relinuca

Mark I,

I, too, am considering going from 18s to 17s. My '99's 18s are chrome (ugh!), dealer installed at delivery, and I see see no advantage to paying the premium for 18s and accepting the sacrifice in ride quality. Sorry tracksters.

Let us know how things go.

relinuca

carsareart

I have a set of 17's and 18's. I like the ride of the 17's better than the 18's. When I drive on a trip I like to put on my 17's, they ride better. One time when I had the wheels off the car I weighed the tires and wheels for each size. The fronts were very close but the 18's rear tire/wheel combo was 4 or 5 pounds heaver than the 17 inch rears for each tire.
Now I do not have the same tires on each but from my seat of the pants meter I feel faster on the 17's when I autocross. No way to be scientific but just a feeling.
As for the looks department, I like the 18's. My 17's are chrome and well I would like something else for my 17's.
For my next set of tires I am looking at the BFGoodrich G force Super Sport A S tire. I just put a set on one of my sons cars and really like them. They are directional so you would have to dismount them to change sides. I had my car realigned and my rear tires have lasted over a year now! I use to get 8 or 9 thousand out of a set of rear tires.

Mark I

Thanks for the great replies and information. I just placed an order for some 17" wheels & tires from TireRack - tires are Continentals, which seem the best fit for my purposes. I´m in Germany now, expecting delivery by the time I´m back in the U.S.. First free moment I have, I´ll be making the change...(hope to clean & repaint the lug bolts in the process); then straight to the alignment shop. I´ll convey my impressions promptly. Wishing everyone happy holidays!

Barn996

Wow, refreshing to know I'm not the only one with 17" wheels....and have been for 4 yrs.plus, winter and summer tires.

Jim Griffin

If you decide to get an alignment from a Porsche Technician, make sure that the gas tank is full....a little advice from my technician.