18" or 17"

[andrew davis]

Hi

I have a 1995 993 C4 running on v.wide 18" technolgy wheels. Getting a bit frustrated at poor ride quality and the way in which it picks up every rut, imperfection and lorry indentation on the motorways. The car sits on 6mm of conti sport at present so will be due for a change in a few months.

Someone suggested I change to slimmer 17" with bigger profile -possibly on Pzeros

Suggestions/observations and recommendations on where to have this done would be very welcome.

Thanks

Andrew

 

[Guest]

My car did same thing on 18" rims at first. New PSS9s + p-zeros + alignment at 9M transformed handling (no tramlining at all now).

Suggest you check your shocks - original Monroes only lasted 20-30K. New shocks will be firm but more "progressive" over bumps & much better at speed/through corners. Before the upgrade, my car had a life of its own at 60 mph plus & felt downright scary! [:-] Make sure you have the narrow body 18" technology rims.

17" will give softer ride but some would say they don't look as good [8D]

 

[Mark Elder]

I believe that the early 993s were not intended to run with 18" rims and need additional bracing (that may not be the correct technical term!). Not sure if '95 counts as early - do you have the Varioram engine?

 

[wblackw9]

18"s are the way to go and look much better. You will find the klarger the wheel you will sacrifice some comfort but in other areas you will make up in performance and handling where you lack in comfort. Stick with them 17"s look small IMO.

 

[38F3E1]

Noticable improvement in ride going from 18" to 17". There is no doubt that on the road the 17" gives a nicer ride. It's not just the higher tirewall profile but also the narrower tires that make the improvement.

Ian.

 

[angry]

18s look good (most say...not me)
17s just work better...comfort/handling/feedback and noise.
Ive done road,track and the Nurburgring for years and tried different sizes, 17s win for me every time.
Dan

 

[andrew davis]

Many thanks to all who replied to my note - much appreciated - now just need to find the money!!
[]
Cheers

Andrew Davis

 

[LeoSayer]

Alignment for the tramlining issue.
What tyre pressure are you running on the 18s? At stock pressures, the ride comfort is poor, but can be easily improved.

 

[zwhitea]

I really don't understand the issues people have with running 18" wheels, our 96 Cab runs 18"'s and handles like a dream..

Maybe its just the difference between having factory fitted 18" wheels as we have and trying to retro fitting them and sorting out the braces, geometry etc.?

Adam.

 

[sidned]

ORIGINAL: zwhitea

I really don't understand the issues people have with running 18" wheels, our 96 Cab runs 18"'s and handles like a dream..

Maybe its just the difference between having factory fitted 18" wheels as we have and trying to retro fitting them and sorting out the braces, geometry etc.?

Adam.

I second that. I have the 18 inch MY02 wheels on mine, and after running with the standard 17 inch wheels for a year beforehand, I couldn't say I noticed a difference. I took her to the Nurbugring last year and found no issues whatsoever with the handling, apart from the fact that the car is far more capable than me!
The drive through Europe wasn't uncomfortable so I can't say I'd be in a hurry to change back to 17's. I get the odd tramline effect on certain road surfaces, but if I remember correctly, I had this issue with the smaller wheels as well.