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I'm a new Porsche owner and getting my 2012 Cayman S ready for track day as a newbie. I'm planning to track as much as I can, and would love some advices for wheels options and set up as well as the pros & cons.
Is 18" always a better choice than 19" as not many wheels clear 380mm bbk but more tire choices and cheaper?
Is it worth to use forge on track or flow form is good enough as 18' flow form is about 20LBS?
Do you guys always prepare extra set of wheels track day or just tires, if just tires, do most track provide mount and balance?
I'm surprised nobody has come to comment on this thread yet, but hopefully I can help with some of the questions that you have. Below in bold I've answered your questions, let me know if there's anything else I can help with
Originally Posted by LTP
Is 18" always a better choice than 19" as not many wheels clear 380mm bbk but more tire choices and cheaper?
18" wheels will of course be slightly lighter than 19" wheels, so there is an advantage from that perspective. Since you're asking specifically for the track I would also say that finding a set of tires that are compatible with the fitment you have selected is also a very important aspect. No point in selecting a particular diameter wheel if the tires that you have available to you for track use are not really for track use at all. I wouldn't say that 18" is always better in every circumstance, but for the most part the smallest diameter possible without brake clearance issues while still allowing the right tire size and tire compound you want to use for the track is going to be the winner in my book.
Is it worth to use forge on track or flow form is good enough as 18' flow form is about 20LBS?
FlowForm wheels are great, but Forged wheels are obviously a step above that. Because Forged wheels are lighter, can take more abuse and because of that are more durable, they are better suited for the track. That's not to say that FlowForm wheels aren't capable of handling the abuse of a track day or several track days, I would just say that the Forged option is a bump in performance from being lighter, and a bump in durability.
Do you guys always prepare extra set of wheels track day or just tires, if just tires, do most track provide mount and balance?
I would say, based on my experience on track, the convenience of having a set for track use and a set for street use is very beneficial. There are no tracks that I'm aware of that have a mounting/balancing service on track that could swap over street tires to track tires and visa versa. With that said I would recommend either finding one set of wheels to use with very sticky street legal tires like R-Compounds, that you can drive on the street and have fun on the track, or the alternative which would be to use your factory wheels for the street (or track, up to you) and have a second set that you can use for the alternative.
One example of a great option that can work as a specific track wheel or a dual duty street/track wheel would be the RC1 series, specifically the RC100 on this GT4 you see below. It's a part of our Motorsport collection designed specifically for dependability on the track with added strength where we need it and lightness to maximize performance:
12-22-2015, 12:05 AM
Forge vs Flow Form Wheels
