17" vs 18" wheels (not a tire thread)

[PaulE]

I've been hanging around here for a while but haven't posted yet, so here goes. I have a 2003 S that I bought new and now has close to 54,000 miles. It came with the 18 inch 5 spoke Carrera Lightweight wheels. Last year I found a good deal on a set of 5 double spoke 17 inch wheels that were standard on the 2003 Boxsters. I haven't been to the track yet, my reason for buying the 17 inch wheels was to put an extra half inch of sidewall between my rims and what passes for roads here in Northern New Jersey. In everyday driving, the ride is a bit more comfortable with the 17 inch wheels, there is no detectable difference in handling. In stock sizes for the Boxster, the 17 and 18 tires have practically identical outer diameters. My 18 inch wheels have Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 N-3 tires, and the 17 inch wheels have Toyo Proxes T1 Sport tires. Interestingly, to me anyway, was that there was no real weight savings with the 17 inch wheels and tires compared to the 18s. 1 front 17 was 41.4 lbs vs 1 front 18 at 41.6 lbs. At the rear, 1 17 was 46.8 lbs and 1 18 was 48 lbs. The 17 inch tires were brand new, the 18s were not - 18,500 miles on the front tires and 5,700 miles on the rears, but still have lots of tread left on all of them.