New Wheels! Now Spacers/Tires
 

*****I edited the title 5/30/13 to ask about spacers with a different set of tires, 18" BBS Sport Classic II's Front-7 1/2Jx18 ET50, Rear-10Jx18 ET65***** (see post #35)


I picked up a set of BBS Sport Classic II Wheels in stock size.

Fronts: 7.5Jx18 ET50

Rears: 9Jx18 ET52

So now, my question is, what tires should I get. I see lots of folks loving the Hankook V12's, I was thinking of the Bridgestone Potenza RE970's or the Potenza RE760's. Does anyone have any comments between the two Bridgestones and the Hankooks. Or any other tire recommendations for a Texas car. I am looking for performance(road, not track), but also comfort and less road noise. Thanks!

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads01...1361301099.jpg


http://986forum.com/forums/uploads01...1361301133.jpg

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads01...1361301150.jpg

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads01...1361301323.jpg

Always loved those wheels. Mind sharing what you paid?

Awesome wheels! One of my favorite designs.

As for tires, Michelin PS2 or SuperSports are some of the best all around tires available.

I have always loved them as well. I have been looking since I got the car last July. I paid $1450 shipped from LA Dismanteler on eBay. The best part about these is that I will not need any spacers. There are some blemishes on the outer rim but I am hoping to polish those out. They will be here by the end of the week hopefully.

I almost bought some 17" ones also on eBay right now. They are the one piece but in very nice condition and a decent price. Also the tires on them are fairly new.

Good price, seems to me. I have bought a similar design wheel in 8x18 and 10x18 and gotten accustomed to the wider fitment (very obvious visually) of the larger sizes, but still wouldn't mind trying a set of Sport Classics in 18.

please post with follow up once you receive. This seller has some notoriously bad feedback from Porsche owners and nearly as many positive experiences as well.

Right now it shows 100% positive. Where did you see the negative? I tend to only buy with 99% or better feedback.

They must give their Ebay orders white glove service. The complaints come from their internet and phone sales.

Great looking wheels (my 01S came with those). They are a pain in the a$$ to clean.

I've had good luck with Continental DW tires. Good performance, good wear, good price.

I've been running Hankook Ventus V12's for 3,000 miles. They're nice and grippy, roll smoothly and are very quiet. So far I really like them.

I have a set of Potenza RE760's on the rear of mine & like them. I'm going to put a set on the front soon. Oh, and I have 17" Sport classics and love them, except when they need cleaning :)

Love those wheels too, they came on my 01. They are a pain to clean! Mine has the Unpainted center caps not the nicer ones like yours.

Curious what you'll end up with your tires as I'm thinking the same way. Performance, but not for track.

I figured that they would be a pain to clean but I sure like the way they look:D

I am kind of leaning towards the Bridgestone Potenza RE760 Sport's. I read through Car and Driver's nine tire test and the RE760's came in fourth with low noise and good comfort. The article is an interesting read for anyone shopping for tires.

Tire Test: Nine Affordable Summer Tires Take On the Michelin PS2 - Comparison Tests

I saw a few comments about the Hankook's where it was easier to curb your wheels in that the side wall didn't stick out much. Of course you can find negative comments about anything on the internet:eek:

The three tires you initially mentioned are not quite in the same category. The 760 is a harder longer wearing summer tire as compared with the V12, and the 970 is an all-season compound. I recently put a set of tires on my 18" Sport Design wheels also in the stock size (7.5/9). The 18"s are a bit of a hard ride, so the softer the tire the better in my opinion.

I ended up going with Michelin Pilot Super Sport. The other tires I compared with were the V12, Potenza S04 and ContiSportContact. The S04 and Conti were both more money and not as well regarded in my reading. The V12 was tempting but had many more complaints as the tires aged so I went PSS.

They should do these tire test for us in a Boxster......

So how is the ride on the Michelin's? I am looking mainly for quiet and comfort. In the C&D article the Bridgestone 760's got good marks for quiet and comfort.

The ride is fabulous, but I don't honestly have much to compare with. I bought the car with these wheels and a few year old set of BFGoodrich KDWs, which are probably the worst tire one could put on this car. They were noisy as can be (all KDWs hum loudly at ~40mph), hard because of age and wear, and skipped when pushed hard in corners. The PSSs are dead quiet, truly no noticeable road noise in this car, soft enough on bad roads, and grip fully in any corner I have pushed them through (I am not much of an aggressive driver though). I am sure I would have been satisfied with most any of the tires being mentioned, but I am quite pleased to have a top rated set on this relatively cheap toy (mines a 2000 base).

Another vote for Pilot Super Sports, though I can't really say why. After the OEM Michelins wore out on my 04S, years ago, I ran a set of Pirelli PZero Rossos, then Pilot SPort 2s, then 2 sets of Toyo T1Rs. The Pirellis were very fast wearing and didn't seem to offer any more grip in return. The PS2s were worth about a thousand more miles than the Pirellis in the rear, for the same price. The Toyos were sticky but seemed noiser to me (but were cheaper as well). The current set are not worn out but I decided I wanted new wheels, so I ordered them with Super Sports. I think these are quiter than the Toyos, and the grip is superb, but to be honest I never had a complaint about the grip of any of these tires.

Not a single set of rears lasted longer than 10,000 miles before they were below the wear bars.

Thanks for the comments guys. The Super Sports sound like a great tire. When all is said and done, they are about $300 more than the 760's. Worth it? Probably. I've always hated shopping for tires since you never know until they are on, and then it is tough to compare to what you could have put on.

Discount Tire has a pretty good price compared to Tire Rack once installation is factored in. Any advantages to Tire Rack vs Discount Tire? I also have to wait to see if the wheels are going to need any refurbishment. I am hoping they don't, but the rims may need some polishing. A local shop charges a flat $135 per wheel. Seems high unless the wheels have a lot of damage, which these do not. I have to keep looking at my options there.

The only thing I'd have to say about Tire Rack is shipping + they cannot install it for you. I was ambivalent taking my 18s to Discount tire as I feared they would scrape my wheels, but they take good care. My turbo twists are 7.5x18 and 9.5x18. I got Dunlop Direzzas and they are pretty good tires, inexpensive too. Good taste in the wheels, Bruce!

Thanks Kenny! I've had good luck with Discount in the past with other vehicles. I agree that with Tire Rack once you pay for the shipping it gets very close to Discount and, with Discount it is just easier to take them over there, 2 minutes from the house.

Wheels were delivered today with no problems. They shipped the same day that I paid so I would have to say they are an excellent seller.

The wheels look great with just a few noticeable marks on the polished rims. The paint on one is a bit worn but not overly so. They actually look better in person than what I thought they would based on the pictures. Some day I will probably splurge and have them refinished but for now I am very pleased. Now to order some tires!

For tires go to the tire rack site and on the left side of the page click on survey results. Pick the category that best fits your budget and purpose. Buy one of the top two choices. I personally have Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 Star Spec on my 01 S. There is not a tire out there with more grip in my opinion. Stick to Discount Tire for purchasing and mounting. The only negative with them is they don't fill with nitrogen. Take your tire rack price into Discount Tire and they will match it.

Glad to see someone else with the same wheels for a change. I have been debating whether to keep my 18" SCII's and possibly painting them black with a polished lip or perhaps sell them and get some 19" Carrera Sports and paint them black with a polished/silver lip.

Just placed an order with Discount Tire for Michelin Pilot Super Sport's. Their price was actually cheaper than Tire Rack's price. Not in stock so I have to wait.

Good choice. Another benefit to Michelin's superior & more expensive rubber compounds is the slower aging process. The higher resistance to UV light helps those that don't drive many miles per year but park where sunlight can hit the tires.

I believe your wheels have a stainless rim band that can be removed to straighten & repolish. BBS makes them & 10 years ago BBS was going to offer refurbishing service for the SS bands. I don't know if they do this now. BBS was in Atlanta at one time.

Looks like the wheels will have to go back. I had the Michellins mounted the other day but two of the rims were bent. One front and one rear. You can only see it when the wheels are spinning. to the naked eye, the rims look fine. So I had Discount Tire take the tires off and I called LA Dismanteler. They thought they might have two replacements but I heard back from them yesterday day that they don't. So, they are refunding my money and now they will be shipped back. I have to say that LAD was very good through out this. They have apologized several times. They guarantee their wheels which is why I felt comfortable dealing with them. Buying used wheels from a private seller would be a big risk IMO. So it is disappointing but oh well, no big deal.

Discount Tire was also great. I have bought tires from them many times and they have been very good to me. They didn't charge me anything for the mount and dismount even though I tried to give them something for their time and effort.

Bummer! During my search for 03-04 Boxster "CarreraII liteweight" 18 X 9" wheels I bought bent wheels twice on E-bay & returned them. Anytime you are introducing a unknown wheel to your car put it on a wheel balancer & spin it up so you can observe how true it is & how much weight is needed to balance it. This avoids issues later & yes this applies to new wheels also.

The other nice thing about Discount Tire is they swap out my rims/tires twice a year (summer tires vs all-seasons) for free. Also, when I have a flat tire - car, tractor, wheelbarrow - you name it - if it can be patched they'll do it for free. That kind of customer service cuts a lot of ice with me.

^^^Yep, excellent service.

What Size Tires will fit well?
 

Bruce, I actually just picked up the same Sport Classic BBS rims for my 2000 Boxster S. I wanted to ask what size tires you wrapped them in? Boxster suspension is stock and not lowered.

Thanks!

They had to go back, 2 were bent. I was going to use the Michelin Pilot Super Sports from Discount Tire. I am still driving on my stocks for now, still looking for another set.

I put on Potenza RE970s a few months ago and could not be happier. They are much more quiet than the OEM Pilot Sports and handle a lot better, too. Of course, the Pilot Sports had DRY-ROTTED in 4 years and 17,000 miles while primarily sitting in my garage! :mad: Stupid Pilot Sports looked beautiful on the outside and still had nearly half their tread, but were slicker than heck in handling. I only replaced them because I wanted to drive year-round instead of having to park the car half the year due to cold temps -- THEN I discovered the vertical cracks in all 4 of them. The mechanic told me I was lucky I didn't have an accident.

Perhaps new Pilot Sports would handle a smidgen better than the RE970s but I only drive on the street and it makes no difference whatsoever. They feel pretty fast to me. And I can drive the RE970s year-round so maybe they won't get DRY-ROT in 4 years like the *&#& Pilot Sports.

Spacer recommendations
 

Ok, I am going to try this again:eek: I won an auction for a set of BBS Sport Classic II Wheels Rims 18in OEM (7.5 x 18 ET50) & (10 x 18 ET65). The fronts will be fine without a spacer but the rears are going to need around a 20mm spacer, correct? Anyone have this set up? And any opinions on where to get my spacers? ie, good quality at a reasonable price?

I will probably stick to my original plan of putting the Pilot Super Sports on but I don't know the condition of the tires that are on there right now. I hope to pick them up over the weekend. Hopefully these will be true this time!

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads01...1369977865.jpg

Same wheels for my 2000 Boxster
 

BruceH

Were you able to get the 18x10 ET65 BBS Classic Sport II wheels to fit? I am looking at the same wheels for my 2000 Boxster and wonder what spacer you had to use on the rear wheels?

Thanks

James Green

Yes I did, and I love them! I bought 20mm spacers from Wheel Dynamics

They come with short bolts to mount to the hub and then you use your original bolts to mount the wheel.

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads01...1399648275.jpg

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads01...1399648345.jpg

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads01...1399648450.jpg

Note to Discount Tire Users:

I took the Boxster in and they informed me they couldn't touch my wheels because I had spacers on my car.

So back home I went to remove them and put them in my DD and bring them back to be worked on :(

BruceH

That is a real nice blue color on your Boxster!!! What size and brand of tires are you running on those Classic Sport II?

I am also thinking about RS-903 wheels from wheel dyamnics, but seeing quite a few bad reviews on poor products and the lack of customer service.

James Green

Thanks! Love the color as well:cheers:

I have Michelin Pilot Super Sports 225/40ZR18XL 92Y B on the front and 265/35ZR18XL 97Y B on the rears. I really like the 903's and the 808's. I came close to ordering a set when I found my BBS's which is what I really wanted. It took a long time to find a good used set of the Sport Classic II's. I actually bought one set and returned them when I had the tires mounted and found out that two were not true. I looked at another set and one was out of true. The set I finally found is perfect! I had great service from Eli at Wheel Dynamics and I am very happy with the quality of the spacers. There are some others on the forum that have their wheels and seem to be happy so far. YMMV