17 vs 18 wheels
 

Just bought my second boxster S (gray/gray) everything checks out good except for the 17 in wheels. Am I'm loosing any performance with the 17s vs my old S 18s. Or should I buy priciee tires?

I asked the same question. Was told 17's give better take off quickness and not very much felt difference between 1" diff tires.

more rubber is better. However some 18"s are lighter than 17's which is where weight savings counts. Top shelf rubber is by far the best mod for the Boxster.

I have 18" factory Carreras at ~20lbs each. I don't want to go bigger if the weight is any higher.
~30lb wheels ruin the ride, make the car prone to rattles, wheels bend since you're on less rubber, and it screws with the wheel bearings. 18" is the limit for me, unfortunately there aren't a whole lot of options in Pcar fitment.

Also, the cost of the mere extra inch of rubber opens the door for the tire companies to bend you over the barrell. Tire companies seem to know that a 19" summer performance tire isn't going on a car driven by a guy that doesn't have two nickels to rub together. Sorta reminds of the disappearance of soda machines that actually have 12oz cans instead of those 20 oz plastic bottles. Another 2 cents of sugar water turns into a 150% price increase.

Guess summer tires should be my solution. My old S had all seasom and phenomenal grip (vs what I'm used to driving) thanks for the info. Last thing I need is more wear and tear cuz of wanting bigger rims. Hope the 1in doesn'tbite me at the track.

Opinions vary. Mine is that 986s look better and handle better on 17s.

The tyres are cheaper, too. So it's win, win, win with 17s.

My opinion is 18s look best and anything larger is heavy and disproportionate on a 986. My car has H&R sports and the ride is not at all uncomfortable and handling is crisp.

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads01...1392348178.jpg

The carrera light weights paired with Michelin pilot super sports is the way I would go. More grip than you will ever need.

my .02
I currently have a 2000S with 17's and stock suspension and an 03 S with 18 Carrera lights, Bilstein coil over struts (PSS9) and Eibach front and rear sway bars and polyurethane bushings.

No doubt the 03 is a tighter car but ride does suffer over rough roads or other imperfections. The
00S almost feels like a touring car compared to the 03S!

No significant performance difference between 17s and 18s. Personally I think 18s look the best on our cars but 17" tires are significantly less $$ so I kinda like 17s. :D

17's look best on a car with no aero. But a Boxster with aero looks the closest to the '93 concept car that knocked the socks off everyone who saw it at the international launch. But since Porsche nickel and dime you for all options they sold them stripped of aero, barebones interiors, small wheels, etc.
And a Boxster with aero looks best with 18" because the wheel well space gets larger once you add a bumper like the 996 GT3 that sits much lower, and is longer. Which means you then have to add skirting too in order to balance it all out and keep it from looking like a high-sitting arrow.
Aesthetically, wheel width matters too. A smaller wheel needs spacers to fit a bit more flush with the fender edge and I'm not a fan using wheel spacers because of the beating on the bearings. I use them during the winter months on a set of replica beater wheels but my mileage is substantially lower during these months and I'm not taking any hard turns. And winter tires with their hard rubber really cut down feedback so its more cautious driving all around this time a year. In fact on well below freezing days I take my bicycle out (now with spiked tireds) instead of subjecting the engine to wear.

A factory 5 spoke Carrera is the best wheel for a Boxster with or without aero, and it's a 20lb. wheel. Too bad they're crazy over-priced for a cast wheel. You're better off going with an 18" OZ with at least a forged flange. Forged everything gets real spendy.

You can find a set for $1000.

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I'm biased - 18s

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads01...1392409874.jpg

Guess I'm sticking with the 17s, not too worried about looks more performance mind set. Wish I couls get those fivespoke carrera wheels. Might get em on my next box.

The Carreras are pretty common wheels. And someone's wrecking a Boxster every week.
Try posting a WTB thread on Craigslist in your area. Maybe something will come up.
You used to be able to get the Italian replicas for about $700 a set. They weren't 20lbs. though but the fit didn't require spacers in the rear.


But the Forgestar F14's in 18" are my favorite non-Porsche wheel. Tough to find in 18" though.

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads01...1337995947.jpg

Pretty baffled to read that. The concept doesn't have any glue-on 'aero' bits. There's no chin spoiler or skirts or wings. It's clean and uncluttered and clearly the Boxster that looks most like the concept is a basic 986 without anything added to it!

Stick the aero kit on the 986 and it looks less like the concept.