The ultimate Porsche 911 997 wheel fitment guide
Jul 9th 2024
Welcome to the world of modded Porsches. When it comes to aftermarket wheels, you can run anything you want … as long as they’re not he-he-37’s. Seriously, don’t put reps on a $130K+ GT3. Aftermarket wheels need to at least be on par with factory wheels.
This wheel & tire fitment guide is dedicated to the Porsche 911, 997 generation. This will include model years from 2004-2013, so both 997.1 and 997.2. We’re going to cover the ‘narrowbody’ specs you’ll find on C2, C2S, and GT3 models; but also widebody fitment for those C4, C4S, Turbo, and other widebody variants.
The Porsche community, being distinguished gentlemen & ladies, takes a pragmatic approach to aftermarket wheels. You’ll find the ubiquitous BBS, but also JDM and USDM brands - whatever looks the part. If you come from the BMW or Mercedes communities you’ll know putting anything but Euro-made wheels on your car will make people want to throw hands. It’s refreshing to see a wide variety of wheels used on these Porsches because, frankly, JDM wheels might suit them best.
Before we look at examples of what looks good on a 997, we’ll go over the basic fitment info you’ll need to know, regardless of what wheels you want.
Quick links
Basic fitment info
- Bolt pattern: 5x130
- Bolt thread: M14x1.5
- Center bore: 71.6 mm
- Bolt torque: 118 ft lbs
The 5x130 bolt pattern is sometimes used by other German manufacturers, but for the most part, it’s kinda just a Porsche thing. It’s not the most widely supported, but don’t worry, plenty of wheels will fit your 997. We have over 8000 possible wheel configurations in PCD 5x130.
Rolling/trimming/cutting fenders
Fender liner clearancing
When you’re sizing up your wheels and or tires, one of the first problems will be the front fender liners. More aggressive wheels will often contact the liners during cornering. Luckily, this is a pretty straightforward fix. Just massage the plastic liners outward for extra clearance. If you want to get more extreme you could bust out the grinder - they’re just fender liners after all.
Fender rolling
If you have a GT car, the fenders will already be pre rolled. For other models, you’ll have to do it yourself. Again, this procedure isn’t particularly involved - it’s pretty standard fender rolling, only difference is if you f*ck up, the fenders cost double or triple that of a lesser car (BMW). A competent body shop will be able to get this done, or it’s a perfectly doable DIY job if you own a fender roller. Word on the street is some people even do it with a hammer.
Rear fender trimming
This one is more of a delicate job as it involves irreversible cutting, albeit only inside the fender wells. The typical trouble area is where the rear quarter panels meet the bumper liner. To gain space you can cut out the rearmost bumper mounting tab and replace it with a zip tie. Otherwise, just take off material bit by bit until it fits.
Widebody vs Narrowbody fitment
In the front, the width is all the same except for one exception. Track only 997.2 Cup cars are delivered with wide fender flares that allow 10” wheels with 275 or wider tires. Not many conversions are done as they require dramatically cutting the factory fender to offer any tangible benefit.
GT’s come with faux widebody flares, however, they are purely aesthetic and don’t make the front any wider.
There’s a slight difference in factory sizes between the various offerings. Here’s a comparison of the narrowest to widest fronts:
- 997.1 Carrera (narrowbody) - 18x8 +57 235/40R18
- GT2 RS (widebody) - 19x9 +47 245/35R19
The real difference lies in the rear. AWD cars like the C4S, Targa 4S, GT3RS, Turbo, etc, are about 1.75” wider in the rear than their 2WD counterparts. Here’s an example of the difference in factory wheel specs:
- 997.1 Carrera (narrowbody) - 18x10.5 +60 265/40R18
- GT2 RS (widebody) - 19x12 +48 325/30R19
Examples of narrowbody fitment
We’ll go through a collection of narrowbody 997’s first. If you own a widebody, feel free to skip ahead to that section. Otherwise, all the designs you see will look good on either body style.
Fitment Facts | ||
| Front | Rear |
Wheels | HRE FF01 19x8.5 +50 (effective +43) | HRE FF01 19x11 +60 (effective +45) |
Tires | Michelin PS4S 235/35R19 | Michelin PS4S 305/30R19 |
Notes | 7mm front and 15mm rear spacers. BC Racing coilovers. No rubbing. |
High-end American brands such as HRE and Vossen are always going to be popular with the exotic crowds. The 997 is no exception. These FlowFormed HRE FF01’s have the prestige of a top brand while only costing about $2k for the set.
By default, this 2006 Carrera S would come with 18” wheels, however the owner decided to bump it up to 1 9’s - the typical size for aftermarket wheels. These specs are similar to stock but they’ve been spaced out for more aggressive fitment. The front tires are a factory size that won’t require any modification, while the rear may need a slight roll with 305/30 tires.
Note that this car is sitting on BC Racing coilovers. Despite being lower, it doesn’t have any issues with rubbing.
Fitment Facts | ||
| Front | Rear |
Wheels | Apex SM-10 19x9 +50 | Apex SM-10 19x12 +65 |
Tires | Michelin PS4S 245/35R19 | Michelin PS4S 325/30R19 |
Notes | Stock suspension. Rolled rear fenders. Extra camber in the rear. |
If you want to go as wide as possible in the rear, this might be the setup for you. This 997.1 is running 19x12 +65 with 325/30 PS4S tires . To copy this, you’ll have to roll the rear fenders and possibly do some trimming like we discussed earlier. Alternatively, some negative camber will also add space. In general, mid-engine vehicles take well to a bit of rear negative camber. This car is running about -2 degrees.
The front fitment is more or less the same as the previous with the only difference being a 245 tire instead of a 235.
Fitment Facts | ||
| Front | Rear |
Wheels | BC Forged RZ21 19x9 +45 | BC Forged RZ21 19x12 +64 (effective +59) |
Tires | Michelin PS4S 245/35R19 | Michelin PS4S 315/30R19 |
Notes | 5mm rear spacer. No rubbing. |
This ‘05 Carrera S has similar specs to the last but with slightly different offsets. It needed rolled rear fenders and a bit of camber. These wheels feature a concave design which suits this chassis well. Despite the fitment being almost identical, the concave spokes make it look a bit more aggressive than the previous. If you haven’t noticed by now, Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S are the go-to tires for a track-oriented car like the 911. You might get PS4S tires from the factory, or possibly a host of others. When changing out tires, the PS4S is by far a favorite for cars that will primarily be used in dry conditions.
Fitment Facts | ||
| Front | Rear |
Wheels | BBS CH-R 20x9 +49 | BBS CH-R 20x11.5 +65 (effective +50) |
Tires | Michelin PS4S 245/30R20 | Michelin PS4S 305/25R20 |
Notes | 15mm rear spacers. No rubbing. |
Eventually, we had to get to the Euro wheels like BBS, MOMO, or OZ. Here we see a 997 C2S with BBS CH-R wheels. Nothing is more fitting than a German car on German wheels, and the CH-R’s have stood the test of time. We did a whole feature on BBS and why they’re everywhere (not just on Euro cars).
As far as fitment, you’ll notice this is the first set of 20’s we’ve looked at. The major downside with 20” wheels is the sacrifice in comfort. You’ll have to downsize your tires which will lead to a bit more NVH - but, hey, you bought a Porsche not a Rolls-Royce, right?
Fans of 20” wheels agree that the aesthetics outweigh the slight loss in comfort. So, if you like ‘em, good ahead.
Fitment Facts | ||
| Front | Rear |
Wheels | Work Meister S1 3P 19x10 +42 (effective +35) | Work Meister S1 3P 19x12 +42 |
Tires | Michelin PS4S 235/35R19 | Michelin PS4S 295/30R19 |
Notes | 7mm front spacers. KW V1 coilovers. |
We’ve looked at Euro and American wheels, how about JDM? Work Meister S1’s are possibly the quintessential JDM wheel (or TE37’s, but will get to those later). We gotta say, they look pretty baller on this GT3 Touring tribute built.
This is by far the most aggressive front fitment we’ve seen without the use of Cup widebody flares. The specs are very similar to what you’d find on a Car car, but as we see, no widebody panels were used. How is this possible? First, the tires are tires have a pretty decent stretch giving more clearance. Second, this car is running a good amount of camber, front and rear. Still, the fronts have a bit of poke.
The rear is aggressive, but nothing beyond what we’ve already looked at.
To make wheels this aggressive fit it will take a good amount of modification: trimmed inner fenders, rolled fenders, and trimming of the rear bumper.
Examples of widebody fitment
Here we’ll look at some examples of widebody fitment. The front fitment will remain the same; all the attention is in the rear. Typically the offset is where we’ll see a difference. With these AWD models, it’s important to match the front and rear rolling diameters to not damage the drivetrain.
Fitment Facts | ||
| Front | Rear |
Wheels | Volk TE37 19x8.5 +51 | Volk TE37 19x11.5 +45 |
Tires | Yokohama Advan Neova AD08R 235/35R19 | Yokohama Advan Neova AD08R 305/30R19 |
Notes | H&R springs, no rubbing. Wheels clear big brakes package. |
The TE’s were coming sooner or later. This 997 Turbo is rocking an OG set, 19x8.5 +51 in the front and 19x11.5 +45 in the rear. These have a ton of brake clearance and clear the Ceramic Composite Brakes with no issues.
The front fitment is more or less identical to stock, while the rear will give about ½” of poke. The owner chose to reuse the factory tire sizes. This is OEM+ fitment that doesn’t require any special work, especially considering this Turbo gets pre rolled fenders from Porsche.
This car is lowered on H&R springs, but with these specs there are no rubbing issues.
Fitment Facts | ||
| Front | Rear |
Wheels | Rohana RFX02 20x9 +45 | Rohana RFX02 20x12 +42 |
Tires | Michelin PS4S 245/35R20 | Michelin PS4S 305/30R20 |
Notes | Factory suspension. No rubbing with slight roll. |
Maybe you want 20’s on your widebody 997 - this is how it will look. 8.5 or 9” wide and a +45 is standard for the front, but 20x12 +42 in the rear will give you about ¾” more poke. These specs will give you perfectly flush fitment in the rear without having to mess with the alignment. The only caveat is that you might have to do a bit of rolling and trimming.
Fitment Facts | ||
| Front | Rear |
Wheels | SSR GT3 19x8.5 +37 | SSR GT3 19x11 +31 |
Tires | Firestone Indy 500 255/35R19 | Firestone Indy 500 325/30R19 |
Notes | Aftermarket coilovers. Rolled and trimmed rear fenders. Slight roll on front fenders. |
If you like this 997 4S on retro SSR wheels, good news, you’re a sane person. The bad news, this particular model, the SSR GT3, was discontinued sometime in the 2000’s.
To replicate this look you’d have to track a set down first, then do a step-lip conversion with all new lips and barrels. Don’t forget about new hardware and refinishing. Custom building a set of wheels like this is a passion project. Sure, it might be more expensive and take more effort than just buying a new set of wheels, but the end result is one-of-one.
In our opinion, the fitment is perfect. Take note of how wide the tires are, 255/35R19 in the front and 325/30R19 in the rear. This will require rolling, trimming, and or camber to make it fit - but as we can see, it’s possible to make this work.
Wrap up
We showed you retro JDM wheels, ultra-light track-oriented wheels, dished wheels, concave wheels. Guess what? They all look good. Basically, you could let AI pick your wheels and they’d probably look good - it’s hard to make a 997 look bad.
Adding performance is another story; Porsche did a pretty good job with this right out of the box. The factory wheels and tires are generously sized, but as we saw, it’s possible to push a little further. In the front, just drop the offset 5-10mm, and if you don’t mind rolling fenders, try a 245 wide tire to eliminate some understeer. For both widebody and narrowbody cars bringing the rear out about ½” will give you that perfectly flush fitment. Just avoid the one cardinal sin - putting reps on your Porsche.
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