Lowering and tires - 997
Especially in the US there are lots of 997 Carrera and Carrera S owners who would love to lower their cars and/or to add bigger wheels incl. wider tires.
Although this sounds to be a reasonable demand and I understand the desire for larger (20'') wheels and wider tires incl. a lowering of the chassis, owners have to be very careful what they're doing because 90% of the aftermarket mods (and I'm not exaggerating) actually have a negative impact on handling, performance and stability.
A few hints for owners:
1. try to stick with the OEM N-certified tires, even if you want a different (aftermarket) rim design. A lot of rim manufacturers actually offer rims in the same size and offset like the OEM Porsche rims.
To give you an example: it took Michelin four(!) years to develop the Pilot Sport for the 997 in a close collaboration process with Porsche, the front tires have a completely different compound mixture than the rear tires. There is a huge difference between the N-certified Pilot Sport and the Pilot Sport without N classification!
2. to avoid for example structural integrity problems (especially on Cabs and during heavy track racing), the maximum rim diameter should be 19''. Do NOT use 20'' rims! They may look cool but they really are a set-back regarding handling, performance and of course unsprung weight.
3. if you want to lower your 997 Carrera, use the original 20 mm chassis option parts (limited slip diff. retrofit excluded). They can be obtained through internet retailers or even some official Porsche dealers (if they'e clever).
997 Carrera S owners with PASM should wait with lowering until there is a good solution available. Right now none of the offered aftermarket solutions seem really to work as they should.
This is just a friendly hint, not something you HAVE to do.
But let me ask you one question: why would somebody spend a fortune to buy a Porsche 911, one of the best sportscars in the world and then destroy it's original high performance setup by adding some bling bling stuff to it which not only diminuishes peformance but also may pose a safety/reliability risk?
Although this sounds to be a reasonable demand and I understand the desire for larger (20'') wheels and wider tires incl. a lowering of the chassis, owners have to be very careful what they're doing because 90% of the aftermarket mods (and I'm not exaggerating) actually have a negative impact on handling, performance and stability.
A few hints for owners:
1. try to stick with the OEM N-certified tires, even if you want a different (aftermarket) rim design. A lot of rim manufacturers actually offer rims in the same size and offset like the OEM Porsche rims.
To give you an example: it took Michelin four(!) years to develop the Pilot Sport for the 997 in a close collaboration process with Porsche, the front tires have a completely different compound mixture than the rear tires. There is a huge difference between the N-certified Pilot Sport and the Pilot Sport without N classification!
2. to avoid for example structural integrity problems (especially on Cabs and during heavy track racing), the maximum rim diameter should be 19''. Do NOT use 20'' rims! They may look cool but they really are a set-back regarding handling, performance and of course unsprung weight.
3. if you want to lower your 997 Carrera, use the original 20 mm chassis option parts (limited slip diff. retrofit excluded). They can be obtained through internet retailers or even some official Porsche dealers (if they'e clever).
997 Carrera S owners with PASM should wait with lowering until there is a good solution available. Right now none of the offered aftermarket solutions seem really to work as they should.
This is just a friendly hint, not something you HAVE to do.
But let me ask you one question: why would somebody spend a fortune to buy a Porsche 911, one of the best sportscars in the world and then destroy it's original high performance setup by adding some bling bling stuff to it which not only diminuishes peformance but also may pose a safety/reliability risk?
). Frankly, the majority of owners will never really appreachiate the potential in car dynamics their cars offer so noting is lost at the end. 
