These are from Porsche - http://www.suncoastparts.com/product...997_wheelacces

I read the previous posts and see someone already suggested The black ones from Porsche are flat also - not gloss.

 

Dude with good company I'm happy to buy the drinks. Lets grab a beer when I get back from Tahoe

 

Perfect, gloss would not match the black satin finish on the wheels

 

Btw I'm going back for final alignment in a few weeks. Debating what specs to use, leaning towards just keep stock alignment. Recommendations, thoughts and rationale are welcome on what alignment is best for street

 

Looks great Art! Btw how would you describe the changes in the ride with the GMG springs?

 

Hi Paul, thanks for the kind words.

When I started the search for wheels 5 months ago I had no intention of getting springs, but the more I read the boards and the more Pictures I saw I was convinced that the wheel design I wanted would look incomplete with the stock ride height. I was initially worried about going too low but the GMG springs give a modest drop of 20mm (~3/4 inches) which leaves plenty of clearance for most normal driving conditions

Now that they are installed I am very happy with the "look", but naturally the next question as you asked is how's the ride change. I've logged about 50 miles with the springs, 25 miles at highway speed and 25 miles in full stop go traffic and my impressions are very positive

First lets talk about stock springs. I would subjectively describe stock non-sport mode as much too soft with a very bouncy front end feel while sports mode is pretty harsh except for very smooth surfaces.

If we apply a relative scale of 1 for 'too soft' in stock non-sport and 10 for 'stiff' stock sport, then I would say the GMG springs improve non-sport mode by eliminating the front end up-and-down travel while still maintaining a comfortable and compliant ride even on rough pavement.

I would give the GMG springs a 5 or 6 on the stiffness scale in non-sport mode. subjectively everything feels tighter and more precise in non-sports mode without feeling harsh. I believe this is the way the stock car should have been delivered from the factory

In sports mode It feels about the same at ~10 as the stiffer shocks really dominate the ride feel when in sports mode. so far I'm very happy with the big improvement in ride height and noticeable improvement in non-sport mode

Art

 

Art! Thanks for the pics in the sun. Just for me!

I cant believe you think the center caps are a "biiiiiiitch"... here is the 30 mins DYI for you. On the stock caps.

Take the center caps off, and lightly sand them with 600 grit sand paper (see pic with 2 caps, top one is sanded, so dont expect to see too much difference. Be careful dont touch the crest, the chrome is easy to scratch).

Carefully mask the P crest with flexible tape (so you can bend it around the curves, cut corners carefully with a blade).

Buy can of matte finish black paint and matte varnish. - or in your case, gloss black and gloss varnish (check if satin is a better match??)

Spray the caps from all angles from a distance of at least 30-40 centimeters and allow to dry for a couple of hours.

Then spray the varnish, or else it is likely that the color will scratch off. If you have patience, wait 2 more hours and spray another coat.

See below for visual aids.











As I said, I love the look. I think these will be my wheels too. I will do the opposite however, black all around and meteor grey center spokes... Lets see. Was almost sent for BBS but this is a different league.
Thanks for the pics and research. Perhaps consider adding a spacer in the back.

Your feedback on the springs is a 100% match to my thoughts on the H&R I installed a few months ago. But the front lip is now completely disposable. Still holding on to my first one, but its beginning to look like crap. Oh well.

 

Art, that is the HB 29 yes? What was your exact order spec?
Fronts: 19x8.5 et 45
Rears: 19x11 et 40

What is the bolt pattern and the color was satin black with brush tinted gunmetal lip?
I found a UK dealer and what to price a set. Here is the opposite version of yours.

 

Hi Nick

Awesome job on the Porsche center caps, I personally love the all-black look of the centers and would want the Porsche caps to be all black including the crest which would probably not be easy/ or possible. In any case I need to confirm if the stock Porsche caps will even fit these wheels, but I'm probably going to stay with the matching machine black centers for now

As for the wheels, yes those are the HB 29s and my order was:

Satin Black centers (BC calls it Matte black, but it is a smoot satin)

Brushed tinted lip (BC calls it brushed black - it basically brushed aluminum with a tinted clear which adds nice depth)

The specs are as you noted:
Fronts: 19x8.5 et 45
Rears: 19x11 et 40

The fronts are perfect and as you stated you can probably go with an offset of et 35 on the rears which would be right on the edge depending on your taste. They only offer increments of 5, but I think et 38 would be spot on perfect for the rears (yes we're literally splitting hairs)

As for Bolt pattern, just give them our model and year when you order

Here is the inverse of my wheels on an nsx




PM me for what I paid, or is it ok to post it here?

Art

 

You already gave me the price on PM last week. I will try to price a set in the UK to see where customs and VAT take us. Will let you know. Thanks again, your car is the perfect model for mine and the result is very good!

 

Hmmm here is the weakness of the lighter center combo.

The inner ring of the spokes coupled with the black lip which is the same color as the tire can make the rim look smaller and the tire wider, when seen from a direct angle like above.

 

I agree with your observation, the black lip blends with the tire and almost makes it look like the spokes are floating. If you like the look of my wheels just do the same color combo

Alternatively you could go with the brushed black lip (same as mine) and for the center spokes choose painted gunmetal or matte gunmetal

What do you have in mind for the offsets?

 

Thanks for the driving impressions Art.

I must admit i've always been intrigued with the GMG springs and remain tempted to do the exercise. I've read a lot of positive reviews on these. Going by your account the normal setting becomes noticeably firmer though? Not sure how this would impact the comfort outside of a freeway environment.

I would agree the stock normal setting does allow more float in the nose than i would prefer, however after my negative experience with the BS coilovers i kinda made a vow to myself to never (ever) play around with the suspension beyond alignment and control arms again. The Porsche testers would put the car through all types of environments before deciding on the set up although that said certain compromise must come into their final selection for the car for it to remain adequately comfortable in all driving environments. I guess that's where sport mode takes up the slack for any misgivings in the normal setting.

And, while the car does have float in the nose in the normal mode its not as if the car handles that badly when push comes to shove and you dont push that spots button. Normal mode just requires more commitment and ability from the driver, or selecting the sports mode and tightening the nose amongst other things. I do tend to find myself activating sports relatively frequently whenever I'm in a situation such as where i want to move through a gap and get ahead of slow cars and, there is a corner or corners involved. So sports becomes a common solution to make everything feel more connected and, it cant be said that it doesn't do the job when called upon. That said i wouldn't so no to a set up that corrected the nose float in normal whilst still allowing adequate comfort, particularly over the longer haul once the novelty of the tighter suspension wore off iykwim. It'd be good to get your feedback a month out after you've spent enough seat time in regular DD situations.

For me I guess the ultimate tell all would be being able to ride in a car with the GMG springs and become knowingly satisfied up front with any compromise in ride comfort in the normal setting that may occur that's not to your particular liking.

I did ride in Nicks car (which had the Eibarch springs) and it felt quite ok, not harsh or bone jarring like the BS coilovers, although there was some tire scraping on the rear gaurd's going on whenever the suspension travel was put to the test, and the suspension didn't feel quite as giving (possibly due to the less suspension travel from the lowering exercise). I think Nicks tire rubbing problem was mainly due to the 16mm spacers placing the rear wheels at the maximum (i think 45/46 ET) so a few more mm's inside the gaurds and it may not be such a problem....well i hope so anyway. Not sure if i would want to live with the tires rubbing like that...sorry to bring it up Nick...hope you've got that sorted.

I also noted the front lip was easily scraped on what appeared to be minor road strips (not very high at all) but i think the Eibarchs have a 25mm lowering vs the GMG at 20 as you said so that may make it just high enough, and, with the slightly stiffer coil may reduce the suspension travel to stave off such occurances?

 

Paul

I agree with your concerns as I had many of the same and hence my hesitation for 5 months, as they say the devil you know is better than the devil you don't, so definitely get a ride in a car with the gmg springs before you make a decision

Bottom line is I am very happy with the ride quality of the springs but my car is not a daily drive so I can pick and choose where I'm going. Additionally in California our roads are pretty decent, especially compared to my home town of New York

If your turbo is not a DD then I think you'll be happy with th GMG springs. Having experienced both I can confirm that the GMG springs provide a slightly less drop vs the h&r which should help a bit more with normal driving conditions but they are slightly more firm. The H&R are much closer in terms of stiffness to the OEM springs, but with that said the GMG are very compliant in normal non-sports mode.

Let me give you an example, there is a long section on the 101 heading south from San Francisco where the seams in the concrete will cause your turbo to bounce uncomfortably in stock sports mode. But in non-sports mode it is seamless (excuse the pun) and quite comfortable. I made particular note of this on my drive home with the GMG springs.

When I reached the particular section of the highway I was traveling in sports mode with the new springs and immediately noticed the annoying bounce over the seams. Then the true test, would the GMG springs be compliant and smooth in non-sports mode over this notably poor stretch if freeway? And thankfully I can say without compromise that they were just as comfortable as the stock ride in non-sports mode

While comfortable in non-sport mode you have the benefit of improved firmness. So for example when I went to aggressively change lanes and pass a slow moving vehicle I was able to do so in non-sports mode with significantly improved feel. Normally for those moves I would feel the need to engage sports mode

Finally, regarding offsets, I chose to use the guidance from Porsche as follows:

http://porsche-info.com/porsche-fitment-guide/

"Turbo and C4S models ... can easily fit the 19×11 using 40-55 et.
Turbo/C4S 19×8.5 (45-50)"

Given the above I chose the most aggressive offsets recommended by Porsche, fronts: et 45 and rears: et 40. So far no issues with rubbing and I live in the hills so would've felt it on the steep climb home

Hope this was helpful
Art

 

Paul, Nick has H&R springs.
Eibach, GMG and Techart is all made by the Eibach factory. They all offer a 20MM (0.8") drop. And in my opinion they are all the same.

Nick's car has the stock wheels (11" ET51) , adding a 16mm spacer comes to ET35.
With ET45/46 (what you thought) there would be no rubbing.
If this would be correct you would rub even more being at ET44 on a 11.5"

Hope this helps.