heavy 19 rims - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

986Jim · 04-17-2006, 12:35 PM

What size wheel do you have on your car now? If they are 16 or 17" your gonna feel a huge loss of power when you put such a heavy wheel on the car.. Remember unsprung weight (wheels/tires/brakes, suspension) it's quite critical to have lightweight components on the car for best performance.

If you notice stock we have aluminum control arms etc.. Porsche did this to decrease unsprung weight at all costs, then you ruin it with 19's from Antera. It will be along the lines of a 10-20whp loss because of all the added rotating weight. Not a good idea.

Going from a 17" 29lbs wheel to a 15" 11.5lbs racing wheel on my GTI took about 3/10ths off the car int he 1/4 from 13.5 to 13.2. Thats a lot considering the car was already going mid 13's then to low 13's just from weight on the wheels. You could expect a full half to .75 seconds slower in the quarter and say 1 second slower 0-60.

Just a guesstimate of course, but it's not gonna be pretty either way.

04-17-2006, 01:03 PM

well just to debate.....so you are saying that my stock 17 / 255 / 45 rear and 17 / 205 / 50 front would be faster then the car sitting on 19 / 275 / 30 rear and 19 / 235 / 35. lets just say that the rims were the exact same weight. i'm not sure that it would make a big difference.....unless i take the car to a track....which a boxster might not be my first choice of car to ruin on a track.....i would not suggest my set up for racing....but still pretty dam fast....raced a 350z and the car kept up, if not faster.......................

mjw930 · 04-17-2006, 05:32 PM

Kronix,

Check your tire sizes. Proper sizing is

225/40x18 - 265/35x18
225/35x19 - 265/30x18

Stick with those and you'll get the optimum performance. Your car isn't designed for super fat rubber. Besides, bigger = heavier and heavier = slower, both in a straight line and around a corner.

If you're going to customize then do it right. Don't turn the Boxster into a "Ricer"

986Jim · 04-17-2006, 06:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KronixSpeed

well just to debate.....so you are saying that my stock 17 / 255 / 45 rear and 17 / 205 / 50 front would be faster then the car sitting on 19 / 275 / 30 rear and 19 / 235 / 35. lets just say that the rims were the exact same weight. i'm not sure that it would make a big difference.....unless i take the car to a track....which a boxster might not be my first choice of car to ruin on a track.....i would not suggest my set up for racing....but still pretty dam fast....raced a 350z and the car kept up, if not faster.......................

The thing is you will never get the same weight to start, and secondly the inertia to turn a larger wheel even with a smaller tire of the same weight takes more power.

To get a 19" thats the same weight as a 17" would take Magnesium wheels which are about $5000 for a set, even then I dont think they could weigh what a normal aluminum 17" does really. Besides he is talking about buying antera's which are heavy ass wheels. You'll be adding 10lbs a corner easily over the stock setup. Thats gonna soak up a crap load of Hp.

smith12895 · 04-17-2006, 07:34 PM

So what about in my case? If I, with the optional 19" carrera classic wheels, raced and identical 987, only with the standard 17" wheels, they would out accelerate me?

mjw930 · 04-18-2006, 05:53 PM

Probably.......

Chris C Atlanta · 04-19-2006, 06:57 PM

I have champion monolites (RS97)in 19" and they are lighter than most 18s (20/21 lbs in 8/9.5")

Finallygottaporsche · 04-19-2006, 08:36 PM

986 Jim is totally right on this one. anyone who disagrees can buy heavy wheels and pretend that their car doesnt drive like crap. cars like miatas, elises, boxsters are designed with minimal unsprung weight.

the car will be slower and not handle as nimbly. imagine running with ankle weights on.

BuffaloBoxster · 04-20-2006, 05:16 AM

Turst me you will notice the difference in a heavy wheel compared to a light wheel. I learned that lesson the hard way on my Acura RSX.

Don' buy rims for looks and expect better performance. You're only going to get better performance from a lighter or wider rim.

If you go wider but not lighter, acceleration will be negatively impacted while your car may have more stick in the corners.

Something to think about.

And as regard the ride, a shorter sidewall (say 18" vs 19" rim) is always going to be stiffer and this worse in ride quality.

04-20-2006, 07:25 AM

Weight is obviously a concern, but none of you answered the question, and probably just doesnt cut it.......... "So what about in my case? If I, with the optional 19" carrera classic wheels, raced and identical 987, only with the standard 17" wheels, they would out accelerate me?" this is what we are talking about. if the weight stays the same (17 inch rim weighting 21 pounds and a 19 inch rim weightin 21 pounds) the car should not lack performance. wider tires that come on a 19 inch rim should give better handling. i have 19s with a 275 rubber on the back and let me tell you the car has not lost any performance. now if we are tracking the car, then yes 19s are just dumb.