Upgrading wheels, have questions

[Champale]

The Pilot Super Sport came out 10 years ago and there are better tires on the market now . . . PS4S, Continental ExtremeContact Sport, S007A, etc.

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[galaxy]

There was a guy in one of the FB groups that put the Porsche spec SC2’s on his 350 and they looked/fit amazing. The visual difference between the tires was very apparent. I personally liked them better. Supposedly, the only difference is the shape of the sidewall, and more specifically the Porsche spec tire doesn’t have the bulging rim protector.

 

[P85596]

The Pilot Super Sport came out 10 years ago and there are better tires on the market now . . . PS4S, Continental ExtremeContact, Sport, S007A, etc.

Thank you for the reply, I hadn't considered other tires until your post. After doing online research I've narrowed it to the Conti's and PS4S and the only difference I see is road noise which I never considered until it was brought up. On review I read on "Tire Reviews" said the Conti's are very quiet but every other review (including one on this site) says they are extremely noisy.
If this wasn't a daily driver I wouldn't give a crap but since I do drive on some very rough roads where road noise is a very real thing it could make a difference if there was a real noticeable difference between the two.

What are your opinions?

 

[mavisky]

Thank you for the reply, I hadn't considered other tires until your post. After doing online research I've narrowed it to the Conti's and PS4S and the only difference I see is road noise which I never considered until it was brought up. On review I read on "Tire Reviews" said the Conti's are very quiet but every other review (including one on this site) says they are extremely noisy.
If this wasn't a daily driver I wouldn't give a crap but since I do drive on some very rough roads where road noise is a very real thing it could make a difference if there was a real noticeable difference between the two.

What are your opinions?

PS4S are amazing. I can't hear any tire noise over the car itself and i'm on the 305/325 setup.

 

[GTthree50]

I first put aftermarket wheels on my car in factory spec sizes to reuse my stock tires. Immediately regretted the decision from a visual perspective considering the size of the S550. Within 6 months I ordered the exact same wheels made in 20”. I’m running 305/30 F/R and can say with certainty that ride difference quality is imperceptible. I should have listened to the inner voice that wanted to go 20” from the start. There have not been any downsides. I’m 57 and daily my car.

 

[Champale]

I have no personal experience with the Contis but I know people who seem to love them. I have PS4S on my Boss and on my 350R, on which I am running the 2020 GT500-spec "Ford Performance" variants (305/30/20 and 315/30/20). Very pleased with them, much quieter than the PSS (I've had those on 2 cars in the past), better steering feel and more grip in all conditions, too.

Be aware that a 305/30/20 up front has some minor rubbing issues on the fender liner if you go that size. You can work around it with a heat gun but some people don't want to do that so running a 295/30/20 should maybe give enough clearance (depending on wheel width and offset).

I find the ride to be absolutely fine with these 20" wheels and tires. Honestly, I was expecting the 350R to ride poorly from the factory but it does not at all and these 20s didn't change a thing.

EDIT: FYI my car is on 20x11 ET24 front wheels.

 

[GTthree50]

Be aware that a 305/30/20 up front has some minor rubbing issues on the fender liner if you go that size. You can work around it with a heat gun but some people don't want to do that so running a 295/30/20 should maybe give enough clearance (depending on wheel width and offset).

I’d like to add here that this may not necessarily be the case, but I can say that with 305/30 20’s I experience zero rubbing through the full range of steering from lock to lock. Ride height, wheel specs and specific tires will certainly all play an integral role here.

 

[lightrules]

I’d like to add here that this may not necessarily be the case, but I can say that with 305/30 20’s I experience zero rubbing through the full range of steering from lock to lock. Ride height, wheel specs and specific tires will certainly all play an integral role here.

can you share your specs, offsets etc?

 

[Jbraun2828]

I also have no rub with a 305/30/20 with a 32 offset In the front. Tires are pilot4s

 

[bendensez]

Thank you for the reply, I hadn't considered other tires until your post. After doing online research I've narrowed it to the Conti's and PS4S and the only difference I see is road noise which I never considered until it was brought up. On review I read on "Tire Reviews" said the Conti's are very quiet but every other review (including one on this site) says they are extremely noisy.
If this wasn't a daily driver I wouldn't give a crap but since I do drive on some very rough roads where road noise is a very real thing it could make a difference if there was a real noticeable difference between the two.

What are your opinions?

I went to 30 series on 19" Signature R-spec wheels with PS4S. The move to 30 series from the stock 35 series was hardly noticeable from a ride perspective.

I highly recommend the PS4S. I drove 1600 miles on them round trip back in September to Track Attack in NC through good and bad (rain) weather and they were great. I also drove the Tail of the Dragon on them. Great grip and quiet. A great all around alternative to the SC2. Another plus for me was that they pretty much eliminated tramlining that I had with my stock SC2s.

The downside of 30 series on 19" is the increase in wheel well gap from the stock 35 series. So, I lowered the car 3/4" with FP springs to bring the wheel well gap back down. 30 series on 20" will keep your wheel diameter roughly the same as 35 series on 19", so your wheel well gap should be about the same as what you have now. If I could do it over, I probably would have gone with 20" like @GTthree50 mentioned he did.

 

[P85596]

I went to 30 series on 19" Signature R-spec wheels with PS4S. The move to 30 series from the stock 35 series was hardly noticeable from a ride perspective.

I highly recommend the PS4S. I drove 1600 miles on them round trip back in September to Track Attack in NC through good and bad (rain) weather and they were great. I also drove the Tail of the Dragon on them. Great grip and quiet. A great all around alternative to the SC2. Another plus for me was that they pretty much eliminated tramlining that I had with my stock SC2s.

The downside of 30 series on 19" is the increase in wheel well gap from the stock 35 series. So, I lowered the car 3/4" with FP springs to bring the wheel well gap back down. 30 series on 20" will keep your wheel diameter roughly the same as 35 series on 19", so your wheel well gap should be about the same as what you have now. If I could do it over, I probably would have gone with 20" like @GTthree50 mentioned he did.

I'm going with the PS4S's on stock offset. Going to order tomorrow and patiently wait the 5-6 weeks for delivery.

 

[GTthree50]

can you share your specs, offsets etc?

I went with a mix of R spec in front and non R in the rear. 20x11 24mm/20x11 62mm

 

[mtrout]

As the title says I'm upgrading my wheels and maybe tires. I'm looking at Vossen HF5 and I'm know I'm going with a square tire set up but I'm going back and forth between 19" and 20" wheels. My main concern is ride quality because IIRC to go to 20" I'll need to upside to 305/30/20 tires and will the lesser sidewall seriously detract from ride quality?
Also, do I used the same back-spacing F/R as on the stock wheels?
Thank you in advance.

I faced the same question a few years ago on a 911 with a rougher ride than I could abide. Casual research (too casual, it would turn out) suggested that going from 20s to 19s would improve the ride, so I made the switch. (I wanted to change wheels anyway.) It made NO difference. A Porsche mechanic said that the best way to improve the ride on a 911 was to simply drop the air pressure 2 lbs. all the way around (still within factory specs). I did so, and noticed an immediate improvement. When I switched to all-seasons on my GT350, I kept the factory size and air pressure; the ride is WAY better than it should be, given the suspension. By the way, I'm 75. PS: Those are gorgeous wheels. The color couldn't be better, with the blue paint (which is what I have).

 

[Caballus]

PS4S are amazing. I can't hear any tire noise over the car itself and i'm on the 305/325 setup.

What wheels are you using with them?

 

[GTthree50]

You'll be fine. Switch to normal mode for the leisurely drive, it will remove some of the "harshness".

I wish I had that experience but there is, at least with my car no noticeable difference between the setting wrt ride quality.

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