18" five spoke lightweight wheels
 

Looking for 18 inch "Carrera" lightweight 5 spoke wheels to replace the stock 17 inch Turbo twists on my '02 Boxster S.

Price for Porsche OEM wheels around $700/wheel. However, found same design from an "Italian manufacturer" through an EBay site called Wheel Dynamics for about $250/wheel.

Any information on Wheel Dynamics as a source or any other leads on where to look?

Thanks

I bought wheels from Wheel Dynamics, and visited their office in LA - nice guys, love their Porsches, know their wheels.

Had a good look at the replicas while I was there - looked very good - quite a selection.

They carry original Porsche wheels, OEM wheels direct from the manufacturer without the Porsche part numbers, and replica wheels.

They pointed out while I was there that the same style of Porsche wheel can be made by a number of manufacturers, so a Porsche wheel is not some amazing product that comes from a single factory in Germany.

In fact, you have companies like Ronal, BBS etc manufacturing the same wheel for Porsche, and hence there is some variation in quality even in Porsche wheels.

You'll have people here on the forum that will be horrified if you look at some 3rd party wheel.

They'll suggest that they may be heavy, or weak, or both!

Based on my observation and experience, I'd be happy to go with Wheel Dynamics, and save yourself some $$$

You can't judge a book by it's cover and just because wheels "look" good doesn't mean they are really strong.

I don't know "Wheel Dynamics", but I do know you can't buy good quality lightweight wheels (read forged) for $250/wheel.

IMHO, if you buy wheels for a "price" you will probably get what you pay for.

As far as a contact for used Porsche wheels or other wheels that will fit contact www.wheelenhancement.com (no affiliation). They specialize in Porsche wheels.

I will post picture soon of my wheels which I just purchased from them,Carrera Lights. The fronts weighted 23lbs and the rear 27lbs,that is only 1 and 2 lbs more per wheel for 1/3 the cost of OEM,by no means is the OEM worth it. The only cheap factor of the wheel are the phony wheel cap,$125 will get you OEM colored wheel caps and valve stems. Just trust me,I will show you how nice they look give me a day or two. By the way if you live in California give Carlos a call,he works for Wheel Dynamics,he doesn't charge shipping in Cali.

Sounds like a reasonable assumption, but how do you know? I know you can pay a lot less for a RL Polo shirt in TJ Maxx than in Lord &Taylor and they are the same except for ocassional benign flaws which are undetectable to most (you can also get flaws in a shirt bought in Lord & Taylor), so there is definitely such a thing as overpaying. But there are also phonies. I can see wheels coming from the same hands that are priced extremely different but I can also see knockoffs that are completely different and inferior. How can we know for sure with wheels? Just asking.

As I said in my previous post - if you're convinced that Porsche wheels are superior and want to justify the extra cost, then some FUD over wheel strength is always an easy call.

Of course that doesn't apply on the 997, where the 19" Lobster Claws are made by two manufacturers for Porsche.

One manufacturer has no issues, the other's wheels are 'soft' and seem to deform on the rim when they hit pot-holes.

So you don't get any guarantee of superior quality, even though you are paying a Porsche premium price for Porsche OEM wheels.

Equally, the only way to see how good the replica wheels are, is to run them.

And at 1/3 the price, you could get through a few sets and still be in the money compared to Porsche originals - should they have any issues of course.

Have found several other sites that sell the wheels from $250-300. Talked to Wheel Dynamics and got the same story - OEM products come from numerous manufacturers and those companies also build replicas and other "non-OEM" wheels. Makes sense to me. The wheels are cast - not forged - but the expensive wheels - from Wheel Enhancement - are also cast.

Having a Porshche part number isn't important to me but - obviously - having a solid, true, balanced wheel is. Weight is close enough. I plan to keep the original 17 inch Turbo Twists to use for DE events.

Will start calling the companies I found and make a decision but will don't see paying $700. Other companies are: autopartsfair.com, wheels & caps, autoelf.com, finish line wheels.

Thanks for the inputs.

I have both the Porsche/BBS OEM Carrera lightweight wheels and the Italian made replicas. I also have Turbo twist hollow spokes and the Italian replicas.

From an appearance point of view and price you can't beat the replicas, but they are quite a bit heavier. From a visual perpective, they are identical, except that the replicas do not have the width and offset cast into the wheels next to the valve stem.

A Porsche 18X10" rear Carrer lightweight is one of the lightest wheels out there, at 22.6lb, the replica is much heavier. A replica Cup 3 18X10" weighs in at a whopping 32.7lb. For street use it really doesn't matter, and the heavier wheel may be a good thing, as the OEM Carrera lightweights are fragile.

Re-sale is another factor, as replicas are hard to sell used.

I only use OEM for racing as the weight difference is important, but for the street the replicas are a bargain.

You can get them on ebay for about a grand with tires that are take offs.

Hey, FilthF14

What are your plans for the old 17s? Are they true? What are the ETs? I need some track wheels?

Let me know!

Thanks,

I've seen these wheels on eBay and am considering them. I read something about "passing Germany's tough TUV standards"...what does that really mean? I'm not doubting, just curious.

Its my understanding that all the aftermarket wheels have to pass the TUV approval process to be sold in Germany/Europe.

The low end aftermarket guys seem to simply add metal to make sure they are strong enough, hence they are very heavy. The high end manufacturers like BBS and OZ meet the requirements and maintain lightness. If you compare a Porsche/BBS wheel with the Italian ones its a significant difference. Having said that, for everyday street use, the extra weight really doesn't make a difference that you would notice.

Thanks for the help. I'm still shopping but leaning toward Italian replicas. Understand the difference, but can't see paying an extra $1700 to save a few pounds. If the replicas are straight, true and balanced, I'll accept a little extra weight. The 5 spokes are by far my favorite design and will be for street use.

Sorry Randy - I'm keeping the OEM 17's for the track.

Sam Luke - any issues with the replicas chiping?

Blinkwatt - photos of your wheels would be great. Assume you're happy with your choice?

Doug - I envy you list of previously owned cars....... which was your favorite?

Phil

Here you go,it wont let me upload high quality pictures here,email me for better pics, sacramentolands@yahoo.com

Thanks Phil! As you can probably discern, I've been having trouble deciding between a fun early (ish) 911 with lots of "personality" and a modern, every day driveable Porsche (Boxster). Picking a favorite depends on the time of year and how I'm feeling on a particular day. For sheer pleasure of driving on a good weather day, either of the early cars would do it. The '72 was wonderful...when it ran right. (MFI can be tempermental!) The '70 with carbs was probably better over the long haul. Either of them with their light chassis and unique feel are hard to beat.

But I decided I need to be down to one car (still trying to sell the SC), which has to drive in midwest winters snowstorms, spring hail storms, summer tornados ( :p ), and whatever else life throws at me. For that (in my price range) the Boxster can't be beat.

Ideally, I'd like to own both (early car and Boxster), but right now I really can't afford it. (..again, still trying to sell the SC.)

FWIW what you don't see on that list are the four Subarus I've owned, usually in conjunction with the older Porsches. (Julie has owned two also.) I may be getting my fifth this spring...so maybe the car situation will change again this year... :rolleyes: