It might've been Walter Röhrl who said the best handling wheels are 18s...

Clavate type insect antennae:
[bugguide.net]


Blivet or the Mad Poiuyt: (structurally unfeasible)
[upload.wikimedia.org]

Tongs:
[remodelista.com]


Tuning fork: (my guess)
[www.ncnm.edu]

And the wheel on the car at the Porsche configurator:
[www.porsche.com]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/25/2012 06:14PM by Laz. (view changes)

It's entirely subjective, but that particular wheel wouldn't be my #1 choice.

Other wheel options can be seen by selecting the 'build my Cayman' tab.

Laz, do you have an ETA or ETB (build) for your 981? Have you chosen a colour?

May build. Agate Grey/blue/Yachting Blue. As it is, I think 19s are too big, even with Porsche selling them as being more comfortable. Getting Torque Vectoring for the LSD, and PTV requires PASM, which in turn ought to help the ride, as my understanding is that the lowest setting of the Normal range is softer than the stock suspension. I'm not crazy about the permanently reduced ground clearance though, as a real world consideration. Other options, too, but more later. Oh, and of the wheels styles I "least don't like" the 19s anyway. Fuchs, baby... maybe someday.

My 987 has PASM and 17" wheels. As out of step as it might be with today's marketplace, I actually wanted 17' wheels, in anticipation they'd offer a smoother ride on our local rough roads. I'm pleased with the taller sidewalls, and the together with the 'normal' PASM setting, the ride is comfortable. (I've since changed over to Cayman 17's, as I prefer their 'look'.) The wheels are shod with PS2's.

On those rare occasions when I'm travelling on a smooth roads, or at higher-than-average speeds, or super-twisty back-roads, PASM on 'sport' gives the car go-cart responsiveness. I've read that the newest generation of PASM is even better. It isn't cheap, but if I were ordering a Pcar, I'd tick the box.

as a compromise between sidewall height and weight, etc. I don't think he was prioritizing ride comfort or the wheels' susceptibility to damage. Anybody here drive the Gowanus through Brooklyn in the last three or four decades?



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 02/26/2012 06:05PM by Laz. (view changes)

I recall reading that, and I don't doubt it. As between 17" wheels and 18" wheels, I prefer the look of 18's. At some point, large diameter wheels look plain silly. 18's don't, and even 19's probably look ok on a Boxster, though I cringe thinking of the likely damage when a pothole is hit. Whenever I'm in prosperous southern states, I'm SO envious of roads there that feel smooth as glass...

Knowing how rough local roads are here, I knew a harsh ride would bother me more than losing a small fraction of handling near the limit

which may not be the most prosperous state by any means, but as I've said before, traffic enforcement is very heavy, hence the revenues to keep the roads in good repair.

Forged rims ought to be a consideration with at least 18s and above. It could help with weight, too, so as to counteract the otherwise increase in mass. Not sure if Fuchs would look right on a modern Porsche, like a lot of their 60s and 70s colors, but then again, there ought to be more flat color choices.

You mean the Robert Byrd expressway which has the Robert Byrd Interchange leading to the Robert Byrd .....

The roads are great considering the weather and terrain but the reason they are so great is your tax dollars...your as in the other 49 states taxpayers. Pork.

How true--the best highway the other 49 states could afford. Say what you will about Robert Byrd, but he brought home the "bacon".

When I bought my 2008 I actually had them swap out the 19s they had on the car for 18s for this reason.

Minus 40 degrees... Is that Fahrenheit or Celsius?

Quote
Laz
as a compromise between sidewall height and weight, etc. I don't think he was prioritizing ride comfort or the wheels' susceptibility to damage. Anybody here drive the Gowanus through Brooklyn in the last three or four decades?

235/45/18 and 265/45/18 vs. the 235/40 and 265/40/18 on the 987. A bit taller ( I thought the sidewall on the std car in the configuration looked pretty thick). The bad news--right now anyway--is that according to TR, Dunlop is the only band with with size in the performance category. I'd expect that to change, but it may take a while. I would hope that Michelin would offer the SS as a OE tire on this car.

Your car looks great, Roger.

BTW, I think 17" wheels make great sense for highway driving, especially if you don't have PASM, which gives you a softer ride in the standard setting. My only beef with Porsche 17" rims is that they had tended to be narrow on the 987 series (down to 6.5" widths vs. 7" widths on the 986) which limits what sizes and brands/types of tires you could put on the car.

Thanks.

Highways here tend to be much smoother than secondary and local roads - that's where the bad bumps are.

You're right - tire options for the 17" wheels are limited. Fortunately, the PS2's (approved for the Boxster) are terrific tires. The only criticism I've ever heard is they aren't inexpensive.

Although I'd like a slightly wider tire, I've installed H&R spacers (7 mm front and 15mm rear) to widen the track and improve the aesthetics, though obviously they don't change the shape of the tire contact patch.

My aim is to have the car set up for potential all-weather use over long, meaning cross-continental distances. Ergo: PDLS* headlights; PASM; PTV; Convenience Package (windstop, auto AC, heated seats) ; seat ventilation, smoking package (for covered compartment and additional** 12V source.) Painted wheel caps (the side view needs a touch more color, and to help the transition from the Agate Grey Metallic to red calipers.) As previously mentioned: blue top and Yachting Blue partial leather interior.) Lastly, model deletion***. The tail is on the verge of being too busy looking, and I feel the model designation is just crammed in. The important word is still there, and it's a nice homage to a more traditional look. If there was simply "981" that might be ok, but then there's the Cayman's identical designation. The Boxster S order designation is "981330" but that would be a bit much, too. And speaking of tradition, I'm getting the 6-speed stick.

* IMPORTANT NOTE for prospective buyers: Bi-Xenons themselves are standard equipment; it's the dynamic system (PDLS) that's optional.
** Near as I can tell the primary one, along with the Aux connector, is in the glove compartment, an odd choice.
***Another note to prospective buyers: when using the 3D configurator, you'll see that the vertical position of "PORSCHE" changes depending on having the model script or not. The 3D view will also show the ride height change with PASM.

ps: I did a little creative letterspacing to avoid having semi-colon/parenthesis combinations turning into winky smilies.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/28/2012 11:11AM by Laz. (view changes)

I'd consider the Porsche Nav system. Not inexpensive, but so well integrated, and allowing excellent iPod interface.

There are, of course contrary views - that a good Garmin will offer excellent nav capabilities and trip programming. But in terms of overall integration, the factory system is superior, and I find not having to disconnect and store a separate GPS every time I leave the car to be a big plus.

* At the 2011 BRBS, Julie and I won the prize for furthest distance travelled.

Daniel Boone who, when asked if he had ever been lost, replied, "No, I can't say as ever I was lost, but I was bewildered once for three days."

Ok, maybe I'll get a cheap Garmin.

I really like my Garmin Nuvi. But, you should also look into the TomTom. You can download different voices for a TomTom, such as Homer Simpson or Mr. T. Portable ones are a hassel as you don't want to leave any indication that you have a portable GPS in your car (window or dash mount). Criminals smash windows all the time if they see any signs of a portable Nav in a car. it's a quick $50 and a real mess for you to clean up. Those glass pebbles get everywhere and can take years to finally get rid of them all. My boss left his dash mount in the car and his window go smashed.

1) from the configurator,it looks like the mesh screen in the hoops is the only wind-blocker, there doesn't seem to be a clear piece if Lexan between the hoops--is that true?

2) You can't order heated seat separately, but have to get the package?

3) no storage panel below the roll bar?

BTW, the video content on the configurator works very well--best of luck with the new car.

1. Just the mesh. And it looks like the grid pieces within the roll hoops are standard. An advantage of the mesh ought to be less internal reflection interfering with the rear view, and possibly better air circulation to keep the rear window clear. Maybe it alleviates drag a bit, too.
2. No separate heated seats, but a heated wheel is available as a standalone. The 3 items in the Convenience Package are what I want anyway.
3. Using a light colored interior for clarity, and displaying at full screen shows no rear bin. But hey, there's a glove compartment!

The video content is good, but color renditions are mediocre and misleading. I know color matching is tricky business, especially with metallics, but still...
And in my particular case, Agate Grey's value looks almost ok in 2D, but the 3D darkens it down to something like Carbon Grey. The color can be much better discerned in photographs of Carreras that are elsewhere on the net. Look for Teamspeed and the Niello Porsche sites for examples.

Not a pun: I'm not sure what Niello is showing, as the text says the Carrera is Agate/black. Going by images elsewhere, the pictured car could still be Agate, but the interior shown is gray. A lot of the shots are overexposed, so that needs to be taken into account. It ticks me off that a lot of car dealer websites are careless about what they are representing. Don't show a picture if it's not a proper representation! Assuming the Teamspeed site got the naming right, Agate is fairly light, possibly close to the old Seal Grey. Until I see the Porsche color in the flesh in natural light, I'm thinking it looks like many of the other pewter-ish looking grays that are popular these days. Not a "popular" car, but I saw an Italia in gray metallic at Lime Rock, and it was a jaw-dropper.

[www.youtube.com]

[www.youtube.com]

Yeah, I think so, and the voiceover in the second video says so. Nice two-tone interior combination which harkens back to the 60s 911s. The full leather requirement is way over my budget though. I think he revved a little higher and longer with the Sport Exhaust on, biasing the resultant sound a bit. Good videos in any case, and nice to hear something besides head-banging or Euro-trash disco music that somehow are de rigueur for car videos. Wonder what ensemble that was... sounded like Old French maybe...