Quote:
Originally Posted by redciv1
So it's the width of the wheel that keeps the back end more stable?
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Yes, along with the front and rear sway bar thickness.
Reducing the rear tire width would reduce rear grip and tend towards more oversteer. Since the stock setup tends towards understeer, a small decrease in rear tire width would tune out the understeer - much in the same way that going to a wider front (like a 225) does the same thing.
Most Boxster race cars run with the rear tires/wheels also in the front (square set up since all tires are the same size all around), this gives the front a lot more grip but then the rear wants to slide around a LOT. Adjustable racing sway bars are used to adjust the car back to neutral handling (or whatever degree of understeer/oversteer the driver prefers).
I would not recommend running any square set up (same size fronts or rears all around) unless the car has adjustable sway bars. Now, don't get me wrong, you are probably not going to die - at least not driving around town or on the freeway at normal speeds. But the car will be very tail happy near and at the limit and the stock sways do not have any means to adjust the handling back to something more neutral. The car could be be difficult to control if the rear end starts to step out in sporting driving or an emergency situation unless you have experience driving a car with such a setup.