does anybody here know what is the "best bang for the buck" when it comes to aftermarket wheels? i dont want to get something cheap since you get what you pay for and sometimes most expensive does not equal the best. so i narrowed my choices down to:

- BBS
- FIKSE
- Champion
- O.Z.

can any of you comment on which of these are best quality wheels with concrete data as to avoid a flame war? for example, i would say i would prefer BBS because BMW have used them as OEM wheels. also it looks like fikse knows what they are doing judging from their very informative and technical website.

would love to hear any suggestions. any major brands i have missed? i am seriously considering BBS RS-GT with diamond black finish in 18" (and O.Z. Superleggera III look nice too)

thanks...

 

I would go 19" Champions....very light, great looking wheel...but to be honest, you cant go wrong with those on your list...i would also look into Kinesis...

 

thanks for validation of my research

not sure i want to go with 19" -- i have considered it, but was told by a few people it offsets the suspension geometry and 996 are simply not designed for 19" wheels while 997 are. yes, it will make the car look better, no question about it (yours looks simply awesome), but i am not sure how it will affect the ride and handling.

 

My ride is actually better, handling is better, i have no down sides....theer are sooooo many 996's on 19's and I have never heard ONE bad thing about them....I asked the service manager at the dealer about some 18's and he said, "18's? dont even think about it, go 19's"....I asked about the things I heard about 19's and suspensions, he said that he has never had any problems with 19's on 996's....If I were going to track it alot, i would stick with 18's....but for street driving, i'd go 19's....and go with PSS9's if you can....

 

Wheels are just like a watch

Its all personal taste..


What do you prefer??????????


You can also look here for cars with different wheels on them.

http://www.gmgracing.com/projects.shtml

 

heh.. funnny.. my service advisor actually told me to stay with 18s (and so did alex @ sharkwerks when i stopped by his shop and alex is like a porsche god IMHO )

why do you think 18s are better for the track? if its better for the track, wouldn't it be better for street driving? : )

the only advantage i see for going with 19s is that when it comes time to get a 997, i can re-use the wheels without a problem (as long offsets work out)

btw, i put in ROW M030 a couple of thousand miles ago (need to update my sig). i like it. it didnt lower my car as much as i wanted, but did improve the ride. i am probably going to get GT3 sway bars next. i am thinking in retrospect i should have gone directly to PSS9, but since i already have ROW M030 i am going to keep it -- will definately get PSS9 on my next porsche.

 

i hate you. i just got a headache from all the choices. just when i narrowed my options down to a few you have to show me this site.

 

btw, i like how your wheels are so flush with the body. did you use spacers or is it just an offset magic?

 

the way I see it is these cars (996) were designed for 25" diameter tires. If you can get this diameter or close to it you wont affect PSM, ABD etc... regardless of it being 18" or 19". To maintain the 25" you have to decrease the side walls for the 19", hence offseting performance. So, Im with the 18" guys, as I lean towards more for performance than looks. As far as looks is concern, if it is dropped and with the right 18", it looks pretty classy rather than a roller. As far as wich wheels... you have to base it on the color of you car. What design goes with it, gt3, mesh, 5 spoke, multi spoke, or oem look etc. Maybe you should post a pic of your ride and maybe youll get better feed back.

 

can you explain why 18" will provide better performance vs. the 19" considering 19" will have smaller sidewall (which means less flex -- no?). i always suspected smaller wheels give better performance, but could never explain it to myself (or others)

i am not in as much of a need of picking the wheel style as actually picking out good wheel maker. somebody with TUV rating, company history, etc...

as for a pic... just a silver '03 cab without any mods yet (except for the ones in sig). its a slow project

 

Less flex doesn't mean better performance. Less flex in roll bars doesnt mean better since it can become twicthy nor a roll bar that has to much flex will make you want to hang on around corners. Its balance on how much feedback you want from you car to make it more predictable in certain driving conditions.
in general the more rubber the better, its just a more feel to the road. To much rubber is not good either but a balance of height and width determines performance. The 996 started with 17" and 18" optional. However, since you can go wider with the 18", people liked the grip and looks of it. The 17" tires drove better but didnt have the advantages of the 18" grip so the 18" just became part of the trend.
I think the logic is 17" and 19" is at the full swing of the pendulum as far a feel and looks is concern, 18" is the best of the two characteristics.

 

Because while 18's may be "SLIGHTLY" faster on track, you wont come anywhere near close to those limits on the street. Also with 18's you have more tire selections for track tires. And lastly you can get lighter 18's for the track...thats about it. By the way, I am not disputing what others are saying, just saying, that I and no one I know...and I know LOTS of people with 19's and 996's have ever had a problem, not my dealer, who sells 18's and 19's, nor any shop I know of....so while in essence 18's may be a better performer vs. 19's...a coupe is a better performer vs. a cab...does that make a cab bad to get? Maybe for the track..(although lots of guys track cabs...)...I find it interesting that Champion makes 19's for 996s and has been for years....they are a very reputable company, not usre if they would be doing it if it were detrimental to the car. FYI, i am using 997 wheels with 997 tire sizes and have NO issues with ABS or PSM....I do have AWD and maybe that makes a difference, maybe not....T think the talk of not putting 19's on 996's is WAY overrated.....just like Porsche said dont put 18's on some Boxsters...again...overrated...

 

I say Fikse.. great wheel..

 

thanks... what in your opinion makes it great? is it how light and yet strong the wheel is? is it how quality the clear coat and paint on the wheel is? is it fikse pricing? (best bang for the buck?)

thanks..

 

a TON of race teams use Fikse wheels... very very long track record to back that up! very durable and everything Fikse does is done IN HOUSE.. alot of other companies use other vendors to have thier wheels made. They can control thier quality to thier standards! Pricing of the wheels is about $1000 or so per wheel. They are made to order, so depending on the offset desired or wheel lip wanted they can do it how you want it! I don't know if they are best bang for the buck, but I know you don't hear about people complaining that the wheels bent, or leaking air, or clear coat coming off. They do not do Chrome wheels, but polished

So in terms of one of the lightest strongest wheels... not many compare.. check out alot of the ALMS teams, the prototypes (75% of them) were running Fikse

Hope that helps