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Need advice on tire size - 997 turbo wheels on my 996
I have a 2002 996TT and have acquired a set of 997 Turbo wheels that I want to install – have seen them on 996TTs before and really like how they look. My question is what size tires can I run that will fit, look good and not rub. My car is stock height and suspension as far as I know and has stock 18-inch hollow turbo twists. The wheels are:
Front: 8.5Jx19H2 ET56 and Rear: 11Jx19H2 ET51.
Stock 997 wears 235/35-19 fronts and 305/30-19 rears. I was planning to order RE71R’s from TireRack in those sizes as the overall diameters are 25.5 and 26.2 which I believe is within the tolerance for the AWD. We have used RE71Rs on the Corvette we have run in the One Lap of America the last two years and have been happy with them. Today I was advised that I really need to run 235/35-19 fronts and 295/35-19 rears. These sizes have a bigger gap between the front and rear diameters (25.5 and 27.1) and significantly less tires to choose from. Need advice from someone who has done this – how big can I fit without rubbing, and what is the actual criteria with regards to the overall diameters? I don’t want to screw anything up with the AWD.
I'm on my phone and can't post pictures right now, but clink the link in my signature. My car had 997 wheels on it when I bought it with the 235/305 combo. They fit fine with unmodified fenders but did rub a little under very hard cornering, which could be resolved by running 5mm spacers.
Personally, I'd go with 295/30 (whoever told you 295/35 is wrong) in the rear if you stick with 235s up front. If you really want 305s, go with 245/35s in the front.
Last edited by Capt. Obvious; 02-06-2020 at 12:45 PM.
I'm on my phone and can't post pictures right now, but clink the link in my signature. My car had 997 wheels on it when I bought it with the 235/305 combo. They fit fine with unmodified fenders but did rub a little under very hard cornering, which could be resolved by running 5mm spacers.
Personally, I'd go with 295/30 (whoever told you 295/35 is wrong) in the rear if you stick with 235s up front. If you really want 305s, go with 245/35s in the front.
With 305/30s, why not run 255/35s as the diameters would be even closer at 26.2” and 26” respectively rather than 0.5” difference?
You would have to hack up your car to fit a 255 in the front.
I have a 255/30 on there now and was considering a change only so that the diameters are closer than being 1.2” different and thought going to a 255/35 would get me there.
02-05-2020, 09:52 PM
Need advice on tire size - 997 turbo wheels on my 996
