ELUSIVE

I was standing in the Porsche showroom the other day and a 2005 997 with the 18" wheels was parked right next to a 2004 Boxster S with the 5 spoke 18" wheels.

The tire profile seemed much greater on the 997 than on the Boxster. Based on that, I just did some research on the tires sizes of the 2004 Boxster and the new 2005 Boxster and here's what I found:

2004 Boxster with 18's
Front - 225/40/18 - sidewall is 90 mm
Rear - 265/35/18 - sidewall is 92.75 mm

2005 Boxster with 19's
Front - 235/35/19 - sidewall is 82.25 mm
Rear - 265/35/19 - sidewall is 92.75 mm

You can see that the actual size of the sidewall for the new 19's is almost identical to that of the previous generations 18's.

So as far as potential for bending a 19" wheel i'd say that it's not any greater. I can't however say anything about the performance pros/cons of the 19's due to increases weight, etc.

Stacey

MikeN

It looks like the fronts may be a tad more susceptible to bending than the 18"s with 8 mm less sidewall.

Not only do you have to worry about bending a wheel......but getting a bubble in the side of a tire by hitting a road dot, pot hole, etc. This is caused by pinching the tire sidewall between the obstacle and the rim.....common with very low profile tires/large diameter rims. If you do get a bubble (break in sidewall belts) the tire has to be replaced pure and simple.

All in all......be careful with either the 18"s or 19"s........as they can both suffer these problems.