My area has some fairly rough roads, and I’ve had the misfortune of accidentally bending my rims a couple of times now. I’m unclear whether this is just the thin tires or if the lobster claws are just less durable than other rims. Any insight on this?

 

2009 C2S 185K miles

Yea, tough question. I bent my 19" rims around Philadelphia a bunch of times and had them re-worked and re-worked. I was always concerned about metal fatigue.

Read about my final straw here: https://rennlist.com/forums/997-foru...on-please.html

Most of my bends were pointed out to me by the tire shops balancing my wheels. The link above shows a horrible bend that I had repaired. The shop said "no problem" and they did a great job, but I was worried. So when I needed new tires, I ditched the 19" rims and moved to my winter 18" Porsche wheels and could not be happier. You would think the 18" wheels, only driven in winter for all these years, would have bent... like never. So, I am totally happy with my 18" wheels... I always liked the look of them over the 19" style anyway.

Sorry, not much help here, but I get it, this is a hard decision. Let me throw out an idea.... if it is a bad bend like mine above, then I say one repair is fine, second bend then ditch the wheel. For those minor, out of round bends, maybe three times per wheel. I base this opinion on... nothing.

For purchasing a Porsche wheel, contact one of the many wheel shops that sell those crazy wheels to those who love wheels. These shops usually keep the wheels and resell them as "take offs" and they are usually in great shape and low mileage. That is how I picked up my 18" wheels from a big tire and wheel shop in Wilmington DE, Sports Car Tire.

Peace
Bruce in Philly (now Atlanta)

 

Probably not what you want to hear but the lobsters are cast wheels and more prone to bending than forged wheels. So not knowing just how bad your roads are, to minimize...not necessarily eliminate exposure to bending, forged wheels are stronger (and lighter) than cast wheels and won't bend as easily.

As you've probably guessed already, there's a price to pay for this. Forged wheels are typically twice the cost of cast wheels. Sometimes more, sometimes less depending on brand and quality. I think this is a good example of the old cliche that you get what you pay for. My forged Forgelines are about $1,700 a piece last I checked so close to $7K for a set of four.

 

I live in the Northeast and drive my 997 on weekends all year long. I have the Lobster fork wheels on my car and haven’t had a problem but I try my best to not hit any potholes which is a task here since our roads are not great in the winters due to the salt thrown on the road which creates potholes. A friend had forged Fikse wheels on his 997 and he bent them and it was a pain having to have those wheels repaired as they were 2 or 3 piece wheels (can’t remember). He now runs the stock wheels on his 997 and is trying to sell the Fikses. Point being, if you are gonna be hitting potholes, regardless of what wheel you are running, you will probably damage the wheel.

Another thing to consider…I had forged wheels on a Boxster before and while I never bent them, I was always worried that if I did, it would be more of a pain to repair them (they were 2 piece wheels), and source a replacement versus an OEM wheel. You can find a spare lobster wheel easily and for pretty reasonable prices. The forged wheels do tend to look cooler though, as they usually have fancier designs.

 

I'd get some forged wheels that will be much stronger than the cast lobsters.

 

Time to buy a new house in neighborhood with nice smooth pavement.
Lobster Forks or Death

 

i pancaked one hitting a pot hole in the shadow of an over pass doing about 90. it wasnt a very enjoyable experience. ive bent wheels before, but just like the 997, this time was special. ended up getting a set from champion motorsports, so far those have held up really well over about 30k miles

 

Bend on Chicago roads 😔