What does the typical Porsche owner look for when shopping for a wheel?

Brand reputation? Price? Design? Color?

What do you like and not like?

David

 

Weight and strength. Period.

Bruinbro

 

Bling factor

 

I agree with BruinBro that weight and strength are the most important considerations, but I also consider reputation, price, and looks. Mag wheels are very light, but a little too short on durability for everyday use, so wheels, like most other things, are always a compromise for me. The forged Fuchs that came on Porsches through the late '80s Carreras were hard to beat. Generally I prefer forged wheels for their weight and strength, but there are some very good cast wheels now too. I have two sets of forged Kinesis K27s (I like the pewter centers, but their web patterns are harder to clean than 5-spoke designs). I also cosidered Fikses, HREs, and BBS at the time. I ordered the standard 18" wheels on the Cayman, so will be looking for a good second set of wheels for autocross and track. I will be adding additional wheels to my list to consider this time, including Volk and Enkei.

 

David: I didn't know you were a big wheel wheel guy when I replied to your question (P5Wheels should have tipped me off though). Then I read your baked wheel (What's for supper grandpa?) post elsewhere. I'd like to know your thoughts on a good second set of wheels for the Cayman. I want to stick with the 18" size as there are more tire options in 18s than in 19s. Thanks.

 

I can't recommend wheels, because then this thread will get cut. I am not a wheel seller, I am a manufacturer. I am similar to Fikse, Kinesis and HRE in the way we make wheels and quality. My company has about 4 solid spoke patterns, but I am going to be dropping a couple of the less popular and be designing a couple new wheels. The purpose of this thread is to see what the consumer likes. Rather than making a lot of different things and see what people actually buy, I'd rather just ask the markets what they want so I can try to cater to them. We are in the process of sponsoring this forum and getting a banner up.

David

 

OK, now that you've "come clean" we can provide our own preferences in terms of looks. My own preferences may not be typical because I like a clean mesh or web pattern (e.g., the Champion RG5, Fikse FM10, Kinesis K27) and the simple 5-spoke pattern (e.g., the Carrera and Carrera Classic 5-spokes, the standard Cayman wheel, and the Fikse FM5), but I don't care for highly polished wheels that seem to immediately draw one's eyes away from the car itself. Thus, I like the pewter or gun metal finishes, or a least a duller aluminum. I may be in the minority, however, so maybe you could post a poll with multiple options. We love to complete polls.

 

For racing and competition - weight, strength, size availability, reputation of manufacturer, and customer service for future problems/replacements.

For street - looks, size availabilityand customer service.