Porsche 5 spoke wheels & Boxster fitment

[soopster]

I am looking at a used set of original Porsche wheels for my 2002 Boxster. They are the 5 spoke 18 inch porsche wheels.

They are 18 x 8 offset 37 on the front and 18 x 10 offset 58 on the rear.

Does anyone have the same wheels on their Boxster? Any rubbing on the inside or the outside? Would I need spacers?

I spoke with Parts at the Porsche dealer and he said it will be tight on the rear since the Boxster S came with 18 x 9 only. He said he's not sure whether it will rub or not and not sure if it does rub whether spacers would help.

[macsak]

18X7.5 offset 50 in front

18X9 offset 52 in rear

stock 2004 550 SE w/stock 5mm spacers

search the archives here to see what to do

lots of people have used the 996 rims, but i can't remember what they did to make them fit

aloha

steve

I am looking at a used set of original Porsche wheels for my 2002 Boxster. They are the 5 spoke 18 inch porsche wheels.

They are 18 x 8 offset 37 on the front and 18 x 10 offset 58 on the rear.

Does anyone have the same wheels on their Boxster? Any rubbing on the inside or the outside? Would I need spacers?

I spoke with Parts at the Porsche dealer and he said it will be tight on the rear since the Boxster S came with 18 x 9 only. He said he's not sure whether it will rub or not and not sure if it does rub whether spacers would help.

[ff42racer]

Call wheel enhancement. They can tell you if they will work.

[McCullough]

I am looking at a used set of original Porsche wheels for my 2002 Boxster. They are the 5 spoke 18 inch porsche wheels.

They are 18 x 8 offset 37 on the front and 18 x 10 offset 58 on the rear.

Does anyone have the same wheels on their Boxster? Any rubbing on the inside or the outside? Would I need spacers?

I spoke with Parts at the Porsche dealer and he said it will be tight on the rear since the Boxster S came with 18 x 9 only. He said he's not sure whether it will rub or not and not sure if it does rub whether spacers would help.

Try out the wheel offset calculator at http://www.1010tires.com/WheelOffsetCalculator.asp.

--- Tom

[soopster]

Thanks for the replies. I'm too nervous about the 10 inch rears that they will fit properly, so I think I'm going to pass on these rims.

I had been on 1010tires.com before but didn't find that calculator. That's a great tool. Shows me that I would be adding quite a bit of width to the rear.

Has anyone noticed that Goodyear doesn't seem to make 17 inch G3 DS tires anymore that fit the boxster? I've been on Tire Rack and Goodyear's site and can't find those tires anymore. Looks like I will stick with the Michelin PS tires instead.

[jmatta]

The 10" rears will work with a spacers of 10mm to 12mm...the fronts, with an offset of 37 won't work no matter what (I'm trying to figure out what these wheels came off of ?)

For what it's worth, I run 18x8 et 50 front and 18x10 et 47 rear on my '02 S without issue (car is lowered).

[70Sixter]

I believe they are from 996 S.

[jmatta]

Porsche didn't make a 996 S, only a 4S. 996's all had a front wheel offset of 50mm.

[azzar0]

For what it's worth, I run 18x8 et 50 front and 18x10 et 47 rear on my '02 S without issue (car is lowered).

I just put 18x8 et 50 front and 18x10 et 42 rear on my '98 base. (with Michelin Pilot Sport PS2s).

I had to tie the hand brake cables to the longitudinal axle (as per Porsche's bulletin) as it was touching the rear tires - did you have to do that too on your '02 S?

[soopster]

Ok, I'm on to another option. An online store out of Canada offers these wheels which are duplicates of the Porsche 5 spoke wheels. They say they are made with the correct offset and would be a perfect fit for 2002 Boxster without spacers.

Fronts 18 x 8, offset 50, 225/40R18 tires

Rears 18 x 10, offset 47, 265/35R18 tires

Any thoughts on this option?

Here is their web site with the page for these wheels:

http://www.carmodifier.com/default.asp?Act...mp;wheelID=1316

Edited February 25, 2009 by soopster

[jmatta]

For what it's worth, I run 18x8 et 50 front and 18x10 et 47 rear on my '02 S without issue (car is lowered).

I just put 18x8 et 50 front and 18x10 et 42 rear on my '98 base. (with Michelin Pilot Sport PS2s).

I had to tie the hand brake cables to the longitudinal axle (as per Porsche's bulletin) as it was touching the rear tires - did you have to do that too on your '02 S?

Yes, noticed it immediately. I used some heavy duty black cable ties to pull them to the control arm...problem solved.

soopster, I think if you looks around, you can get Carrera lightweights (replicas) for less than than that (made in Italy).

One source that comes to mind is Wheel Dynamics.

[azzar0]

For what it's worth, I run 18x8 et 50 front and 18x10 et 47 rear on my '02 S without issue (car is lowered).

I just put 18x8 et 50 front and 18x10 et 42 rear on my '98 base. (with Michelin Pilot Sport PS2s).

I had to tie the hand brake cables to the longitudinal axle (as per Porsche's bulletin) as it was touching the rear tires - did you have to do that too on your '02 S?

Yes, noticed it immediately. I used some heavy duty black cable ties to pull them to the control arm...problem solved.

soopster, I think if you looks around, you can get Carrera lightweights (replicas) for less than than that (made in Italy).

One source that comes to mind is Wheel Dynamics.

I don't want to hijack this post, but this is relevant to this discussion, I think.

I noticed that at high speeds, if I go over bumps, I hear a 'rubbing' noise from the back. I am assuming it's the tires hitting the shock plate, but I am not sure. This only happens at high speeds (over 75MPH) and bumpy roads. The noise only lasts a fraction of a second and I only heard it twice in ~ 100 miles with the new wheels / tires.

Since my rear offset is 42, that means that the height of the tire is less than a 47 offset, and sightly wider. According to Porsche all Boxsters '98 - '04 can 'wear' 18x10 in the rear, as long as the parking brake cable is tied up.

Should I be worried about the tires touching the plates (even though it doesn't happen often enough)?

Should I get spacers? If so, what size? I went with a 42 offset to make sure that I have more room vertically and I really don't want to push the tires out any more than they are...

What are my options?

Thanks!

[jmatta]

You are likely hitting the inside...5mm spacers may do the trick and still keep your wheels from sticking out too far. See if anyone can lend you a spacer just to try.

[Brad Roberts]

The aftermarket replica's are about 4-5lbs heavier than the stocker's This may not sound like much, but you are talking about wheels that are in the 20lb range as it is stock!!

B

[soopster]

Re "soopster, I think if you looks around, you can get Carrera lightweights (replicas) for less than than that (made in Italy)."

Remember the vendor is Canadian, so it's $CAN. I think the price is slightly high but I would need to add 20% $ conversion, higher shipping and import duty/customs fees if I ordered from the US. The joys of living in Canada ....

I will take a look at Wheel Dynamics though. Thanks.

Edited February 26, 2009 by soopster