Wheel question.....Not the tipical, will it fit lol!
 

Everybody loves questions about wheels! Before you start telling me to use the search option hear me out:D.

I'm looking for some affordable aftermarket wheels and I have done my share of reading past posts on what will and will not fit (I still may need advice on that in the future). However, my question has to do with weight. My Box is a 98 with the 2.5 and 5 speed transmission and I don't want heavy performance robbing wheels. It came with the stock 17" turbo twists (does anyone no the weight of these?). I'm wanting to upgrade to 18" diameter wheels, 8" front 10" rear. What is an acceptable weight for wheels of this size that wont rob performance???

I've found some nice looking affordable wheels with a weight around 24lbs front and 27.5 rear (give or take a pound depending on company). Is this excessive weight? What would be a good weight guide line for quality wheels (not top of the line race wheels).

Keep in mind that I'm looking for quality wheels (best bang for my buck) not super high end race wheels. I just don't want overly heavy performance robbing wheels. Something slightly lighter than stock would be awesome.

I really like the Porsche factory 5 star wheels manufactured by BBS. You can find these on ebay usually from 996's. You see them on boxsters all the time I just don't know how to tell which one will work on the 986???

Any advice on this would be greatly appreciated.

Take a look here for various stock wheel weights:

944racing

These are decently priced with a consideration to weight

Forgestar F14 Wheels for Porsche 18"

It's getting harder and harder to find light 18" wheels that aren't absurdly priced.

That is an awesome website. Thanks! Man, if those figures on the factory wheels are correct and my conversion of kg to lbs is correct (1lbs = 2.2kg) most aftermarket wheels are much heavier than Porsche stock.

This makes me want to get my hands on a set of the Porsche 996 factory, 5 star BBS wheels even more. I wish I knew if the rear 10" version would fit the 986???

Those Forgestar F14s look pretty sweet! I will have to give them some thought.

1st thing you'll quickly learn: affordable and Porsche wheels are mutually exclusive.

For 18 x 8 front wheels, you'll need an ET (offset) of 50.
For 18 x 10 rears, you'll need ET of 47.

If the 996 wheels have similar ETs, they'll work. The fronts are generally similar between the two. The problem occurs with the rears. They may be quite a bit off (like 65 vs 47).

The reason why the 17's seem so light is because of their size. When you start bumping up to the oem 18' and 19's, in many cases they're considerably heavier than premium aftermarket brands. Anyway, checkout the Victor Zehn wheel. It's a reasonably priced wheel that's within acceptable weight specifications.

* Also after viewing that wheel guide, I'm skeptical about it's accuracy. I know for a fact, that the Sport Design wheels that were originally on my vehicle weighed far in excess of those published specs.

I sort of wish I would have picked those up for my winter wheels. I opted for replica 997 Turbo wheels and the weight is just too much, particularly in the rear.
Snow tires and heavy wheels are not a good mix.
One of the rears cracked this winter, shredded the expensive tire and most of the wheel shops that sell replica wheels will not discount a replacement, they'll bill half the cost of all four replicas.
So the cost-savings went right out the window. Spending $200 on spacers didn't help either.

Or maybe Forgestar does the same thing. Best to call and ask what the cost of replacing one wheel would be. If you drive on winter roads, which take a beating with the salting, its likely you'll damage at least one of those wheels beyond repair.