EBacon

Hey folks! I'm the happy owner of an '06 Cayman S with nice go-fast goodies like PASM & Sport Chrono. (Pictures forthcoming soon! See here for one early shot: http://ebacon.posterous.com/welcome-...mily-ma-cherie). But its wheels are 19" and the tires are beyond dead. I'm dying to vrooom so I'm looking to gear up quickly with two sets of 18" wheels & two sets of tires, one for year-round driving and one for autocross competition (and maybe a couple track days a year).

I'm mainly looking for advice on the year-round wheels & tires which I need first. I live in Portland, Oregon and have to deal with rainy, cool winters. (I won't drive the car in snow or ice.) My big questions:

1) Where can I get some good deals on the Porsche OEM wheels?
2) Are Michelin Pilot Sports a good way to go?
3) I'm also having trouble figuring out the 18" stock [Edit, said "tire" but meant "wheel"] wheel width. Are they 8.5" front, 9" rear??
4) I think I want the O.Z. Alleggerita HLT for stock autox competition. Are these non-forged wheels liable to break if used on a track day, though?

Your insights greatly appreciated! Also, I will be selling the 19" wheels along with the TPMS technology in case anybody's in the market.

Cheers,
Liz

Dave DE

I've been happy with the 18" Michelin PS2's that came on my car for wet or dry road use in non-winter conditions. They are designed for summer only, not knowing your winter temps, I'm not sure if they would suit you year round.

You can frequently find 'take off' wheels with tires on various enthusiast web sites or that auction site. That's where I found my extra set of wheels with PS2's on them. Just make sure that the person selling will package them well for shipment.

You might want to hold off getting rid of your 19" wheels until you nail down your tire choice. Cayman sizes are not widely available in track tires, so it would be nice to be able to choose either 19" or 18" sizes.

Have fun with the new car!
Dave

KS-CS

1. Used and take-offs frequently come up in the Classifieds on Planet-9.com. You could also check with WheelEnhancement.com who sells lightly used and new take-off OEMs (as well as replicas).

2. I have had both PS2s and Bridgestone RE050As on my car - I am slightly partial to the Bridgestones for their wet weather performance, but the PS2s are great tires also. In any case, once you get below 40F, you need to start thinking about winter or AS tires.

3. If you actually mean the wheel width, the stock 18" wheels are 8" F and 9.5" R.

4. O.Z. makes high quality wheels, so I don't think that there would be any problem using them on the track, IMO. Many people run the OEM wheels on the track, which usually aren't forged either.

PDQ PDK CAYMAN S

1st look at the auto cross rules for showroom stock vs modified as to what tires you can use. It seem like you may have done that homework. If you are just begining you may want to consider the street tires for a while. Jacking the car up and changing tires for a few 2 min runs is bunch of work.
2nd if you purchased your car from a Porsche dealer and made a friend, they will sell you take offs. That is the first place to look for a set of 18"

Bill Lehman

Last year I found a nice set of 18" Cayman S wheels with PS2s on Ebay. Planet 9 now has a direct link to Ebay for Porsche items. Rear stock 18" wheels are 9".

EBacon

So, further research indicates that the stock 18" wheel width is 8" F, 9" R. That's what you see when you shop for OEM wheels, anyways.

For the street, I bought a set of the O.Z. Alleggherita in Anthracite to go with my Arctic Silver Metallic car, and the Michelin Pilot Sport PS2s. I figure the lightweight wheels are nice no matter what, and I wanted something darker to coordinate with the shiny bright body (the OEM silver wasn't quite a match).

For autocross, I'll probably buy another set of the O.Z. wheels, and whatever R-compounds I can get the best deal on. The V710s were nice on my Miata back in the day.... W00t!

Anybody have a lead on a very good P-car friendly alignment shop in Portland, Oregon??

Cheers,
Liz