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Originally Posted by mikefocke
Rear body structural change included redesigned wheel wells and coil spring mounts, lower engine compartment bulkhead, rear wall cross-member and rear axle mount reinforcements.
Doesn't sound to me like Porsche thought just lighter wheels was the solution as this was to allow 18" wheels, not 19" or 20".
Other downsides of larger diameter wheels are the cost of tires and the increased risk of something penetrating through the tire and destroying the wheel.
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Mike,
With all due respect, your logic is erroneous. If indeed the prevailing concern is that the 2.5's suspension was not designed to support the increase in weight and additional load bearing that a heavier, larger diameter wheel would presumably impose, then its logical to think that by substantially decreasing unsprung weight and rotational mass one could not only rule out this concern, but, perhaps improve the performance of the vehicle. The misconception here is, that larger diameter wheels weight more. While this can be true of most oem wheels, and this would explain why Porsche discouraged the use of larger wheels on this model, it's clearly not the case with many of the high quality after market wheels that are available. Indeed, depending upon the the wheel application, boxster enthusiasts can reduce unsprung rotational weight considerably on their vehicle. Take it from some one who has done this. By upgrading to a light weight one piece forged wheel, I eliminated nearly 100 lbs. of unsprung weight/rotational mass from my vehicle. And, the effect it had on handling, braking and overall performance was nothing short of transforming !!!