18X10 Rear Wheels - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

bobdogwv · 05-31-2011, 05:03 PM

Hello all, I am looking for some help with wheel / tire sizes for my 97 Boxster. Now I know that Porsche did not recommend 18" wheels on the 97, so with that aside I am looking for some advice. I have a set of BSA 18X9 ET 48 for the front and 18X10 ET 52 for the rears. I have not had tires mounted on the rims yet and just wanted to check on the car for fitment. It looks like the fronts will fit well with the correct tire size, but when I placed the 18X10's on the rear they were right up against the strut. As I said they are a 52mm offset rim so what size spacer should I use? Any help here would be appreciated!

Johnny Danger · 05-31-2011, 05:31 PM

I would recommend lowering the offset on the rears to around + 45 . +40 if you want a more aggressive stance .

bobdogwv · 05-31-2011, 05:58 PM

So a 7mm spacer should do the trick, any recommendations of a brand of spacer? Any thoughts on tire size as well, I have read that some tires, although being the same size, may have a few mm's in difference. And one more question, do you think the front will be ok? Thanks for the response JDanger.

kabel · 05-31-2011, 06:11 PM

fwiw, I have 18x10 all around on the BMW, I run 295 in the rear and 285 on the front

Johnny Danger · 06-01-2011, 02:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bobdogwv

So a 7mm spacer should do the trick, any recommendations of a brand of spacer? Any thoughts on tire size as well, I have read that some tires, although being the same size, may have a few mm's in difference. And one more question, do you think the front will be ok? Thanks for the response JDanger.

Depending on the brand, sidewall angle and shape can vary between tires . In any case, I've found the following sizes to be an excellent choice with regard to fitment and performance : front/235 , rear/275 . Also, if in fact the fronts are 9 inches wide, you're going to have clearance issues as well . You'll need to lower the offset in order to gain enough inner clearance . However, the trade off will be, that the wheel may then protrude too far outward - causing clearance problems with the fender lip . A 9 inch wheel is not a good choice to use up front on a 986 boxster . Regardless of what spacer you use, I don't think that it will fit .

bobdogwv · 06-01-2011, 04:57 AM

I must have had a brain fart, I looked at the boxes again, and the fronts are 18X8's with a ET 48. I don't think that I will have to put spacers on the front with those. Thanks for the help Johnny D!

Johnny Danger · 06-01-2011, 05:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bobdogwv

I must have had a brain fart, I looked at the boxes again, and the fronts are 18X8's with a ET 48. I don't think that I will have to put spacers on the front with those. Thanks for the help Johnny D!

If they're 18x8 +48 then you're good. However, ultimately you may find that the fronts look quite a bit "in" as compared to the rears . In which case, adding a 7 - 10 mm spacer will bring them out nicely .

JD
p.s. Try contacting this member, Allen K. Littlefield . He recently found an excellent source for spacers at very reasonable prices.

bobdogwv · 06-01-2011, 07:17 AM

I am still wondering what size spacer I should get. I'm afraid the 7mm won't give me enough clearance over say a 10 or 12, yet I don't want the outside lip sticking to far beyond the fender. Has anyone had any problems with something this size rubbing on the outside? Johnny Danger, what size rims are you running on the rear? What is the ET? You mentioned running 275's on the rear, is that a 30 series or a 35? Once again guys, thanks for your help!