Big wheels =more easily damaged?

[zemmo]

Anyone damaged wheels w/o doing anything truly radical? Just wondering how much of a pothole or other imperfection it takes to damage these expensive wheels...TIA

[blinkwatt]

I don't think it's the size of the wheels that make them more prone to bends and such. I think it's more related to the sidewall size of the tire,less sidewall=more prone to bends.

Hopefully someone else can chime in.

Zemmo, you might think I am a little nutty & crazy, but I usually steer around potholes! Our cars are very responsive to steering imputs. I also steer around:

Puddles!

And manhole covers!

My Ford Explorer loves puddles.

I have had no issues with my 19" Carrera Classics and 265/35 and 235/35 tires.

[zemmo]

Originally Posted by bmussatti

Zemmo, you might think I am a little nutty & crazy, but I usually steer around potholes! Our cars are very responsive to steering imputs. I also steer around:

Puddles!

And manhole covers!

My Ford Explorer loves puddles.

I have had no issues with my 19" Carrera Classics and 265/35 and 235/35 tires.

Sir, I am with you, absolutely. However, I find I cannot always miss all of our little challenges, here in rural NM. The roads aren't terrible, but they're not the smoothly buffed parcours of some areas. And I would opt for maybe the 18's over the 19's if I thought it might make a meaningful difference..l

[xxxalexxxx]

I've had 18s now for a while and i cant say i drive around every puddle, pothole etc. and i also drive the boxster in the winter as well. My rims look as new as the day i got them so for a fact i cant tell u the 18s are pretty durabale...i'm not sure about 19s or so on though. Im sure size doesnt matter too much tought i think its the quality of the rim.

[drburton]

The larger rims with lower sidewalls can easily get curb damage. If you parallel park you just need to be really careful. The rim will hit the curb before the tire does.

[rick3000]

A thinner sidewall will make you more prone to damage, but it is still not that common unless your do something radical.
It is also the quality of the rims, if your buying cheap replicas they are probably more prone to problems than the real thing. I like my 17" rims, because they absorb quite a bit of the bumps in the road which is nice, since my car is a DD. If your car is only driven on weekends and/or in the summer then go for the 18" or 19"'s.

How often do hear of someone cracking or bending any rims unless they were on the track or in an accident?

[zemmo]

Originally Posted by rick3000

A thinner sidewall will make you more prone to damage, but it is still not that common unless your do something radical.
It is also the quality of the rims, if your buying cheap replicas they are probably more prone to problems than the real thing. I like my 17" rims, because they absorb quite a bit of the bumps in the road which is nice, since my car is a DD. If your car is only driven on weekends and/or in the summer then go for the 18" or 19"'s.

How often do hear of someone cracking or bending any rims unless they were on the track or in an accident?

I am living in NM in the winter now, but have spent most of the last 25 years in Alaska, and those roads surely do ruin some alloy wheels! But, they can be truly awful, as in breaking all kinds of front-end parts, as well as wheels. My car will be a DD, more or less, anyway. It doesn't sound like many people have had issues with even the very low aspect ratio 19s, so I should probably stop worrying about it, and get back to making the choice between a Boxster and a Cayman.

[rick3000]

In Alaska, yah you can break your rims. But normal DD driving in most other places, there is no need to worry about breaking your rims. I have never heard of anyone having problems but I can see your point, it depends on where your driving. If you want 19" go for it, but get them on a Boxster!

[husker boxster]

Originally Posted by bmussatti

And manhole covers!

Recently some nit-wit was stealing manhole covers in Omaha. That would leave a mark if you hit an open manhole regardless of which wheels you have.

Luckily OPD found someone driving around in a pickup with some of the said covers in his box. Kind of hard to explain that one away.

[rick3000]

^ What's the point in steeling manhole covers?
I didn't know there was a big market for them.

[zemmo]

Originally Posted by rick3000

In Alaska, yah you can break your rims. But normal DD driving in most other places, there is no need to worry about breaking your rims. I have never heard of anyone having problems but I can see your point, it depends on where your driving. If you want 19" go for it, but get them on a Boxster!

Hey, Rick, I really am trying to decide between a Boxster and a Cayman. I know you guys are roadster lovers, but other than the top (or not) is there any reason to favor one over the other?

Interestingly, on ebay at least, it seems that one can buy a Cayman cheaper than a Boxster. A couple of nice, low-mileage coupes sold yesterday, both 2006 S models, one moderately equipped, one loaded, for 40k and 46k, respectively. I don't think you can buy a good 2006 Boxster S for anywhere near 40k, but maybe I'm wrong. Input?

Originally Posted by blinkwatt

I don't think it's the size of the wheels that make them more prone to bends and such. I think it's more related to the sidewall size of the tire,less sidewall=more prone to bends.

Hopefully someone else can chime in.

I'll Chime that Blink, in fact I think ANY pressure loss not immediately corrected adds to the chances of bending a wheel. I have a friend who runs a body shop and he sees he says a lot of bent Porsche wheels. I'm not sure if that is spirited driving or because they bend easier than other wheels using similar low profile tires.

[rick3000]

My opinion on the Boxster vs. Cayman, is that with a Boxster you can choose between top down or top up and buying a hardtop, with a cayman your stuck with a hardtop forever. You can also get low milage Boxsters cheap but they may not be a 2006, you can probably get an '05 Boxster with low miles in that price range, an '06 if you hunt.