I'm not talking literally *NM*

I have a 2011 Boxster S on 18 inch wheels and tires with PASM.
I find the ride rather soft on the normal setting and too harsh on the sport setting.
Has anyone had experience going to the 20 inch wheels?
Did you find the ride harsh?
Potholes a problem?

I'm interested in anyone's experience.

Thanks

With our old 987.1 with PASM, I thought normal was a bit soft also but it paid off on long interstate drives or on rough road surfaces; this was with GY F1 and PS2 tires.
With Nitto NT05s, the ride firmed up a bit, so I'm thinking an 18 " tire with a firmer sidewall might get you where you want to go w/o a change of rims (RE-11/Yoko AD 08R).

Soft is good if its controlled. Using harder tires just to get more impact from a soft suspension seems to be masochistic, without complementary benefit.

Are you missing steering response? That will eb the main benefit of stiffer sidewalls.

If, on the other hand steering response and stability is good with your existing tires (easy to tell on sport mode), then what is the benefit, aside from noise, impact and wear?

Grant

Grant

gee-lenahan-at-gee-mail-dot-com

Mike and Grant had some good suggestions.

Something else to consider is tire pressure. Not sure how closely you monitor it, but a few PSI can make a difference. With my 06 987 on 18" wheels, standard suspension, I used to run about 2 lb more all around than what was recommended in the manual to firm up the ride a bit.

Thanks to all for the replies.
The handling of the 18 inch is fine, and more than I am liable to need until I take him (Hoden) to the track.
I also run the tires a few pounds over recommended pressure.

I am thinking of going to the 20 inch wheels and tires for the look, as long as I have to change them, I thought bigger would look better.
Guess I am just vain.
I am most worried that I would be unhappy with the ride and be stuck.

Bill

I guess I am getting too old to be smitten by fads. I don't find the rubber band over a spool to be good looking... I totally don't get it.

I have 19" on my 2009 C2S and when these Michelins wear down, I am tossing these rims and moving to 18"s. I think the ride on these larger wheels is just dumb. They are hard but not "performance hard". I can't describe it but they are just "bad hard".

And.... last year I bent a Porsche 19" rim. Never in near 40 years of driving have I ever bent a rim.

Peace
Bruce in Philly

- bend
- ride badly
- weigh more/ unsprung weight
- no evidence that they handle better 9 C&D did a +1, +2 test and found it worse)
- IMO more un-natural steering feel (less feel of slip angle and sidewall angle climbing)
- costlier tires, often by a lot

17 for me, tracl or otherwise!

Grant

Grant

gee-lenahan-at-gee-mail-dot-com

I don't intend to insult someones sense of aesthetics..... your taste is your taste..... nothing wrong with that.

But.... living in and near a big American city like Philly, I see where some of the trends in fashion come from..... I saw the young folks in the city with super chrome wheels before anyone else.... a few years later, Porsche is offering them as an option. Then I saw the big spools and rubber-band tires on the kid's cars.... now Porsche is offering them also. What is next Porsche, spinners?

Sorry, I just can't like what I see as an exaggeration going for good looks (yes, I don't like silicone either). There is a big difference between fashion and style. I tend to buy my clothes at Brooks Brothers..... yikes! Old, dull and boring? Maybe to the kids, never in fashion but always in style.

Peace
Bruce in Philly



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/15/2014 09:59AM by Bruce In Philly (2000 S Boxster, now '09 C2S). (view changes)

Bruce, I like it.

Permission to reuse your "never in fashion, but always in style" tagline?

Quote
Spanky
Bruce, I like it.

Permission to reuse your "never in fashion, but always in style" tagline?

Sure, but I will have talk to my mom. I will speak for her so go ahead. The perspective about style vs fashion has been around for ever.... It is one of those perspectives that need to be communicated to young people. What do you think of those prom dresses and tux pics in the '70s...??? Pretty terrifying eh? A good question to ask yourself about anything fashionable you buy today.... what will I think of what I did 10 years from now.

Peace
Bruce in Philly

For me there is an optimal appearance when relating wheel size to brake rotor size. I like the look when the rotors nicely fill the wheel. When the wheels make the rotors look tiny, that just sucks, especially on a Porsche.

... make sure your rotors are 19".
I hate seeing a puny rotor inside a gigantic wheel.
Happy Porscheing
Pedro

Pedro Bonilla
1998 Boxster 986 - 311,000+ miles: [www.PedrosGarage.com]
PCA National Club Racing Scrutineer - PCA National HPDE Instructor - PCA Technical Committee (Boxster/Cayman)

---

Racecar spelled backwards is Racecar

"Racing is life. Anything before or after is just waiting" ... Steve McQueen as Michael Delaney in "LeMans"

"If you wait, all that happens is that you get older"... Mario Andretti

"Being second is to be the first of the ones who lose" ... Ayrton Senna




Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/16/2014 09:52AM by Pedro (Weston, FL). (view changes)

19" wheels over 20" rotors

G

Grant

gee-lenahan-at-gee-mail-dot-com

Quote
Pedro (Weston, FL)
... make sure your rotors are 19".
I hate seeing a puny rotor inside a gigantic wheel.
Happy Porscheing
Pedro

I think you'd be "hard pressed" to fit 20" wheels over 19" rotors. ...and of course, being picky, I also like to have room for calipers and brake pads fitted to those rotors.

Unless I misunderstand it, the wheel size is determined by the diameter of the wheel, measured from the place where the tire bead meets the wheel. Then the inside diameter of the wheel, where the rotor sits, would be even less.

Pedro Bonilla
1998 Boxster 986 - 311,000+ miles: [www.PedrosGarage.com]
PCA National Club Racing Scrutineer - PCA National HPDE Instructor - PCA Technical Committee (Boxster/Cayman)

---

Racecar spelled backwards is Racecar

"Racing is life. Anything before or after is just waiting" ... Steve McQueen as Michael Delaney in "LeMans"

"If you wait, all that happens is that you get older"... Mario Andretti

"Being second is to be the first of the ones who lose" ... Ayrton Senna

To be devil's advocate, last year in Excellence, a Porsche engineer said the larger wheels allowed them to run lower air pressures resulting in a.better ride and improved handling.

you must reduce the size of the tire correspondingly to the increase in the wheel, resulting in the opposite.

Context is everything

Grant

Grant

gee-lenahan-at-gee-mail-dot-com

It looks as though you're not getting mountains of support for the idea of moving to 20" wheels.

And I, too, am one of the naysayers. But, having said that, do what makes you happy. Truly.

Guenter has 20" wheels on his 981, and they offer a remarkably compliant ride, even with his sport suspension, though that may well be a product of the 981's overall recalibrated suspension.

Like Grant, I prefer 17" wheels. For me, the tall sidewalls absorb wonderfully the otherwise harsh impacts generated by poor roads.

And when I'm on smooth roads at BRBS, pressing the sport PASM button allows me to keep up with the other guys in the twisties, with very little drama in the way of body roll, or undue weight shifting. Even with 17" wheels, the car's handling capabilities far exceed my own.

Quote
Roger987
It looks as though you're not getting mountains of support for the idea of moving to 20" wheels.

And I, too, am one of the naysayers. But, having said that, do what makes you happy. Truly.

Guenter has 20" wheels on his 981, and they offer a remarkably compliant ride, even with his sport suspension, though that may well be a product of the 981's overall recalibrated suspension.

Like Grant, I prefer 17" wheels. For me, the tall sidewalls absorb wonderfully the otherwise harsh impacts generated by poor roads.

And when I'm on smooth roads at BRBS, pressing the sport PASM button allows me to keep up with the other guys in the twisties, with very little drama in the way of body roll, or undue weight shifting. Even with 17" wheels, the car's handling capabilities far exceed my own.

I think you've said it well, Roger.

I'm not even sure how 20" wheels would look on a 987.

The 981 has different wheel arches, designed for larger wheels. I'm not sure how 20" wheels would ride on a 987. Porsche has made a lot of chassis development from the 987 to the 981. I believe part of the design was to accommodate larger wheels. Had there been a 19" wheel that suited my eye for the 981, I'd have happily taken it. For me, spokes on a wheel need to get narrower toward the outside of the wheel to look right. That's why I chose the wheels I did. Neither the Boxster S or Cayman S wheels suited my taste. 18" where not an option with the S. That said, If I had to drive your roads in PEI most of the time, I would have gone with one of the 19" wheels and PASM instead of sports suspension. I've driven those pock marked strips you call roads in PEI.

Although PEI is beautiful, the road surfaces aren't. With a clay base, there's massive frost-heaving and damage every winter/spring.

Sometimes the best drive here is the one to Confederation Bridge.

[www.confederationbridge.com]