new 03my Boxster S owner! will 19" carrera classics fit?

[Guest]

Hi All,

Just aquired a 03 model Boxster S in (i think) Meridian silver for the missus as a daily drive and also weekend fun.

Only had a brief drive so far but VERY impressed how it compares to my old 54plate 996c2!
What a car the boxster is!

One of the many questions i have is that it has 17" wheels which i am looking to upgrade to either the Carrera lightweight 18" or the classic 19"

Had a quick look on the Porsche website and sizes are quoted as:
Front 8jx19 et57mm 235/35/zr19
Rear 11jx19 et71mm 295/30/zr19

Has anyone fitted some 19's to the 986? did you use wheel spacers? and what size?

 

[THX911]

Off topic:
Is the Beemer yours as well or is it a street full of German cars? []

 

[Martin Plavins]

19" wheels you need to be careful all the time so you don't scrape them on a kerb, also Yorkshire roads are not the smoothest, 18" are a good compromise.

martin

 

[Mark_Bennett]

You might want to take a look at this thread...
http://www.porscheclubgbforum.com/tm.asp?m=229932&mpage=1

I'd stick to the 17" myself - the car was set up to use these as a default.

The 18" are for looks, and the 19" is opening up a can of worms...

 

[Guest]

Seen that you can get the rear rims in 9.5" width to run 275x30 tyres which probably will be better.
It is mainly for looks! Need to check offsets and wheel spacer sizes.

ps.
Yes the csl is mine! legend of a car![]

 

[Black80XSA]

The sizes you quote are most certainly NOT Boxster sizes - Offsets should be 57mm on the rear (ET57) on 9.5J x 19 and 46mm (ET46) on the fronts which should be 8Jx19 - these sizes are for the 987 and ar different to those for a 986 series car like yours. You might be able to get spacers to amend the offset to suitable values. You'll also be looking at £800 for tyres alone, and you will invalidate any warranty you have by fitting non approved wheels (19s never approved for the 986 models) - i think you'd be better sticking with what you have which provide a very good handling and ride compromise.

Porscheshop, design911 and EliteDesign will sell you copy wheels in the correct, or near enough, offset for a 986, but these wheels are more often than not of inferior quality, heavier (affecting ride quality).

 

[Black80XSA]

Just checked the official 986 offests - you are probably using 55mm front and rear currently (based on 7Jx17 with 205/50/17 fronts and 9Jx17 255/40/17 rears). Official 18 inch wheels for the 986 used 7.5J x 18 50mm offset front and 9J x 18 offset 52mm rear (with 225/40/18 and 265/35/18 tyres respectively).

Fitting pukka 987 wheels would result in a front track increase of 9mm per side over your current wheels and 4mm per side over the factory 18 inch options, so tramlining under braking will increase. At the rear you'll need to fit 5mm spacers to bring the offset value down from 57 to 52mm to be on the safe side.

Either way you need to have these figures checked by a competent tyre/wheel dealer - i think my reasoning is correct but don;t read it as gospel !

 

[Guest]

think this looks something like!

 

[Rotorhead]

The 987 was designed and developed to accommodate 19" wheels as an option. The 986 wasn't.

18" would be a better compromise.

 

[channella]

I too would stick with the 17" rims. Buy decent petrol instead and enjoy...

 

[David Hooper]

I had a hard top with mine and an original set of 18" GT3 style alloys.2001 3.2s tip.
The hardtop was a complete waste of time as the later double skinned hoods are brill and those alloys went around the edge and were a pig to clean.
So I swopped them both with Simon at PorschaPart for original 18" carrera 5 spokes with new boots.
The factory 18" C's are about 2kg lighter per wheel and it's noticable. It felt very different on the road and a worth while upgrade over the old 18"'s, never mind the 17"s.
Cheers
Dave

 

[Guest]

ORIGINAL: David Hooper
So I swopped them both with Simon at PorschaPart for original 18" carrera 5 spokes with new boots.
The factory 18" C's are about 2kg lighter per wheel and it's noticable. It felt very different on the road and a worth while upgrade over the old 18"'s, never mind the 17"s.
Cheers
Dave

Thanks for the replies everyone, think 18's sound like the best way forward!
How much are OEM 18" Carrera 5 spokes new 2nd hand? (not rrp)
Who sells them? there doesnt seem to be too many on ebay!
Will look at selling/px the OEM boxsterII wheels (with PS2 tires on)

 

[Guest]

Just got a set of pukka Carrera 5 spokes with reasonable tires which i could not ignore at a great price, No coloured centres though, but cant complain.

8j50et 225x40x18 front and 10j65et 285x30x18 rear

I have a set of 18mm spacers which came with the wheels, according to the calculator i need them for the rear? Not sure if i'm understanding it right! It does say there is 36mm LESS inner clearance?
http://www.1010tires.com/WheelOffsetCalculator.asp?
will probably put a couple of new tires on before i fit,
not sure if i will need a set of spacers for the front?? 5mm??
Will they be ok as is?!
anyone used these sizes?! Does anyone use 265x35 on 10" rims? Is that a better size to use for the boxster?
Can i use the coloured centres from the standard boxsterII 17" wheels on the 18" wheels?
Sorry for all the Q's!!!

 

[Black80XSA]

Those rims are 996 fitment - the fronts are OK as is, no spacers required. The rears should be 52mm offset (ET52) so ytou'll need to buy 13mm spacers to get the offset correct. 285mm might fit in the arches, it depends on tyre brand (yes not all 285mm wide tyres ARE 285mm). They should be 265/35 ideally to maintain the front/rear grip balance the factory originally designed, and these will fit the 10" rim, albeit with little rim protection from the tyre wall (minimal anyway with 18s!!)


I have a set of colour crested centres, that i had on my 986 - they are perfect condition, and i filled the holes in the face to prevent any low life whipping them out with a piece of wire. £45 incl postage if you are interested - pm me