Ok so I've come into possession of some beautiful 19" wheels that I'm dying to put on my 97 986. I've scoured the forum and the internet and I just can't find a conclusive answer on this. The rears are 19x9.5 and the fronts are 19x8.5. I've heard all the talk about nothing bigger than 17" wheels on these cars. First, I want to know, how real is that talk? Is it really something to worry about or is it one of those things that some engineer came up with because there is a .0000000001 % chance that it could cause a problem. Secondly, what offset would be ideal for these wheels for optimal fitment? Any thoughts here would be great. Thanks!

 

The talk is based on what Porsche sanctions or doesn't sanction for the earlier cars and one thing it doesn't sanction is the larger wheels. I think the limit is 18" and it could be maybe even 17" is the largest wheel Porsche allows.

To accommodate the bigger wheels Porsche made changes to the car stiffening some sections. Car makers generally don't add weight when they don't need to so for Porsche to do this strongly suggests there is a real risk of something going wrong running the bigger wheels on the earlier cars.

Now I don't think the car will break in two or blow up in a horrific explosion, but a car that might not keep its alignment or exhibit excessive flexing of where the car's suspension/steering hardware mounts, and causing cracks in the tub or loose weld seams, etc. is a possibility.

I've run 17" wheels for nearly 300K mile so my Boxster. They are a nice size, the tires affordable and very much less at risk of sidewall damage from rough roads or road debrise, and the road noise and ride harshness are well within my tolerance level. Even 18" wheels -- on my 996 Turbo -- really deliver a noticeably harsher ride.