Been reading a lot about the CLs on the 997 GTS/GT3/Turbo etc. since I'm considering a car with CL's but after all my research I'm slightly hesitant about it now.

1. Changing wheels will be a pain from the procedures I've read. Grease, huge breaker bars, tq wrenches that can tq up to 440ft lbs, clamp or a friend to hold the brakes, etc. Do you guys with CL's who change your own wheels find this to be significantly more of a hassle than 5 lugs or do you get the hang of it after a while?

2. Wheel selection seems to be quite limited especially for a winter set. Is it even possible to get an 18" winter set for the GTS? The only set I can find in 18" are the OZ Challenge CL on tirerack which coincidentally would work well for NT01's as well for HPDE's.

3. Track failure keeps coming up in my research as well with some GT3's having the hub break apart on track. If I plan to do HPDE's will CL's really be an issue? Also the maintenance interval seems to be another additional concern since the whole system has to be replaced every 15,000 km or something.

Should these potential issues stop me from considering a GTS with CL's despite being optioned just how I'd like it to be? Do I wait for the perfect 5-lug GTS to come along, deal with the CL, or change out the whole system to 5-lug (added expense and work would discouraging).

 

Failures were due to improperly maintained and torque center lock nuts. This happened when they first came out on GT3. Since then the GT3 hub was redesigned and torque spec changed...no more issues. GTS and Turbo came out after hub change so no issues with those.

 

Ah I see, thanks for the clarification. Is there still the same maintenance interval for the current center-locks though?

 

I believe there is an "enhanced" or more frequent maintenance requirement if you track your car with CL wheels.

 

Personally I'd rather have 5 lug than CL but if I found a GTS optioned the way I wanted except for CL's, I wouldn't let their presence deter me.

 

Does anyone know of a reasonable 18" CL wheel for winter use? The only one I can seem to find is the OZ Challenge on tirerack and those are really track wheels.

 

Keep your eyes peeled for a set of OEM 19" centrelocks to use for winter. I picked up a set from a RL member in fall 2013...I now have two full winters on them, and they have been great. The only caveat is that the open style of the RS Spyder wheel can allow snow to get packed in, causing an imbalance. The easiet fix is to just pour some warm water into the wheel.

I looked at all the aftermarket centrelocks, and decided that I'd rather have used OEM.

 

I just went through a Toronto winter with my GTS/CL wheels. Loved every minute of it. I went with the option of putting my winter tires on the OEM wheels. I will switch them out with the summers in a few weeks.

 

I have the exact same painted wheels on my GT Silver GTS. Congrats on finding the wheels - I've been looking for a few months.

 

I thought I wouldn't like the silver wheels on my black car (my summer OEM CLs are black) but I have grown to REALLY like them. It's nice two have two completely different looks.

 

They do look amazing. Where did you find the posting on Rennlist? I'm new and want to keep monitoring for CL's

 

Yeah I have to admit, those RS spyder rims look great. Are they forged? I found some literature saying they're forged but some saying cast...

 

A Rennlister from Ohio had originally posted a set of gorgeous Forgeline CLs for sale in the Parts Marketplace. Unfortunately the rears at 12" wide were slightly too wide for the largest winter tire available (295/30/19). In discussion he said he also had a set of the OEM CLs, and we worked out a deal.

 

Porsche says the wheels are forged. I believe 'em ;-)

 

I will keep monitoring and congrats on picking them up. Let me know if you ever get tired of them