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Originally Posted by aircooled4evr
i have come to the porsche world from the wv cal look scene.
And maybe therefore, have a somewhat different approach than others? 
and this is related to my next question: Does anyone in here have experience with narrow tires on wide rims? Eg. 195 / 205mm on 8 "rims, and 225 on 9" rims? How much does it affect the driving characteristics?.
i probably also go for slightly higher tires than most today. However, i know the properties of high tires well, and likes the early warning they give. I'm also not a race car driver anyway!, and the little i get to drive on the track ... It probably doesn't matter anyhoo..... |
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195 / 205mm on 8 "rims, and 225 on 9" rims? How much does it affect the driving characteristics?.
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55
A lot, tires and the wheels they are mounted on is just like the Goldilocks story, not too this and not too that
A tire is designed and built with a certain characteristics, such as the foundational stiffness which allow it to distort in a controlled linear fashion in use, the tire needs to distort, that's why we don't run on wooden or metallic wagon wheels any more.
The tire distortion determines the slip angle that the tire runs at, this in turn determines the handling characteristic that the wheel/tire combo impart to the chassis
over steer is when the slip angles in back are bigger than the slip angles in front
under steer is the reverse
every tire has a design spec for the wheel width
here's a 205/50x 17 on an 8, this tire's spec is 5.5-7.5, on an 8 is is stretched to .5" over, the stretch does 2 things
1) stiffens the sidewall and sharpens steering response
2) reduces flex and makes the ride harsher
besides that the aluminum edge of the wheel is vulnerable to curbing
here's another .5" over install showing the exposed wheel edge
w/i the tire's spec you can tune for the desired handling trait, use the widest spec wheel and you sharpen steering response and maximize grip because the slip angle is minimized while reducing ride comfort, use the narrowest spec width and you do the opposite
I've gone .5" over in the past and been ok if a bit uncomfortable w/ it, I'd never go 1" over