So I got a hold of some nice 19" 3 piece Japanese rims and tires for cheap...
Now I need to go through all the steps here, to make those work with 996 and my dull color in particular.

Step one, I tried them on and I do look like a pikey, for the time being, see pics.
Step two, I just got quality alignment done, see the report. My fried, who works for http://www.autorepairpowellohio.com/ did an amazing job, making my wheels friendly to each other. Compared to my previous experience, where nasty shop got only one of my wheels in the green and told me that she was all banged up and 13 y/o, this is awesome improvement.
Step three, chrome lips will have to go, they will be painted over with classic German silver, for alloy rims.
Step four, I am planning to purchase H&R 29385 1" lowering spring set, to install on the front only. So is someone here has some spare springs like that, please let me know.
Overall, please let me know what you think.

 

sorry to say, they look "cheap" to me, but all that matters is that YOU like em. this i know, so forgive the criticism. re alignment, i have a funny feeling he has used in incorrect spec sheet from the computer. it should not say "carrerra" but rather either turbo, x73 or gt2 for our cars. NONE of that **** looks right, to my untrained eye? but who knows. i would dbl check to see and ASK if he used carerra specs instead of turbo specs. again, NONE of that sheet looks correct. also, being in the "red" is ok sometimes since we are often speccing out our cars to run more camber/toe whatever, which *might* be in the *red* from the oem suggestion that the computer dials up depending upon what car is being aligned.

pretty sure that one aint right.

add: NEVER use any used h&r springs. theyre only like 350 a set. new

 

This is the actual sheet, it does say turbo on it.
Wheels are excellent quality and tires are like new, I do agree that chrome is too much, so I will dull them out, to work with my gray paint.

 

I prefer OEM over these but as noted above its your car and its your opinion that matters.

 

not trying to be a **** about it ( really ) but usually where it says ( as on yours.. ) carerra? it will say "turbo" and i *still* dont see it! all that matters is you're using the proper aligmnet specs, obviously. my concern is/was i only see "2001 carerra". but perhaps it is somewhere else! no matter, you know what your doing! gl with the new wheels

 

There were only two setting in the alignment system, for RWD and AWD, nothing for Turbo specifically. I asked them to check and they will get back with me on monday, if they need to change something, they will redo it.
For now I think having all wheels aligned, this way is better than what I had before, where I could see one of my rear wheels sticking out further than the other.

 

oh man.. mish... that isn't right! i've looked at countless alignment computers. if you dont ( yourself! ) see turbo and alternately gt2 ( even x73! though rarer..) on top of the page! ask a LOT of questions. now more than ever i believe you've posted a std carerra alignment spec sheet. you cannot use that. obviously!

 

It is probably true, but it will work for me to get back there and have it redone. I already called and asked to look into it. Regardless, I will not chew my tires up getting there. However this is what forums are for, to notice stuff like this, which I had no idea about.

I do like the rim design, it's just chrome makes it little too loud, plus for some reason my stock suspension has front end way up high, I wonder why.

 

My car looks about the same height in front as yours hard to tell. The 19s may make it look more so.

 

BTW, if you look at this, it is same as what I have, if units of measure are converted:
http://www.renntrack.com/forums/show...pension-Basics

 

Here is what my son and I whipped out in our shop tonight (pics). No more chrome lip, however paint is removable, this way I can always return to the original, if I want to unload these wheels.

 

Nice finish!

 

I don't think you needed to paint the lip. It's nice to have a contrast between the wheel and tire as well as giving the wheel definition on the car. The issue is your wheel centers need to be a darker grey (darker than the car). Again this helps define the wheel, without having too much bling.

Think of wheels as jewelry. You want them to pop/add interest, but not to over power the car itself.

I keep saying I'm going to plasti dip my wheel centers in a darker grey (so the center, bolt heads and center caps will all be the same color), but I believe I also want a little bit of texture (kind of like a rough case wheel). When I find the right finish, I'll do mine.

Of course as others have said, wheels are very personal and they are one of the many ways we make our car different from everyone else's. Do what makes you happy.

Later, Steve

 

Very interesting approach Steve, I believe you are right.
Chrome lip had to go, because my seal gray color simply cannot pull it off.
Now that the lip is classic German silver, I can spray center with darker gray and indeed bring this whole combination to "all business" look.
I think without dropping front 1", I will not achieve any of the above, that SUV stance is canceling out any effort. Hopefully H&R springs will not alter ride too much.

 

And the final look is here.