Darren

Classics in action:



They do flex a tiny bit, ask CCW about that.

mdrums

donoman, are you looking for track wheels or good looking street wheels?

I use the C14's on my 997S for the track.

donoman

Good looking track wheels =)

Realistically my car won't see the track too often --- I'm a grad student with limited funds so 1 or 2 days a year is already a luxury for me.

I just can't stand the way the D-90's look.

I replaced my Miata's lightweight wheels with some heavy Kosei K1's. Big mistake, the car rode like crap and despite having greater ultimate traction due to teh stickier tires, it was a step down in the fun department at all other times when the car wasn't on smooth roads.

Right now I have 3 options:
-New wheels, sticky tires
-Stock wheels, stock tires
-Stock wheels, sticky tires

I budgeted about 8k$ more for my car than I actually paid for it, so I've already ordered new shocks/springs/exhaust/chip and last on the list is wheels... they make a huge visual difference for any car.

donoman

I should add that I'm about to graduate, and when that happens, I'll be at the track all the time. Well, not all the time, but a lot more than I can go nowadays with my time & budget situation.

I've never bought "nice" wheels before but my experience with the "cheap" wheels was that I would have been better off just buying sticky tires.

Darren

How are the K1's heavy? They are very light for the money, like 11 lbs in 15"?? The weight isn't a huge consideration if you are only doing a few track days and not racing anyway. Yes it makes a difference when you are driving 10/10ths, but anything less than that and not racing, who cares?

Porsche OEM wheels are a great (probably best) option for the money. Light and strong, with many track hours to prove.

Stay with the stock wheels and get some sticky street tires. Do they make Azenis's in the right sizes? I don't know why I never see them on Porsches, but they are a great option for a sticky street tire. There are of course several great street tire options that do quite well at the track. And if you can pass people on R-Compounds, then how cool is that?

DON'T do the Volks with spacers, they are a total PITA especially if you are switching between street and track wheels. It's twice as many bolts to change. My friend has a set of Volks with the spacers on his RX7 and I refuse to help him at events because it is a ridiculous amount of work to change them.

donoman

Hi Darren, for the Miata, the K1's in 15" was just way too heavy for the suspension to handle. Miata stock wheels are super lightweight... especially the alloy stock ones. .... anyway, the weight was a huge consideration on the STREET because the ride quality diminished so much and the car was slower (imagine a Miata even slower).

Yeah I can get sticky compounds for the stock tires. I want to get R-compounds since I don't drive much anymore (about 4000 miles a year, tops) since I started commuting to work by 2-wheeled pedal power early this year.

This is totally off-topic but here is my old car on K1's. I _do_ wish they made good, cheap track wheels for the 911 but I guess it's time to play with the big boys.

Darren

Well, I race an Integra and have K-1's and they seem to do fine. Recently got a set of OZ Ultraleggera's and they are a bit lighter. So I know where you are coming from -- the biggest reason on Porsches to go to an aftermarket wheel is to fit a bigger tire. There are many OEM wheels that will fit your car, so I'd figure out what tire you want to run and then find an OEM wheel to fit it. In one way nothing Porsche is cheap, in another, Porsche factory wheels are probably the best OEM wheels of almost any manufacturer, and you really can't go wrong with them. A used set is probably the same price as a decent set of Miata wheels. I know I've sold 2 sets of 993 cup wheels (17") for around $600.

DHinkle

I have CCW's on my RS America (street use only) that I may sell. Please pm if interested.

donoman

DHinkle, PM sent.

TraqGear

Got C14's coming tomorrow with RA1's mounted. Gonna try them at RRR this weekend and I'll post opinion and pics next week.

donoman

Guys, what's the advantage of me running 18's vs. 17's? Aside from less sidewall flex, of course. The reason I ask in this thread is because the CCW C14s only come in 18". I just finished installing my suspension and want to complete my car soon with a new set of wheels. Yes, I will be DONE after the wheels come. No if's and's or but's.

Darren

You'll probably see some different opinions on that one. I like 18's on the track because the sidewall flexes a lot less, though I doubt they make that much of a difference for most people on the track. On the street I actually prefer 17" for the same reason, the extra sidewall flex makes it a lot easier to deal with potholes, and much less chance of damaging a rim. Like everything else, its a compromise!!

BTW -- if you run R compounds on the street you'll find out just how many nails there are laying around. R compounds have terrible puncture resistance. If you are going to run the same tire on the street and track, you are much better off going with a trackable street tire, rather than a streetable track tire.

mdrums

Let me know how the track day went because I have the same wheel and tire combo on my 997S. I found 38 hot to start working better and the next morning they were 27 cold except for some reason the drivers side rear was 24 cold.

jakermc

I run the CCW Classics and the 3-pc designed turned out to be a blessing after my last race. I got tapped in right rear, damaging the wheel and tire. I did not lose pressure and was able to finish the race but it was bent up enough that I would not want to race on it again. I sent it to CCW and they repaired the outer rim for $150 plus shipping, plus they had a 24hr turn around on the repair.

I think the turn around time is longer for 1pc wheels as they do not have a stock of parts to pull from. This is another advantage of 3pc. I'll buy the Classics again when I am ready for a 2nd set.

TraqGear

I tried to target 38 and 40PSI hot. Very greasy feeling to begin with, but, worked just fine after 2 sessions. The more I ran them, the better they got. Depending on the track or number of right vs left turns, the tires won't heat up evenly. Mine were consistantly off when cold, but much closer when the warmed up. This was my 5th DE...first with the beast. By the end of the second day, I was all giving the Z06 drivers a very difficult time and passing some of them, even though they had a lot more experience. 90% car 4% rims 5% tires and 1% skill! (I plan on changing that ratio soon)