Topic: Help with Wheels, Spacers, Camber...

[spender]

I am just so totally confused about this, and need some help and input from the Porsche experts here - please!  :confused:

I have a 2003 Carrera 4S, and I just put my winter wheels on, but I'm concerned about the job the shop did, they added 14 mm spacers to mount the wheels described below but I'm concerned that it was too much.  Now, the rear wheels have a noticeable negative camber that I have never noticed before and that concerns me.   (For the record, the front are just fine, and thusly why I'm not asking about them ).

According to my Porsche manual, the rear wheels (for snow tires) SHOULD be 265/35 R18 tires, 10 J x 18 H2 rims, with a 47 mm rim offset.

However, I bought my set of snow tires second hand, they are good Continentals on Victor Equipment "Le Mans" rims.  Victor Equipment makes aftermarket wheels, only for Porsche.  The rear wheels I have carry 265/35 R18 tires (i.e. exactly the same as spec), but the rims are 9.5 x 18, with a 49 mm rim offset.

According to the wheel/tire size comparison tool (available here), this is how they compare:



The only comment/warning the tool gives me when I compare my wheels against the wheels recommend in the manual is that it says "Package is 2 mm (0.1'') closer to suspension/brakes components. Acceptable for most cars."

Anyway, the shop (which is known to be a shop that has some expertise in these things) put on the wheels, but with H&R Trak+ 14 mm (yes, FOURTEEN mm) spacers. 

All seemed well when I picked the car up, and it feels fine on the road, but i noticed tonight that the there seems to be a noticeable negative camber on the rear wheels (tops leaning inside, towards each other).  This concerns me.

I am concerned that the big spacers (which I'm not sure I really needed) have given me a nasty negative camber, which in turn could lead to premature tire wear, excessive stressing of my rear suspension, and even possibly erratic driving characteristics / an accident.

So, my questions:

1.  Did I really need 14 mm spacers on the rears?  I'm thinking i could have gotten away with much narrower ones (5 mm?), if I needed them at all.

2.  Is it possible that putting the spacers on has given me a greater negative camber? 

3.  Is it going to hurt my car, tires, or me to drive around with this setup?

4.  Am I overanalyzing this?

Thanks everyone! 

[blur911]

I don't really know why they added the spacers, 2mm of offset is next to nothing and your wheel is 1/2" narrower which more than makes up for the 2mm.  You actually have 4mm more backspacing without the spacers.

Now, some people add spacers to fill out the wheelwells and give a wider track, which is whay I suspect is what they did.  As long as your wheel studs are long enough it shouldn't be a problem, but I don't think that they are needed except for looks.

About the camber, it shouldn't have been affected. Perhaps it's just where the new wheel and tire sit that makes it look like  more.  Camber should more or less be tuned to driving habits, if you go to the track or autocross, more is usually better (-2.5 on the rear of mine).  If you are mostly worried about tire wear and corner at more sedate speeds then less is better.  I'm not that familiar with 996 suspension to give you exact recommendations.