19's to 18's and winter tyres!
Discussion
SkinnyP said:
Redlake27 said:
I have a Cayman S (on 18s in summer) but I purchased a set of Boxster 17 inch rims off ebay . They need spacers to clear the front calipers, but the narrow 17s give the car a completely different character.
I have 215 fronts and 245 rears (Goodyear UltraGrip Performance ) and the car feels delicate, almost Lotus like, on the winter tyres.
Interesting, can you expand on that?I have 215 fronts and 245 rears (Goodyear UltraGrip Performance ) and the car feels delicate, almost Lotus like, on the winter tyres.
I have driven a car on 17"s and yes it felt great but I didn't push it too hard. Can't imagine 245 rears like deploying 320bhp though!
It is difficult to draw an accurate comparison because my 17s are winter and the 18s summer, but I have driven a 2.9 on 17s and preferred it to one on 18s or 19s. It was just more supple and fluid, even if the grip was a fraction less.
cmoose - cheeky...
My car was bought ex-display (0.7 miles on the clock) in July 2011 for a reasonable discount but was a baseline spec. Ideally I would have liked something close to magnolia hide, reverse parking sensors, PCM, full climate control. I have retrofitted 3rd party sensors and ICE. The Boxster III wheels were sourced from pistonheads after 6 months of searching. So my car is nearly as I would like but a new interior is way too expensive and full climate control is impossible as the loom is wrong.
My car was bought ex-display (0.7 miles on the clock) in July 2011 for a reasonable discount but was a baseline spec. Ideally I would have liked something close to magnolia hide, reverse parking sensors, PCM, full climate control. I have retrofitted 3rd party sensors and ICE. The Boxster III wheels were sourced from pistonheads after 6 months of searching. So my car is nearly as I would like but a new interior is way too expensive and full climate control is impossible as the loom is wrong.
SkinnyP said:
I almost bought a 2.9 with 17" wheels, but I was kind of put off by the thought of people saying "thats a nice porsche, shame about the toy wheels though".
I've since had a quiet word with myself.
I have two sets of 17" wheels I've since had a quiet word with myself.
Better ride, less road noise and more balanced handling. Looks just fine, couldn't give a flying f
k what anyone else thinks.As for people panicking about 300+ hp and 235 rears... That's what your throttle pedal is for, it's analogue you know
Gets over/straddles speed bumps, no intention of lowering it.
Edited by juansolo on Monday 8th December 21:26
anonymous said:
[redacted]
Thats fine, it really is, and I know being closer to the limit is fun. But for me I enjoy the instant hook up offered by the 265 tyres especially when you are being very naughty and need every fraction of grip. Not saying I want four wheel drive (that would be dull), but nothing worse than unusable power.
All preference of course.
Re track times, for the sake of argument just give me a straight answer
I feel like I'm missing out now, you lot all having red Caymanz and sporty wheels.
The good news is these 18"s appear to have softened up, as weird as that sounds. Nvh is down despite the switch to winter tyres. Yes I like the 18s.
I feel like I'm missing out now, you lot all having red Caymanz and sporty wheels.
The good news is these 18"s appear to have softened up, as weird as that sounds. Nvh is down despite the switch to winter tyres. Yes I like the 18s.
Straight answer
Ultimately more grip = faster cornering, more effective braking and more traction out of corners. All good for going quicker. However on the wider wheels the car is less pointy at the front and not as progressive. So in confidence and dynamic terms, you might find you prefer the balance of the car with the smaller wheels on.
But doing it just to go faster is ultimately a pointless exercise on a track day as you're only 'racing' against yourself and the clock (if you're being naughty and timing). So how you go, relative to how you went before is what matters rather than how much time a set of tyres will get you. That only matters when you're racing other people. So go with the set up that's dynamically the most interesting and/or challenging depending on what your goal is. Personally I'd see if you could get Yokohama A539s in the 17" sizes. It'll feel like you've got 600hp...
Ultimately more grip = faster cornering, more effective braking and more traction out of corners. All good for going quicker. However on the wider wheels the car is less pointy at the front and not as progressive. So in confidence and dynamic terms, you might find you prefer the balance of the car with the smaller wheels on.
But doing it just to go faster is ultimately a pointless exercise on a track day as you're only 'racing' against yourself and the clock (if you're being naughty and timing). So how you go, relative to how you went before is what matters rather than how much time a set of tyres will get you. That only matters when you're racing other people. So go with the set up that's dynamically the most interesting and/or challenging depending on what your goal is. Personally I'd see if you could get Yokohama A539s in the 17" sizes. It'll feel like you've got 600hp...
SkinnyP said:
Re track times, for the sake of argument just give me a straight answer
I feel like I'm missing out now, you lot all having red Caymanz and sporty wheels.
The good news is these 18"s appear to have softened up, as weird as that sounds. Nvh is down despite the switch to winter tyres. Yes I like the 18s.
We are comparing 17 Winters with 18 Summer, s its difficult to compare.I feel like I'm missing out now, you lot all having red Caymanz and sporty wheels.
The good news is these 18"s appear to have softened up, as weird as that sounds. Nvh is down despite the switch to winter tyres. Yes I like the 18s.
Regarding track times, the diameter of the wheel makes no difference, unless you are using a bigger wheel to accommodate bigger brakes. The width of the tyre will help lap time. A 265 rear will have more grip (in the dry) than a 245. Whether the rim is 17 or 18 won't make a jot of difference to lap time. A wider front (say 245 rather than 235) will make the car more pointy as you will be moving the grip balance to the front. (That's why winter fronts are quite narrow...it moves the balance towards understeer which is probably what most of us would prefer on ice...)
For lap time, I'd have 18s with Dunlop Direzzas, Cup Sports or similar track day tyres. For the road, 17s with Summer and Winter tyres. For posing, not driving....that's the domain of 19s
For the road, for a better balanced car, more supple ride
I only picked the car up a fortnight ago, and took delivery on the winter 18s.
My test drive was the only time I've driven it on it's summer 19s (Carrera Sports with PS2s) - so can't yet make a meaningful comparison.
I will make two observations though:
1) Winter tyres / summer tyres - makes little difference on sheet ice (I discovered late on Thursday night in a bum-clenching < 10 mph slide towards parked cars on an ungritted suburban side street)
2) Winter tyres = more use of the car at this time of year - and the car looks great when filthy
My test drive was the only time I've driven it on it's summer 19s (Carrera Sports with PS2s) - so can't yet make a meaningful comparison.
I will make two observations though:
1) Winter tyres / summer tyres - makes little difference on sheet ice (I discovered late on Thursday night in a bum-clenching < 10 mph slide towards parked cars on an ungritted suburban side street)
2) Winter tyres = more use of the car at this time of year - and the car looks great when filthy
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