Quote:
Originally Posted by Seadweller
Fair enough, let's expand this to OEM wheels, and the associated spacers necessary for fitment. I thought spacers caused other issues, so I was steering away from them.
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Spacers may or may not cause an issue depending on what you plan to use your Box for and how big the spacer is. If you don't plan on any track time and few spirited drives, really big (20mm+) spacers will work. And with even a small spacer, you should purchase longer wheel bolts. My CSS came from the factory with 5mm spacers and the lug bolts are slightly longer than std. Go 20mm or larger and you'll need railroad spikes for bolts. At that point it becomes how comfortable do you feel going high speeds with these way out of std settings?
So how big of a spacer will you need? I'm not an expert because I've always wanted to stay close to factory specs and not use spacers, but I believe it's a fairly easy equation (I might get it backwards but others can correct me). Basically you subtract the std spec from the new wheel's offset and the value determines the approx spacer required. For example, the 11" 911 WB rear wheel that folks want to adapt onto their Box has an offset of 65 (I'm pulling that # from memory but I think that's close). The std rear offset is approx 45, so 65-45=20 and that's the size spacer you need. Offset differences in the low single digits may work w/o a spacer depending on how much room is available. Suspension and suspension braces can come into play.
And don't depend on a seller to know if their wheels will work on your car. Of course they'll say they'll work and generally generically advertise their wheels as 'fitting Porsches' with no details. You need to get the offsets and do your own homework to determine fitment.
Quote:
Originally Posted by subieworx
I really wish there were some decent aftermarket 17's available for these cars. Absolutely nothing out there other than Fikse wheels.
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Aftermarket companies want to build wheels that will fit multitudes of vehicles. That's why you see their wheels in std sizes like 8" and 10" rather than 7.5" and 9.5". They build offsets that will "work" for lots of applications. 17s were kind of a cup of coffee from OEM makers who quickly jumped from 16" to 18". If there aren't a lot of applications that came from the factory with 17s, there won't be a lot of aftermarket applications. Porsche made the 17" wheel the base wheel for the 987 and those should work on a 986. But not many people bought a base model with base wheels - most probably upgraded to a prettier 18". You can always go with a custom 3-piece wheel, but you'll be spending thousands. I've never had a need to look, but chances are 17" summer performance tires may be getting harder to buy because the mkt isn't there. I had a hard time finding the 16" rears for my 928 and ended up compromising on size to get a good price.
Quote:
Originally Posted by maytag
AND, I think he's REALLY saying you should just buy my 18"s and be done with it.  |
...Sure... that's what I meant. GLWS.