Shopping for new 18" wheels - Asking for advice

[michael_dba]

I have another question for the forum...I have a '97 Boxster and am shopping for some new 18" wheels. I plan on keeping the stock height of the car, and using the stock sized tires for the factory optional 18" wheels on the newer Boxster S's. I noticed some wheels need spacers for proper offset. Does this mean new lugs as well? Is it better to get the proper offset to begin with, or are spacers acceptable? (this is for street use, don't plan on track time yet) Can I expect a slightly rougher ride with heavier wheels and tires with less sidewall?
The wheel style I'm looking at so far is like this in either silver paint or black:

Thanks for the help!

[Grizzly]

Hey,

Nice looking wheels. They look like Alt Miros. A couple of guys here have them.

Spacers are required for some wheels to keep the tires from hitting the shocks. Other times, owners use spacers to bring the wheels out to the edges of the fenderwells for a more aggressive look. In either case, longer lug bolts are necessary to ensure your safety.

As far as your ride goes, anytime you go to a smaller sidewall, you'll get some deterioration in ride quality. my car had 18s on it when I bought it and I moved up to 19s. I noticed very little difference in the ride. Others claim a marked degradation in their ride.

Check with Carlos at http://986forum.com/forums/wheeldynamics.net . He stocks the Alt Miros and many other wheels at competitive prices. Best of all, he knows exactly what will fit and what won't.

[racer_d]

There are two items one can use to get a wheel to fit

1) Spacers - Often thin "disks" that sit between the wheel mounting face and the wheel itself. 3,5, and 7 mm are popular sizes. They are sometimes available in thicker sizes. Depending on the thickness, new lug bolts would be needed, to ensure the correct amount of thread is engaged.

2) Adaptors. These are more common, especially when dealing with large thicknesses.. say 1-3 inches. These bolt to the existing wheel hub and the, on the "outside" have threaded holes for your factory lug bolts.

While fine for regular street use, and occasional sporting use, both should be avoided for track driving. At the very least, I would encourage more vigilant watching for cracks and stress on the wheel hubs.

Ideally, you should locate and acquire rims of the correct offset, then these other solutions are not needed.

[Perfectlap]

I don't know what your budget is but if you plan on keeping the car for a long time and use it for lots of daily driving with some weekend racing.... you might consider http://986forum.com/forums/ccwheel.com they have an 18" corsair that is light at 21Lbs with that type of BBS design. But here's the kicker its a forged wheel for well under the usual $4K price tag for this type of wheel.

you could spend $1500-$2000 on a set of cast alloys that will probably dent at least once on each wheel.