Well, I pulled the trigger..

[edevlin]

That may be a good call on going to 17" wheels with a 2.7L Boxster. I have stock 17" wheels on my 2000 2.7L and just got a set of aftermarket 18" Carrera wheels. The aftermarket wheels look great, but they weigh in at about 3 lbs heavier and 3/8" greater in diameter than the stock wheels and I can feel the difference. Even with that small of a difference in the rotating mass the car does not feel as quick. Now, if you could get some very lightwieght 18" or better yet 17", that would be a whole different story....


Ed

[BoxsterSbob]

Hi, I'm in NYC too and I have 18's on my 2004 S. I wanted the stock 17's for the same reasons, but the car I had to take off the lot (ordering period was closed, the car in stock was 90% of what I wanted) had 18's. Overall I haven't had an issue. There was one time on the Van Wyck expressway (I try to say off it) I hit a huge lump at the head of the exit ramp, it couldn't be avoided. I was certain the rim and tire were damaged. As I drove the car after the "impact" it felt normal. So, I continued to drive (the Van Wyck isn't a very friendly road for pulling over). When I got home I closely inspected the rim (front right). All that was there was a small chip in the finsh of the rim....I felt lucky.

Anyway, the 18's have been fine, they look great and have proven to be durable.

Good luck with your box....great choice!

bob

[John Y]

Originally Posted by BoxsterSbob

Hi, I'm in NYC too and I have 18's on my 2004 S. I wanted the stock 17's for the same reasons, but the car I had to take off the lot (ordering period was closed, the car in stock was 90% of what I wanted) had 18's. Overall I haven't had an issue. There was one time on the Van Wyck expressway (I try to say off it) I hit a huge lump at the head of the exit ramp, it couldn't be avoided. I was certain the rim and tire were damaged. As I drove the car after the "impact" it felt normal. So, I continued to drive (the Van Wyck isn't a very friendly road for pulling over). When I got home I closely inspected the rim (front right). All that was there was a small chip in the finsh of the rim....I felt lucky.

Anyway, the 18's have been fine, they look great and have proven to be durable.

Good luck with your box....great choice!

bob

Thanks, Bob - I'm in LIC, and the Van Wyck/Whitestone, GCP, BQE and LIE will be at least occasional driving roads for me; I think they are one of those things you have to live with to know and understand, which is one reason why I'm leaning 17s, the other being the fact that Ed Devlin says he can notice the difference;

I always found that on identical cars, you really noticed the difference in accelerative 'snap' through increased wheel size when accelerating out of corners.

[BoxsterSbob]

Hi, I think you'll be fine with the 18"s. I find that going a bit slower on the problem highways here is the best way to deal with the road conditions. I use the GCP (east of LGA) and the Northren State as much as possible, mostly to avoid those damn sand trucks on the LIE and the crazed Taxi and Limo's on the Van Wyck. The BQE at right time of day could be fun


either way the car is amazing....enjoy!


bob

[MikenOH]

We swent through the same decision on our '06'. The 18's won mainly on appearance. I've driven both and had not noticed a difference in steering response.

Keep one thing in mind on the 17"s, because they are only 6.5" wide, your tire options to fit that front wheel are very narrow--there are very few max perf. tires in 205-55-17 sizes. Comparing that to the 235-40-18, there are quite a few different tires available from BFG, Michelin, Bridgestone and Goodyear to name a few.

Also, look on Ebay for the price of Takeoffs for 987's, the 17's have gone for as low as $800 + shipping. If you get the 18's and don't like them, you can always sell them and pretty much get your $ out of them

BTW, have you considered the Sport seats? they are a great value (@$770) if you were considering auto-x or track days.

[John Y]

Thanks - I love the sport seats and agree that's a good price for a nice option by Porsche standards; I'd probably get them on a Cayman S, but they seem overkill on a 2.7 Box, also because I probably won't use the car competitively.