malahhaor

Hi all, looking to learn a few things about tires.

I absolutely love the old-school look were tires bulge out out and come up to the fender (see images below). And i cant figure out how to achieve that (the bulge not getting tire closer to the fender ).
So im assuming i will not be able to do that with 19 inch rims and need to go to 18 so there is more sidewall?
Along with that do i need to get tires that are much wider than my rim or its because of the design of the particular tire that makes that bulge on the side wall?
I would think i need to get a rim with a lip to get that old-school look as well?
Will Carrera IV rims work in your opinion?
Edit: i actually like Champion wheels, something like RS98 or RS171 much better but i think they come in 19 only?

Any words of wisdom and experience would be appreciated.

P.S. i'm working with 06 997.1 C4

Little Green

You will definitely get a more "bulgy' look with smaller wheels and bigger sidewalls. To get the look above is probably a +2 plus size on the tire on a 17" wheel which may not clear the calipers. Also, it will not look that way unless you drop the car. The "bulgy" look is absolutely enhanced by the stance of the car itself. Last thing is when looking at wheels you need to get as deep a wheel as you can get. Regardless of the tire if the wheels are what you have chosen above it will not look right. You have to get deep wheels to come close to the look you are after.
So:
Deep dish 17-18" (I don't think 17's will fit BTW) wheels
+2 Fitment to get that really fat look
Lower the car.

chuck911

Ha ha ha! That's old school getting the last laugh.

Your post reminds me of the guy in the gym who wanted to know how to get a body like a triathlete? Easy: Run! Bike! Swim!

In this case even easier! Zoom right in, write down tire sizes, mount on 16" Fuchs. Done!

Of course, your car will look silly. Precise handling will be ruined. But, on the bright side…. Ha! Had you going! There is no bright side! Buwa ha ha ha! Last laugh again!

Philster

Yeah... I'm thinking 16" wheels and tires would be much higher profile. I can't math that far down right now, but you're going from 18 or 19" down to 16, so you'll be wanting to get even wonkier than the "Plus" math for tires and wheels. You're looking at 60 series tires... maybe 65.

Trick is finding a 16'' rim that is very wide, and a tire that is that wide and is a 60 series or taller. Probably a tough task to make it work on a 997, but you can play with spacers, etc, too.

.

shyamvenky

I think any smaller than 18", you'll probably not clear the calipers. I wouldn't risk going to a smaller rotor/caliper setup just for an old-school look

malahhaor

Thanks for the info guys, I thought that's the route i would have to take, but was hopping not to go less than 18. Don't know if it will clear, especially since i'm thinking of getting bigger brakes at some point.
I will be lowering the car, just dont know how at this point (springs or c/o).

chuck, you're evil, but funny.

ace37

The wheels you show have a huge offset, meaning the rim "spokes" are set in several inches from the outside of the wheel. That's what Little Green was saying with deep rims. The two you showed will not accomplish the look you're after.

I don't know the older cars well enough to see if the wheel arches were stretched, and the wheels look very flush with the body. The cars look to be lowered. Those things all raise some concerns with potholes causing you to take out your fender.

There are free geometry calculators to help you with all this if you take a tape measure to your car and are very careful. See what you want flush with what. And make sure you do a quick calculation on suspension travel to make sure you don't damage the car after spending a lot of money on the look.

Looks cool though.

EMBPilot

whoa. calm down there turbo. ur getting pretty worked over there...

poorshe

17s will clear calipers barely with one weight height on Carrera but not S. I am running 235 55 17 in back and like the earlier look. I thought 17s would look too small but look better than 18s with 265 40s. It is a daily driver, only car, so not concerned about track times. It still feels/handles the same at road speeds and rides better on broken pavement and much quieter over coarse roads. I have sets of 18s and 19s but am not going back. That being said 17s are very hard to find. Gas mileage a plus too and less worry about pot holes

Hella-Buggin'

I'm pretty sure those fender arches are flared beyond what the street cars had naturally. The back maybe a 930 turbo flare but the front looks pretty extended.

malahhaor

do you mind posting a pic?

thanks

stevepow

fwiw, I like that look too - the tall rubber. I just dropped to 19s and I miss the look of the tires already and will probably have to lower the car to get it to look right - would help with the 18s too really. And I'm hanging onto my 18s - the Carrera IV wheels - I think they are really cool wheels, but probably won't give the look you want.

INCONEL

Smaller wheels with fat tires (matte) on a wheel with a little lip should do the trick. Just don't go #hellaflush or #cambered on us. The "race look" and the "old school" look are pretty much the same.

Saaboteur

Back in my Saab tuning days, some of the local Saab guys would get the fat tire bulged look by....mounting fat tires on stock wheels. Looked great (if you were into that look) but the contact patch was compromised. Stock wheels were 5.5" if I remember right, originally mean for 195 widths, and some guys put 225s on them. Seemed like a quarter of the contact patch was curled up around the lip of the wheel!

malahhaor

thank you guys for the info, really helps allot.
I think i am going to try and find something in 18 inch with a lip and try to get the tires looking right.

do you think 8x18 with 245 upfront and 10x18 with 295 in the back would do the trick?