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
• Widebody vs narrowbody fitment
• Narrowbody 997 fitment
• Widebody 997 fitment

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.

All of our 5x130mm wheels

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.

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.

Get the same coils here

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.