Baby got some new shoes!

[Meat Head]

I finally found the set of wheels that I’ve been wanting for my 986! I’ve been looking for a set of these Cayman S wheels for quite some time and it was quite a chore to find them in my price range (ended up paying $850 shipped to my door). They came with a nice set of Michelin Sport Pilots (at least ¾ tread still on). I wanted something that looks stock but gave the car a more aggressive stance. This is also the first pics I’ve posted of my Boxster. I love the wheels!..........What do you guys think?

Just for fun.......Does anyone recognize that skyline???

[dbansal]

looks real cool.

Jersey City?

[whitedogs]

wow very nice

[AndyA6]

Looks really nice, grats!
No idea about the skyline.......

[enroute1]

One of the nicer Wheels for the car me thinks!
Are they 18 inch?

[Meat Head]

Originally Posted by enroute1

One of the nicer Wheels for the car me thinks!
Are they 18 inch?

Yes, they are 18" wheels. They are OEM Cayman S wheels. The best part is that they don't even need spacers and with the wider tires and slightly more aggressive offset in the rear it gives the car a more aggressive stance that I was looking for.

[enroute1]

So your saying that's a wider wheel than a 18 inch Boxster wheel
and takes a slightly wider tire? Nice....

[t2-bxtrs]

Nice ! Car looks a bit more aggressive looking..you said no spacers..What are the offset on those Cayman S wheels front and back? and tire sizes please? I must assume that there were no issues on clearance and tire rubbing..
Thank you,

[smagerstein]

Looks good, its nice how modern P wheels look good on 986's
Now get rid of all that amber!

[Meat Head]

Originally Posted by t2-bxtrs

Nice ! Car looks a bit more aggressive looking..you said no spacers..What are the offset on those Cayman S wheels front and back? and tire sizes please? I must assume that there were no issues on clearance and tire rubbing..
Thank you,

There are absolutely zero issues with clearance/rubbing. I have done some spirited driving just to be sure no rubbing would occur under hard cornering .

To answer the tech questions, I was replacing stock 17" wheels....
Fronts: 7" wide with an offset of 55
Rears: 8.5 wide with an offset of 50

The Cayman S 18" wheels....
Fronts: 8" wide with an offset of 57 Tires: 235/40 18
Rears: 9" wide with an offset of 43 Tires: 265/40 18 (not the correct tire height for the Boxster but it fills it out nice)

What the changes in width and offset equates to....
Front: 15mm farther in toward strut and 11mm farther out toward outside fender edge.
Rear: 1mm more clearance toward strut and 13mm farther out toward outside fender edge.

Keep in mind the the offset is what truly gives the aggressive stance and the less offset, the more the wheel sticks out toward the fender edge. The increase in tire width is minimal but also adds to the more aggressive stance. Due to the fact that my 98 Box has the less powerful 2.5 engine I didn't want to increase tire width and height to the point of adversely affecting performance. The Cayman S wheels have a nice balance of both (IMHO) hence the reason I was so dead set on this wheel (plus I like the style).

[enroute1]

Thanks.
How is the handling affected?
Do you have a rear shot like this one to show the stance?

[clickman]

Where did you get the wheels?

[Meat Head]

Originally Posted by clickman

Where did you get the wheels?

I found that when you are looking for something like this forget about Ebay. These wheels were going anywhere from $1400 without tires to $2500 with. Search Craigslist and not just in your local area. Search all the big cities. I found my wheels in California and I live in Southern IN. He was a very nice gentleman that offered to pay for shipping and when he noticed that I had some reservations (due to scams on Craigslist) he shipped first before receiving payment. You have to stay vigilant. I had my heart set on these wheels and it took me a while to find them in my price range!

[clickman]

Awesome price for OEMs. Well done!!

[Meat Head]

Originally Posted by enroute1

Thanks.
How is the handling affected?
Do you have a rear shot like this one to show the stance?

The handling actually feels like it is a slight improvement. It feels a little more grounded in the front (less likely to break loose in a hard turn). Honestly, that could all be in my head and could be totally due to the fact that I love the way the wheels make the car look ! I haven't noticed a negative effect on the acceleration due to the larger wheels and tires. I was concerned with the 2.5 this could be a problem. Here are a few rear pics. I took one from the side so you could see how the lesser offset pushes the wheel closer to the outside fender.........

[Allen K. Littlefield]

[QUOTE=Meat Head;352537]I finally found the set of wheels that I’ve been wanting for my 986! I’ve been looking for a set of these Cayman S wheels for quite some time and it was quite a chore to find them in my price range (ended up paying $850 shipped to my door). They came with a nice set of Michelin Sport Pilots (at least ¾ tread still on). I wanted something that looks stock but gave the car a more aggressive stance. This is also the first pics I’ve posted of my Boxster. I love the wheels!..........What do you guys think?

I think they look just grand but have a question. I thought that the '98 Boxster could not handle the larger wheels and until the suspension was re enforced in '99 it was not a good idea to mount the larger wheels & tires. Did you beef up the suspension in any way or are you still with stock set up? Anyone else want to correct me or agree on this info. as I may be misinformed here.

AKL

[paintboy]

Nice wheels. The rubber color goes well with the car too...

[Meat Head]

I think they look just grand but have a question. I thought that the '98 Boxster could not handle the larger wheels and until the suspension was re enforced in '99 it was not a good idea to mount the larger wheels & tires. Did you beef up the suspension in any way or are you still with stock set up? Anyone else want to correct me or agree on this info. as I may be misinformed here.

AKL[/QUOTE]

My car has stock suspension. I think that problem was fixed on the 98 cars. The 97s were the only ones that have issues with larger wheels. I could be wrong and would like to know if I'm misinformed.

[Allen K. Littlefield]

I think you may be OK as it was the first year of the Boxster that needed support before a larger wheel could be fitted so you are probably in the clear. Wheels do look great.

AKL

My car has stock suspension. I think that problem was fixed on the 98 cars. The 97s were the only ones that have issues with larger wheels. I could be wrong and would like to know if I'm misinformed.[/QUOTE]

[Porsche Chick]

DANG!

I thought this thread was going to be about something like this:



Kidding, those are awesome wheels!