19" vs. 18" Wheels/Tires

[jbs986]

Originally Posted by Johnny Danger

Certain that it is , 17's are far more appropriate for track use than 19's . There's simply not enough rubber to run 19's under those conditions . However, for street "tuning" there's a practical application for running lighter, larger diameter wheels .

+ 1, 17's faster on the track, I use 17's on the track and 18's for the street.

[jsceash]

OZ Alleggerita HLT 18 X 8 are 17.4 # and rears are 18 X 9 are 18.6 # Lightest wheels I found.

[944boy]

I have Einkei NT03's and the 18's are 19 and 21lbs I believe. Not the absolute lightest but great for the price.

My BBS 3-piece 17x10's are lighter though... Those don't fit the Box unfortunately.

[DenverSteve]

Johnny,

I am looking at a set of tires/wheels for winter wear that are 19" and the rear tires are currently 295/30's. The tire calculator shows them to be comparable to my stock 255/40/17's. The offset would go from 55 to 67. You seem to have much more tire/wheel knowledge than I. Do you think these will fit okay?

S.

[Johnny Danger]

Originally Posted by DenverSteve

Johnny,

I am looking at a set of tires/wheels for winter wear that are 19" and the rear tires are currently 295/30's. The tire calculator shows them to be comparable to my stock 255/40/17's. The offset would go from 55 to 67. You seem to have much more tire/wheel knowledge than I. Do you think these will fit okay?

S.

Well, to begin with, in my opinion 295 is too wide a tire for any application regarding a 986 boxster; let alone for winter use. As far as offset in concern, +67 (I suspect these are 996 wheels) is way too high for your vehicle. Therefore, if you're determined to use them, then you're going to have to bring the offset down to around +45, and replace the tires with something more suitable . In fact, you'll be hard pressed to find much in the area of 19 inch winter tires. Personally, I would stick with a 17 inch wheel package for winter driving .

[DenverSteve]

My plan is actually use my existing 17's for snow and use new wider for Summer/Performance tires. I want the best wheel-well fit (best filling the well) on best performing wheels such as Carrera Lights or similarly lighter wheels.

[cheetah]

Even if the 19" weigh less than the 17's, the effective mass (moment of inertia) is much higher. Simply put, the weight is farther from the axis of rotation.

I currently have 18's 225-F / 265-R on my 02 S, and am going back to 17's. The 18's were great until I did all my suspension mods (PSS9's, solid everything, etc.) but now I want a little more sidewall. When it breaks loose, it happens suddenly.

Also, I am getting some lightweight, Forged rims so the wheel weight will go down significantly. Weight reduction is my plan of attack for now, since I have a heavily modded 3.4L which puts out a lot of power already.

The big rims look great but have their downsides.

[Johnny Danger]

Originally Posted by DenverSteve

My plan is actually use my existing 17's for snow and use new wider for Summer/Performance tires. I want the best wheel-well fit (best filling the well) on best performing wheels such as Carrera Lights or similarly lighter wheels.

Here are some guidelines to follow if you're looking to upgrade to 19 inch wheels:

Front Fitment :

Wheels - 19 X 8 to 8.5 with offsets ranging from +35 to 45 depending how aggressive you want your set-up to be .

Tires - 225 to 235 width

Rear Fitment :

Wheels - 19 X 9.5 to 10 10 with offsets ranging from +35 to 45 . Again, depending how aggressive you want your set-up to be .

Tires - 275 to 285 width

This is what my set-up consists of :

19 X 8 +31 235/35/19

19 X 10 +31 275/30/19

[smshirk]

Originally Posted by DenverSteve

Johnny,

I am looking at a set of tires/wheels for winter wear that are 19" and the rear tires are currently 295/30's. The tire calculator shows them to be comparable to my stock 255/40/17's. The offset would go from 55 to 67. You seem to have much more tire/wheel knowledge than I. Do you think these will fit okay?

S.

The tire calculator showed that my 18 x 11 with 295 30s would fit on my 986S. It wasn't even close. If I used a wide enough spacer to get far enough away from the shock tower, the tires stuck way past the fender, plus the 295 30 diameter looked weird on the stock ride height. I've had this brand new set of Gemballa wheels and tires sitting in the basement for 3 years since selling my 996 and finally tried them yesterday.

I have a set of 18" CCW race wheels Complete Custom Wheel - Wheel Profiles in Boxster offsets that are very light but won't accept center caps. I've been trying to figure out a way to attach some caps without screwing the wheels up. They have holes drilled all around the center and the outside to reduce weight, so I'm thinking it wouldn't hurt to drill and tap a set of center caps in the middle. Does anyone have an opinion?

[Johnny Danger]

Originally Posted by smshirk

The tire calculator showed that my 18 x 11 with 295 30s would fit on my 986S. It wasn't even close. If I used a wide enough spacer to get far enough away from the shock tower, the tires stuck way past the fender, plus the 295 30 diameter looked weird on the stock ride height. I've had this brand new set of Gemballa wheels and tires sitting in the basement for 3 years since selling my 996 and finally tried them yesterday.

I have a set of 18" CCW race wheels Complete Custom Wheel - Wheel Profiles in Boxster offsets that are very light but won't accept center caps. I've been trying to figure out a way to attach some caps without screwing the wheels up. They have holes drilled all around the center and the outside to reduce weight, so I'm thinking it wouldn't hurt to drill and tap a set of center caps in the middle. Does anyone have an opinion?

What wheel/tire calculator are you using ?? There is no way that an 11 inch wheel will fit a 986 boxster . Let alone with a 295 tire .