Boxster S fitment and winter tires

[clueless1]

I've been searching and googling all the old fitment threads and I am still at a bit of a loss as to tire fitment.

I currently have OEM 18" wheels on the car. The rims are pretty shot and I was planning on replacing them. Because I am way up north I will need winter snow tires. I know that 17" are supposed to be better as winter tires, but in order to save some dough I was thinking I would use the 18" rims I have currently and buy 19" rims for the summer. I haven't been able to figure out how dramatic a difference I will note in a boxster using 18" good winter tires (vs. 17")????. I will be doing short haul city driving primarily.

I have having a difficult time finding tires I want in the OEM reccommended sizes (225/40/r18 and 265/35/r18). I was looking at nokian hakkapelita 7s (studded), but they only appear to be available in 225/40 & 255/35. Alternatively, I know someone up here who has LM25s that are a few years old (but barely used, <1k on them) that are 235/40 & 265/35.

Will there be any issues with fit if I went with either of these alternatives? What about tramlining? Anything else I need to know if deviating from mfr recc'd size?

[litteng]

so what does CA mean in your location? kalifornia or canada?

helps if you fill out your info a bit more. from checking some of your previous threads i found you mentioned edmonton, therefore i take ca to be canada.

my boxster is not yet winter ready but its not going out in the crap that landed on us yesterday,

if you need to drive it i would get 17"s winter rims and tires if the fit over the brakes, and use the 18's for summer in canada. 19's are a waste of money because the roads are so poor, but you should know that already

you say the 18's are shot. in what way are they shot, edges gouged? or no longer shiny



ad more info to your bio, and it makes it easier to get together. i am running up to edmonton for remembrance day....

[Mark_T]

Got dumped on, did ya? Hope it's not headed this way...

[clueless1]

Edmonton ... where winter has already arrived. Regrettably.

one of the problems is though you are right, 19s look so much nicer. even if i went with 18s in the summer, i would need new rims. my 18s now are not shiny, bubbling/peeling. generally not looking good, detracting from the rest of the car.

i was thinking 18" hakk 7's might be better than 17" non-studded. i can't find the hakks in 17" with the right aspect ratio. Even in the 18" I would have to move down to a 255 rather than a 265 if I wanted hakk 7s. Even that will cost me twice as much as non-studded LM25s -- and the best 18" non-studded I have a line on are the 235 fronts. Hard for me to imagine 10mm plus or minus would make that much of a difference, and I see lots of posts with guys running alternative sizes, but I don't have any definitive info regarding what is possible with a boxster re plus or minus sizing. Interestingly, since its wheel width that should matter for winter tires, I have been surprised at the focus on smaller wheels rather than minus sizing, which to this uninformed reader seems like it would be more important?

I have not been able to find a lot of selection at either the 18" or the 17" OEM sizes. Plus I don't wanna spend a bunch of money unnecessarily, and $700 give or take for a set of 17" rims .... I dunno. Also, since I'll be doing mainly city driving it will be mainly slush and ice i'm dealing with.

[gschotland]

I'd go with 17s for winter tires. Better ride, more (& less expensive) tire choices, and less chances of crashing a rim. I don't think 18s will gain you anything meaningful in terms of grip.

For my winter tires I picked up a used set of 993 Cup II(?) wheels for $250. Winter quality (a little scratched) used 17" Boxster wheels shouldn't be too hard to find in your area for a similar price.

Another alternative you might want to consider is a wheel & tire package from a place like TireRack. When you add mounting and balancing cost to used wheels, the package with "good" quality aftermarket wheels may not be much more.

[clueless1]

Right now the ONLY tire listed at tirerack in 17" is the Pirelli 240.

If I could find beat up 17" rims for $250 I'd buy the RIMS in a heartbeat. Not too sure about the 240s.