911 / 993 / 996 Rims on a Boxster??

[flyride]

Hey guys -

First of all, I'm relatively new to the Porsche scene and wanna say thanks for the awesome forum - there is a wealth of information here!!

I'm wondering if it's possibile to install these rims on a 97 Boxster (without having any rubbing issues or having them stick out past the rear fenders... and whether or not spacers would be required? The car presently has factory suspension. Somehow I'm suspecting this will not be possible, but I thought it wouldn't hurt to ask...

Here's the info on the rims & tires:

Size: Fronts 8J X 18 ET52 (225/40 ZR18) Part no: 993.362.138.00
Rears 10J X 18 ET40 (285/30 ZR18) Part no: 993.362.140.00

Any insight (or pictures if anyone has done something similar) would be awesome!!

Thanks in advance!

[TriGem2k]

Originally Posted by flyride

Hey guys -

First of all, I'm relatively new to the Porsche scene and wanna say thanks for the awesome forum - there is a wealth of information here!!

I'm wondering if it's possibile to install these rims on a 97 Boxster (without having any rubbing issues or having them stick out past the rear fenders... and whether or not spacers would be required? The car presently has factory suspension. Somehow I'm suspecting this will not be possible, but I thought it wouldn't hurt to ask...

Here's the info on the rims & tires:

Size: Fronts 8J X 18 ET52 (225/40 ZR18) Part no: 993.362.138.00
Rears 10J X 18 ET40 (285/30 ZR18) Part no: 993.362.140.00

Any insight (or pictures if anyone has done something similar) would be awesome!!

Thanks in advance!

The wheels should fit as is with no spacers....However, the 97 year was not designed to have wheels bigger than 17"s

[MNBoxster]

Hi,

Yep, TriGem2k is correct! Porsche found that areas of the chassis would not absorb the stresses placed upon it with an 18" wheel, particularly where the suspension members mount to the Car. In addition, it was found that these wheels had a tendency to cause some of the suspension mounting bolts to loosen from the stress as well.

So for the '98 MY, Porsche modified the chassis to accept 18" wheels as an option.

There are some people who have put 18's on the '97 with no apparent ill effects, but Porsche does not, and will not, recommend their use on a '97. It would be pretty expensive to find out Porsche was right! An Insurance Company could go sideways if you ever had a claim and they found the car had an unauthorized modification, especially when the manufacturer expressly warns against it.

Were it me, as an alternative, I would think about lowering the Car to minimize the space between Wheel Well and the Tire to improve the aesthetic. Hope this helps...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

[flyride]

Originally Posted by TriGem2k

The wheels should fit as is with no spacers....However, the 97 year was not designed to have wheels bigger than 17"s

Thanks for the info! What did they change after 97? Or are all 986 Boxsters just not designed for bigger rims? Didn't some of them come factory with 18" turbo twists as an option?

Would the rear wheels stick out past the sides of the car? If it's going to look non-factory I don't want to do it... has anyone ever seen this done?

[flyride]

Originally Posted by MNBoxster

Hi,

Yep, TriGem2k is correct! Porsche found that areas of the chassis would not absorb the stresses placed upon it with an 18" wheel, particularly where the suspension members mount to the Car. In addition, it was found that these wheels had a tendency to cause some of the suspension mounting bolts to loosen from the stress as well.

So for the '98 MY, Porsche modified the chassis to accept 18" wheels as an option.

There are some people who have put 18's on the '97 with no apparent ill effects, but Porsche does not, and will not, recommend their use on a '97. It would be pretty expensive to find out Porsche was right! An Insurance Company could go sideways if you ever had a claim and they found the car had an unauthorized modification, especially when the manufacturer expressly warns against it.

Were it me, as an alternative, I would think about lowering the Car to minimize the space between Wheel Well and the Tire to improve the aesthetic. Hope this helps...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

Thanks for the info Jim! So aside from the safety issue, do you know if they would fit without sticking out past the sides of the car or looking out of place? Is there anyway the suspension could be modified to support this? Would they fit a 98+?

[Grizzly]

For the benefit of all 986 forum members, I've been experimenting with this whole "you can't go bigger than a 17 inch wheel on a '97" thing. When I bought my '97, it had 18x8s in front and 18x10s in the rear. I've been driving it regularly, as had its previous owner I suppose, and thus far neither of us have perished in a fiery crash. Strangely drawn to the thought of cheating death, and for the good of the order, I've decided to step up to 19s to see how far we can push the envelope. Should you not hear from me in the future, it probably means that my rear suspension disassociated itself with the remainder of the vehicle and I have plunged over a cliff to a brilliant and spectacular demise.

Stay tuned...

[MNBoxster]

Originally Posted by Grizzly

For the benefit of all 986 forum members, I've been experimenting with this whole "you can't go bigger than a 17 inch wheel on a '97" thing. When I bought my '97, it had 18x8s in front and 18x10s in the rear. I've been driving it regularly, as had its previous owner I suppose, and thus far neither of us have perished in a fiery crash. Strangely drawn to the thought of cheating death, and for the good of the order, I've decided to step up to 19s to see how far we can push the envelope. Should you not hear from me in the future, it probably means that my rear suspension disassociated itself with the remainder of the vehicle and I have plunged over a cliff to a brilliant and spectacular demise.

Stay tuned...

Hi,

Great! We can all tell Porsche to stop wasting their time, maybe they can now better concentrate on the RMS issue...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

[RandallNeighbour]

Jim, that's a very good suggestion. The 18 inch rim debacle on 97's only affects a few of us... the RMS affects every single one of us!