19” wheels on a 996 GT3 MK II?

[Dansken]

Any one here with experience on putting 19” wheels on a 996 GT3 MK II?

How wide wheels fit? What dimension tires? Are spacers necessary?

I’m interested in all the information I can get

/Henrik

[450knotOffice]

Beautiful car. I wish I could help you other than to say that I'm under the impression that the MK II GT3 does not gain any performance through the use of 19" wheels, but instead loses some performance. If you are after an appearance upgrade only, then it probably doesn't matter. If I were you I'd check out the GT3 and 996 forums at Rennlist. The 996 forum in particular is very active and many of the posters on that forum are GT3 owners.

Good luck to you and, again, I really like your car. The GT3 is my favorite Porsche.

[Dansken]

Originally posted by 450knotOffice
Beautiful car. I wish I could help you other than to say that I'm under the impression that the MK II GT3 does not gain any performance through the use of 19" wheels, but instead loses some performance. If you are after an appearance upgrade only, then it probably doesn't matter. If I were you I'd check out the GT3 and 996 forums at Rennlist. The 996 forum in particular is very active and many of the posters on that forum are GT3 owners.

Good luck to you and, again, I really like your car. The GT3 is my favorite Porsche.

Hi Scott!

Thanks for all positive feedback :-)

Yes, I know that 19” wheel probably will not be a performance upgrade, but on the other hand why has the 997 GT3 19” wheels?
I’m looking for new wheels because I want one set for track use and one set for regular driving. Then I will buy racing tires and put them on the stock GT3 wheels and then have the 19” wheels for making the car look good. I think a 19” split wheel with a black center and a shiny on the outside would look great. Like on your 911 Cabriolet before the re-finish of the wheels. I like your re-finished wheels

Don’t you have a picture with your complete Porsche “collection”?

Best regards,

Henrik

[450knotOffice]

Thanks. Actually, I do. I was in the process of uploading them, when my local provider had a problem and shut down access to the 'net for a while a few days ago. I'll add them now. Thanks for the reminder.

As for the 19's on the 997, remember that Porsche designed the 997 GT3 to run 19's right from the start. Porsche has optimized the wheel/tire/suspension package for 19's. They did not do that for the older 996 based GT3's. Your car was designed with the 18's in mind. But heck, for street driving, I've got to agree with you. They'll look great.

[BReyes]

19's slow it down while on the track too?

Regards,

[450knotOffice]

Yes. The 996 GT3 suspension systems were not tuned for 19 inch wheel, but rather 18 inchers. The larger wheels apparently don't allow the suspension to work as it was designed and the result is slower lap times.

On the other hand, the 997 GT3 does use the 19 inch rims as standard.