In general, bigger rims (more metal) means more weight and more rotating mass even factoring in the weight of additional rubber. Also the theoritical benefit of 19" tires, shorter stiffer sidewall, is insignificant compared to a good 18" tire. If you're asking about your E36 (a very sweet car) I'd stick with the 17's, low weight, plenty stiff....

A few companies make 18 and even 19's with low weight; Champion RG5's are under 20lbs, Volk TE37, Kinesis and some HRE...these are all high quality, low weight wheels with prices to match..

 

With a Cayman I don't think you can go wrong with either the OEM wheels with some Nitto NT05s or maybe Bridgestone RE11s, or if you want new wheels, a set of the OZ Allegerritas you mentioned. You'd be amazed at how capable summer rubber is. For example, at Lime Rock I might be a 1:02 lap on RA1s / Pilot Sport Cups in a stock 997S, and with PS2s it might be 1:04 (black group). If doing casual tracking, I'd be more than happy with a set of summer tires. The plan with our Boxster S is use up the PS2s and then "upgrade" slightly to the NT05. No real need for R-comps for my kids even though my son got one sign-off to Solo in Yellow and is very capable.

 

i let the e36 m3 go. i needed something that could be a daily driver, and the e36 was too track oriented and a bit of a handful to drive with the twin screw supercharger. so i found a guy who does a lot of auto-x and other events and made him the proud owner.

now i have bone-stock 2005 boxster s that drives me about town and is still sporty enough to run around sebring. once my skills surpass the car then i'll think about something track dedicated.

but the wheels and tires... well, i'm not a big fan of the carrera 19" wheels. so if the 18s will give me less rotating mass, i think i'll start shopping for a set.

thanks for all the advice.

-scott.

 

New "track shoes" are lusty....but they will highlight how poor a typical factory street alignment is. I would suggest a proper alignment to match the new rubber-ideally 18" since you would have options to choose from...but if you want to go larger than 295 in the rear-it starts to get tricky until you change suspension/19"s etc.

Did you get LSD? that can play into what you may want as well....

 

...yes, car is coming with LSD. I'm foregoing PDK and active suspension. Savings are going into planned mods. Wheels and tires are just part of story. I'll definitely add adjustable coilovers and have the car re-aligned and corner balanced as well,
; to add lightness I'll swap out brake roters for lighter units from girodisc...

 

Just a suggestion that I give all new track drivers:
Shred street rubber for the first year. A DE is non competitive with no timed laps. It is a great way to test your car at traction limits and develop your skills in a safe environment. Nobody checks your lap times and it really doesn't matter. After you have done 6-8 DEs/AXs you will have a very good idea which wheels/tires you want for your next step in time trials. One guy came out to his first DE last year with a fresh set of racing wheels and Hoosier R6 tires. On lap 3 he had a massive spin and totally flatspotted all four tires. Day over and $1000 in tires went in the recycle bin. Oops! If he was on street tires it would be no harm, no foul.

 

I concur with canjundaddy. Like I said before, it is dangerous to use R-comp at your first track event and that leaves you no room for any error.

On a related note, if one suvives his/her DE and somehow manages to get time, it would be embarassing to find his/her Hooisers on Cayman S slower than someone's PS2s on 986 Boxster Basic