My new(new to me) Baby
 

98' with 73K on the dial, 19" wheels and tons of fun!

Great site!
I have already tapped the resources of this site a few times and I very much appreciate the time it takes to keep this kind of site up and running.
Thanks

Here's a few pics of my new ride along with my other (family) toy.

Take the attached poll...The rims have created a polarized opinion base on another board...I love them but I have had some fun with the amount of people that really seem to dislike them.

Those are really nice rims. are those genuine porsche rims? can you lower your car 1 inch without them rubbing? How does it feel on the road with that setup?

They are not genuine Porsche rims...and I have no real frame of reference to answer the question of handling since it is my first Porsche.

That said I think that both the ride and handling are excellent. It has been incredible in the turns to say the least.

The only other point of reference for me was a 91' 300zx and too much time has gone by to remember how much better the Box is.

However I recently had the opportunity to take a 1 day road course class at Pocono Speedway and that experience has left me wanting to test the handling limits of this car very badly.

Still new to me, still very excited with ownership even with the random CEL and Air Bag lights.

______________________________________

I"ll be completely honest and tell you I don't like them. Sorry. I don't like the design and the car looks a bit to high off the ground.

BTW, what type of tires are those?

honesty is the best policy....and that is what this poll is about...

I'll check the tires when I get home but I too notice that it looked a little high as well.

Here's another pic I forgot I had.

Tires

General Exclaim UHP

Front
235 35 ZR19

Rear
275 30 ZR19

Not sure of the rim widths...If anyone knows please forward along...
Otherwise I will ask the previous owner the next time I see or speak to him.

Forgot to add...

...the tire description particulars are followed by a 91W describing its load index and speed rating.

They were brand new along with the rims in a package just put on a few months before I pruchased the car.

Box(s?)ter, the wheels look too wide for those tires.

What makes you say that?

They are slightly rounded around the outside edge...but I have no real tire/wheel knowledge at all so please explain if you can.
Thanks

I see those wheels on Ebay all the time. Search under Porsche Rims. The will come up in that finish and a darker finish (like gun metal).

What makes you say that?

I'm not an expert either, but it looks like there's a lot of the rim is protruding outside at the area where it meets the rubber. As if you could fit much wider tires to the rims. Typically the rubber is protruding out a tiny bit further than the rim, or they're at least even. Or in other words, if you accidentally scratch a curb during parallel parking, in your case, the rim will be the first to hit the curb -- not the rubber.

Or maybe that's just how the rims are by design.

Oh man a fellow Z'er, I've had 3 Twin Turbo 300zx's, Sold them all cause they couldnt satify my need to turn very hard. Plus if one sensor isnt going back, you losing oil pressure or needing bearing or suspension parts. Heres a picture of my last Twin Turbo Z.

I'd also say your rims/tires are too big. Your Box was designed for 205/55 ZR16 | 225/50 ZR16 or 205/50 ZR17 |255/40 17. Not only are your tires protruding but you're running a pretty low aspect ratio there.

Things that happen when you run tires bigger than the car was designed for:

* Increased risk of hydroplaning
* Decreasing wheel control due to the increase in unsprung weight
* Slowed acceleration and breaking (due to the increase in rotating mass and the the impact that the tire size has on speed calculation and ABS application)

* I'd also reckon that your speedometer is no longer accurate

Yes the lower/shorter sidewall provides better turn-in response than a higher aspect ratio, but at the expense of less break-away warning and a more jarring ride. You've also increased the risk of bending or breaking your rims on potholes, of which New Jersey has a few (million).

I'll have to assume you are providing an educated opinion based on your experience with the 986 model but here is my take on the ride based on my limited time in the seat.

First off the tires are actually tucked into the wells at both the front and the rear...this can be seen in the image shown here.

With regards to the hydroplaning- All I can do is communicate my limited experience. The first trip I took was 200+ miles to the Poconos for the day at the track and much of the trip out was spent navigating through a driving rain. I could not believe the lack of hydroplaning...The car felt better in the rain than anything (Sports car that is) I had ever driven.

As for the other points...
* Decreasing wheel control due to the increase in unsprung weight and
In theory it makes absolute sense based on the calculations the engineers made while designing the car with the target rims/tires in mind so time will tell if other issues are realized in the related areas in the future. Again I have no frame of reference regarding the before and after feel but the car seems extremely tight with no noticable wheel control issues. That said I know the front struts were replaced within the last 1k with OEM parts at the dealer and the tires were installed during the same time.

* Slowed acceleration and breaking
At the risk of sounding like a broken record here the acceleration was/is underwhelming but the breaking feels amazing(pads and rotors were recently replaced). I have not taken it onto a track to date but given the road running I have had a chance to have fun with I did not experience even the slightest bit of fade after repeated hard breaking and the car seems to respond really well.

Now my curiosity is peaked.
I would like to drive another 98 tip to see if there is any real measurable differences based on the information at hand.

Thanks again for the responses!

"Z12358 - Box(s?)ter, the wheels look too wide for those tires."

I came up with the name and spelling, "Boxter" so I could use the same identity on all boards. Needless to say the play on the name has been noticed on every board.

SD987 makes an important point. '98's were not supposed to have tires bigger than 17". Modifications had to be made to the suspension , as it would put undo stress on the suspension system. If these changes in the suspension were not made when the previous owner installed them, you may be flirting with disaster....I'd ask him what he did prior to putting those rims on , as you may have problems in the near future if he hadn't....The 19's seem to make the car too high in my opinion, the wheels aren't bad, but not my personal preference... :)

Thanks again for the feedback...I'll keep everyone posted if anything developes.

...with regards to the ride height that was commented on earlier in this thread.

I just found this example of a nice clean 987, actually bmussatti of this board...

Does my ride height look noticably higher than this one?

Certainly no other comparisons to draw here, but I was thinking again about how high my car sits and thought that it did not look all that different than this example.

Damn, that white car looks good! :)

Boxter, I sent you a PM with my PO Box address for the royalty check for using my car's image in your post!! :D