Wheel Widths

[Tecra]

hi and thanks for having a look. i have a 2002 996 C2 Cab and currently running the optional 18" sport design wheels with measurements of (taken from service info book):

front 225/40 ZR 18

on 8 J x 18 RO 50 (52)

rear 285/30 ZR 18

on 10 J x 18 RO 65

and my questions are... what would increasing the width of the wheel do to the car overall? (im thinking wider wheel = more surface area and friction which equates to more traction and drag). spacers can simulate this and i guess if u didnt want to purchase different wheels, then that would be an easy route. not to mention you could have spacers for multiple setups cost effectively.

does anyone have feedback from setups like these?

front 8.5 x 18

rear 10.5 x 18

or

front 8.5 x 18

rear 11 x 18

:renntech:

[70Sixter]

If the object is to put more tire on the car you'd have to checkout widths and the aspect ratio needed to avoid changing the rolling radius and the speedometer reading. There will be an increase in unsprung weight.

If you only want wider wheels and same tires you might or might not gain something from having the sidewalls more vertical. Depends on the specs for min/max wheel width for the tires. Tire Rack can help with that info.

[ldrhoades]

You might want to take a look at the PCA forums. There is a lot of information on this. You can fairly easily go to the wider widths as long as you are mindful of the propoer offsets. There are caluclators out there that can help. I can't recall off the top of my head, but I think the GT3's ran 8.5's up front and 11's in the rear. Of course they have different suspensions (you may need coilovers otherwise the wheels may not clear the fat stock springs. If you get the right offsets and have the right suspension - you shouldn't need the spacers. Be careful about wheel witdts and recommended tire widths. I wouldn't stretch a tire to the limit on a rim. Hope this helps. (FYI - I'm heading for racing slicks for track tires - will looking at 8.5 fronts and 11" rears - with the correct offsets - they'll fit on my 2002 C2). Good luck.