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My new-to-me CPO 2012 GTS cab has factory Carrera Sports in GT Silver. I hunted and hunted for a 5-lug GTS cab after advice from a GT3 owner about the impracticality of CL wheels on the street. Love the car...can't imagine ever wanting anything else...
There is an entire write-up on the process (with pictures) and parts needed in the February issue of Excellence. The conversion was for GT3 CL's to a 5 lug set up but I suppose that the conversion is very much the same for a GTS. The article listed the parts required (mostly from Sun Coast) as "$1,954.62 with race stud upgrade, less cost of new five-lug wheels", and "Total Price, Labor[:] $1,500 ($125/hour x 12 hours)"
I had the 5 lug conversion done on my GTS when I bought it because I have one set of 19" Champion wheels for street use and two sets of 18" CCW track wheels I wanted to be able to use. I paid a little more than what Tcc posted due to higher parts pricing from the local dealer parts dept. I have a set of the black RS Spyder CL wheels with nearly new tires and TPMS BTW if anyone is looking for a set.
There are some advantages to the CL wheels. They are forged and are lighter and stronger than other Porsche factory alloys. Also, given that a special tool and 444 ft/lbs of torque are required to remove them, they are unlikely to be stolen.
Don't fool yourself - anyone in the "business" of stealing Porsche wheels will have the necessary tools to do so (truck with portable compressor, high-torque air gun with proper socket tool, etc), and to my knowledge there isn't a locking option for the CL nut, and now they only need to remove 4 nuts in true pit-crew fashion. Besides, locking nuts do virtually nothing but inconvenience the owner as a Gator Grip socket will lock on without any trouble. If someone is going to steal your wheels, they're going to steal your wheels.
Also, I believe center locks have a service interval specified for the pins/nubs on the wheel carrier that the wheels rest on. I also don't think there's a slider pin available for the center lock spindle to be able to slide the wheel off and away from the car so you don't risk it falling and chipping a PCCB rotor.
I don't see any upside to having centerlocks on a street car vs. the 5 lug setup, other than the "looks cool" reason.
Hi,
I do have a GTS with the Carrera sport option. It was option code XRR, and they are painted metallicblack. They obviously ARE NOT the same as for the normal Carrera 2 as not only the wheel center in black was only available for the GTS but more importanty the rear offset is 50mm instead of 67mm. What I like most about this setup is, however the fact, that the wheels are both wider and have a lower offset then the center locks, AND you can add a wheel spacer, which you can't on center locks (15mm on mine) plus you can use the really nice looking Porsche Fuchs clones (Sport Classic) wheels...
Just acquired a 2012 GTS last week, one owner 8400 miles, all service at the same Porsche dealer. I was attracted to this one because it was optioned with the 19" Carrera Sport Wheels, full leather and the Aerokit Cup. I want to track the car and thought it would be much easier and quicker to change out the wheels/tires with the lugs
Don't fool yourself - anyone in the "business" of stealing Porsche wheels will have the necessary tools to do so (truck with portable compressor, high-torque air gun with proper socket tool, etc), and to my knowledge there isn't a locking option for the CL nut, and now they only need to remove 4 nuts in true pit-crew fashion. Besides, locking nuts do virtually nothing but inconvenience the owner as a Gator Grip socket will lock on without any trouble. If someone is going to steal your wheels, they're going to steal your wheels.
You are 100 percent correct! But here's the thing, I'm thinking that anyone in the business of stealing wheels, and who would invest in the tools needed to undertake such an enterprise, should also know the limited market for CL wheels. So the safety factor isn't that they are hard to remove but that no one wants them (in other words, demand is low). Think about it, there are +\- 6,000 GTSs (997) in the world plus, what, another 6,000 GT models with CLs. Then maybe another 6,000 991 iterations. So, 18,000 cars with CLs compared to the hundereds of thousands, if not millions, of cars of all brands with five lugs. Plus, what percentage of those 18,000 CL owners would even have access to stolen CLs.
No, the smart thief, if he/she were going to steal CLs would do so for the tires - but that's dumb too because they'd be taking full risk (theft) for half the gain (that is if they stole a five lug they could sell both tires and rims). In my mind I have a vision of some CL owner parking their car somewhere, only to return finding the car stolen but the CLs sitting there untouched.
11-24-2016, 03:25 PM
