My new(new to me) Baby
 

98' with 73K on the dial, 19" wheels and tons of fun!

Great site!
I have already tapped the resources of this site a few times and I very much appreciate the time it takes to keep this kind of site up and running.
Thanks

Here's a few pics of my new ride along with my other (family) toy.

Take the attached poll...The rims have created a polarized opinion base on another board...I love them but I have had some fun with the amount of people that really seem to dislike them.

Those are really nice rims. are those genuine porsche rims? can you lower your car 1 inch without them rubbing? How does it feel on the road with that setup?

They are not genuine Porsche rims...and I have no real frame of reference to answer the question of handling since it is my first Porsche.

That said I think that both the ride and handling are excellent. It has been incredible in the turns to say the least.

The only other point of reference for me was a 91' 300zx and too much time has gone by to remember how much better the Box is.

However I recently had the opportunity to take a 1 day road course class at Pocono Speedway and that experience has left me wanting to test the handling limits of this car very badly.

Still new to me, still very excited with ownership even with the random CEL and Air Bag lights.

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I"ll be completely honest and tell you I don't like them. Sorry. I don't like the design and the car looks a bit to high off the ground.

BTW, what type of tires are those?

honesty is the best policy....and that is what this poll is about...

I'll check the tires when I get home but I too notice that it looked a little high as well.

Here's another pic I forgot I had.

Tires

General Exclaim UHP

Front
235 35 ZR19

Rear
275 30 ZR19

Not sure of the rim widths...If anyone knows please forward along...
Otherwise I will ask the previous owner the next time I see or speak to him.

Forgot to add...

...the tire description particulars are followed by a 91W describing its load index and speed rating.

They were brand new along with the rims in a package just put on a few months before I pruchased the car.

Box(s?)ter, the wheels look too wide for those tires.

What makes you say that?

They are slightly rounded around the outside edge...but I have no real tire/wheel knowledge at all so please explain if you can.
Thanks

I see those wheels on Ebay all the time. Search under Porsche Rims. The will come up in that finish and a darker finish (like gun metal).

What makes you say that?

I'm not an expert either, but it looks like there's a lot of the rim is protruding outside at the area where it meets the rubber. As if you could fit much wider tires to the rims. Typically the rubber is protruding out a tiny bit further than the rim, or they're at least even. Or in other words, if you accidentally scratch a curb during parallel parking, in your case, the rim will be the first to hit the curb -- not the rubber.

Or maybe that's just how the rims are by design.

Oh man a fellow Z'er, I've had 3 Twin Turbo 300zx's, Sold them all cause they couldnt satify my need to turn very hard. Plus if one sensor isnt going back, you losing oil pressure or needing bearing or suspension parts. Heres a picture of my last Twin Turbo Z.

I'd also say your rims/tires are too big. Your Box was designed for 205/55 ZR16 | 225/50 ZR16 or 205/50 ZR17 |255/40 17. Not only are your tires protruding but you're running a pretty low aspect ratio there.

Things that happen when you run tires bigger than the car was designed for:

* Increased risk of hydroplaning
* Decreasing wheel control due to the increase in unsprung weight
* Slowed acceleration and breaking (due to the increase in rotating mass and the the impact that the tire size has on speed calculation and ABS application)

* I'd also reckon that your speedometer is no longer accurate

Yes the lower/shorter sidewall provides better turn-in response than a higher aspect ratio, but at the expense of less break-away warning and a more jarring ride. You've also increased the risk of bending or breaking your rims on potholes, of which New Jersey has a few (million).

I'll have to assume you are providing an educated opinion based on your experience with the 986 model but here is my take on the ride based on my limited time in the seat.

First off the tires are actually tucked into the wells at both the front and the rear...this can be seen in the image shown here.

With regards to the hydroplaning- All I can do is communicate my limited experience. The first trip I took was 200+ miles to the Poconos for the day at the track and much of the trip out was spent navigating through a driving rain. I could not believe the lack of hydroplaning...The car felt better in the rain than anything (Sports car that is) I had ever driven.

As for the other points...
* Decreasing wheel control due to the increase in unsprung weight and
In theory it makes absolute sense based on the calculations the engineers made while designing the car with the target rims/tires in mind so time will tell if other issues are realized in the related areas in the future. Again I have no frame of reference regarding the before and after feel but the car seems extremely tight with no noticable wheel control issues. That said I know the front struts were replaced within the last 1k with OEM parts at the dealer and the tires were installed during the same time.

* Slowed acceleration and breaking
At the risk of sounding like a broken record here the acceleration was/is underwhelming but the breaking feels amazing(pads and rotors were recently replaced). I have not taken it onto a track to date but given the road running I have had a chance to have fun with I did not experience even the slightest bit of fade after repeated hard breaking and the car seems to respond really well.

Now my curiosity is peaked.
I would like to drive another 98 tip to see if there is any real measurable differences based on the information at hand.

Thanks again for the responses!

"Z12358 - Box(s?)ter, the wheels look too wide for those tires."

I came up with the name and spelling, "Boxter" so I could use the same identity on all boards. Needless to say the play on the name has been noticed on every board.

SD987 makes an important point. '98's were not supposed to have tires bigger than 17". Modifications had to be made to the suspension , as it would put undo stress on the suspension system. If these changes in the suspension were not made when the previous owner installed them, you may be flirting with disaster....I'd ask him what he did prior to putting those rims on , as you may have problems in the near future if he hadn't....The 19's seem to make the car too high in my opinion, the wheels aren't bad, but not my personal preference... :)

Thanks again for the feedback...I'll keep everyone posted if anything developes.

...with regards to the ride height that was commented on earlier in this thread.

I just found this example of a nice clean 987, actually bmussatti of this board...

Does my ride height look noticably higher than this one?

Certainly no other comparisons to draw here, but I was thinking again about how high my car sits and thought that it did not look all that different than this example.

Damn, that white car looks good! :)

Boxter, I sent you a PM with my PO Box address for the royalty check for using my car's image in your post!! :D

You mean royalties in the way of compliments do not count...."nice clean 987", if not consider the check in the mail!

The wheels looks to "busy" for my tastes and as others have mentioned the tires are too skinny and are stretched onto the wheels. If you buy wider wheels you need wider tires.

Those remind me of my BBS RK's which everyone wanted to steal off my car because they were so cool. BBS mesh look wheels and Porsche are a solid combination. Most of the factory Pcar wheels I don't like so much, look like they came off a Mazda..losing that German Race look.

I don't think 19" wheels look out of place for a 986 Boxster since the 987 and CaymanS have them and all are about the same dimensions.

BUT!!! If you are going to have wheels that big you must have full aero treatment. Otherwise it looks like a Porsche off road vehicle.
GT3 front bumper (with air spiltter) and side skirting makes the car look lower, wider and longer. You can call DPS motorsports for that factory stuff. A small operation called precisionporsche.com make the fiberglass stuff.

Also I would not lower the car unless you drive only on highways and flatlands. Your car just takes more abuse at lower ride heights, there's no debating that.
THe ride quality may feel stock but less travel absorbs less energy and it gets taken out on the car and things start to come loose and break.

Thanks for the positive feedback Perfectlap.

And I agree that lowering it may prove to be more trouble than it is worth to me as this is a third vehicle that I will probably put less than a couple of thousand miles per year on.

As for the aero scenarios there are only a few that appeal to me so I'll have to weigh the gain in the overall appearance vs the current 4x4 look to justify the expense...but I think the point you made does make sense.
Thanks again!

Since you have silver as well...

These are my GT3 MK2 style side (fiberglass $400 from precisonporsche.com) skirts on 18" Carreras. Most people have the more expensive polyurethane MK1 style because the factory didn't make the MK2 style for the Boxster. Fiberglass for side skirts is ok in my book, rear and front bumpers not so good.

The GT3 front bumper which has been shamefully sitting in storage for over a year is going on when I have my windshield replaced this month. This guy put the nifty GT3 RS intake holes and meshing to with his silver hood crest. The factory front bumper can be had for another $900. Not including labor, less than $1500 is well worth it and a total transformation in me book. Will definitely help distinguish your car when you sell it from the sea of other silver boxsters.

http://memimage.cardomain.net/member...15_73_full.jpg
http://memimage.cardomain.net/member...15_50_full.jpg
http://memimage.cardomain.net/member...15_40_full.jpg

If nobody's correctly identified them yet, your wheels are Miros. I suspect, because they are mated with the Generals, that they were originally sold by Wheel Dynamics in California. Carlos, the owner, sells Miros and is very high on those Generals, as is the Tire Rack (now that I've owned them for 3000 miles, I'm pretty fond of them too). I really like the look of the Miros and considered them for our car, but Mrs. Grizzly balked at cleaning them. She had a set of similar BBS rims on an earlier vehicle, and they were a bear to keep clean.

Despite the warnings about running 18s or 19s on an early model car, I did some research and learned that they are likely quite safe for a street car. There is a distinct possibility of a rear suspension failure if the car is driven hard or tracked. In later model years, Porsche beefed up the rear suspension to accomodate larger wheel/tire combinations. Since our car is a cruiser and never pushed very hard, I opted for the 19s. They fill the wheelwells nicely and lend an updated look to the older body style. If I break the car because I made the wrong decision, I'll fix it or replace it. Right now, I think it looks cool. It rides and handles well and gets plenty of compliments.

We have the same tire setup as you, but our rear rim is only a 9.5". Yours is a 10". I think there are a couple of guys running 285s on the rear (TriGem2k comes to mind) but I don't think you can go much larger that that without starting to rub.

My $.02? I think your car looks great. Leave it as it is and enjoy the crap out of it.

Thanks again for the additional positive feedback.

I too will probably use it almost exclusively as a cruiser but I really love the wheels...they were one of the deciding factors in purchasing this car.

While searching I found many less expensive Boxsters of similar year and mileage but this particular car had a 2 owner history with new struts, airbag/horn fix completed, recent brake work and a great feel from behind the wheel.

Getting back to the thread, I was actually surprised to see the reaction I received on a Land Rover Board that I have frequented for a few years and figured I would gauge the reaction here...again I am surprised to see that in this case more people dislike them then like them.

I guess that makes them a little more unique to me since most Boxster owners will not be installing them anytime soon...Ha Ha!

now that front end looks really nice...

I could not see me widening the rear but that front end with the right sides could look really nice.

Thanks for posting.

Where did you find that?

wait a minute...that front end is widened as well, correct?

that would be nice, but that will prove to be more work than I could justify one month after purchasing...Ha Ha

...but that does showcase similar rims in an extreme setup. Thanks again for posting.

Its from Gemballausa.com

I was looking at their interior bits and those wheels^ reminded me of yours.
I think they do have a set of fenders on Ebay right now. NOT CHEAP!
I'd do a Turbo headlight (aka 02-04 911 Facelift) conversion before considereing
the Gemballa look.

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I can't tell if the wheels are higher BUT I like the look of the wheels more than yours.