Justification for 18inch

[BYprodriver]

986 is noticeably more "nimble" with stock 17" tires than stock 18" size. Easier to slide around, spin the rear tires etc. If the Carrera II wheel came in 17" I would have at least 1 set.

[RobertKing]

I personally find it laughable that anyone could say that. My 2001 Boxster S was built with/for 18" turbo twist wheels. The vehicle was built for them. 17's would require a different ratio from the transmission to the wheels. Basic geometry people.

[Quadcammer]

Originally Posted by RobertKing

I personally find it laughable that anyone could say that. My 2001 Boxster S was built with/for 18" turbo twist wheels. The vehicle was built for them. 17's would require a different ratio from the transmission to the wheels. Basic geometry people.

Um, what? Why would 17s require a different final drive ratio? Even if the tire is shorter, that wont cause you to need a new final drive and you simply use a tire with a higher aspect ratio to get the same diameter.

Might not want to be quite so condescending

[Oldcarguy]

The SE comes stock with the 18” Carreras mounted with 5mm spacers so I don’t consider them +1. At any rate the ride and handling are perfect for me. My XKR was on 20s, our S5 is on 19s and the Explo is on 20s, all stock. We don’t know anything other than low profile in our garage for 3 season driving here in the Catskills. The Explo and S5 are on narrow, higher profile 18s with Blizzaks for the winter and we see no appreciable difference in ride quality. Dry handling is another matter due to the snow tires.

I typically run 34/39 lbs (f/r) on the 986. It’s a personal preference. In any case, you do have to really watch the potholes with any low profile tires, especially if you run lower tire pressures. For me, that’s the only downside.

[itsnotanova]

I've had 2 sets of 17's, 3 sets of 18's and one set of 19's on my boxster. I couldn't really tell any difference between 17 and 18 inch wheels. I think your tires have a bigger influence on ride quality. I didn't notice much of a performance difference either. The 18's I have on now weigh less and ride better than everything I've had so far. Not by much, but a little. 19's were horrible though. Not so much the ride quality. They were boat anchors and I could instantly notice the performance loss

[Starter986]

I'm running 22's all around. Man up.

[Topless]

Originally Posted by itsnotanova

I've had 2 sets of 17's, 3 sets of 18's and one set of 19's on my boxster. I couldn't really tell any difference between 17 and 18 inch wheels. I think your tires have a bigger influence on ride quality. I didn't notice much of a performance difference either. The 18's I have on now weigh less and ride better than everything I've had so far. Not by much, but a little. 19's were horrible though. Not so much the ride quality. They were boat anchors and I could instantly notice the performance loss

This was my experience over a 10 year period with my 986. As long as you use quality light weight wheels there is virtually no difference in performance or ride quality. The one very perceptible difference is that 18" tires cost about 25%-30% more than 17s for the same widths and tire model so you WILL notice a difference at the tire shop.


RobertKing is kinda new around here so we can forgive his misunderstanding of final tire circumference.

[PaulE]

Originally Posted by RobertKing

I personally find it laughable that anyone could say that. My 2001 Boxster S was built with/for 18" turbo twist wheels. The vehicle was built for them. 17's would require a different ratio from the transmission to the wheels. Basic geometry people.

The outside diameters of the 17" and 18" OEM tire sizes are within fractions of an inch of each other, and Porsche designed the cars for both. There were no changes to gear ratios or alignment settings for cars coming down the assembly line depending on their tire size. On the 986 S the standard wheel was 17" and the 18" wheel was an option. Having driven both on the street with the same Michelin tire on both sets, there isn't a perceptible difference in feel. On the track and in an autocross there probably is, I've only driven my car with the 18's in HPDE's.

[particlewave]

Originally Posted by RobertKing

I personally find it laughable that anyone could say that. My 2001 Boxster S was built with/for 18" turbo twist wheels. The vehicle was built for them. 17's would require a different ratio from the transmission to the wheels. Basic geometry people.

What?!
That's an odd series of words resulting nonsensical gibberish.

[The Radium King]

Originally Posted by particlewave

What?!
That's an odd series of words resulting nonsensical gibberish.

is that a double oxymoron? i have yet to encounter gibberish that wasn't nonsensical. and if the series of words wasn't odd, then it would no longer be nonsensical?

[particlewave]

Originally Posted by The Radium King

is that a double oxymoron? i have yet to encounter gibberish that wasn't nonsensical. and if the series of words wasn't odd, then it would no longer be nonsensical?

Precisely.