my "NEW" wheels...the story w/pix
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my "NEW" wheels...the story w/pix
Hi all…
Well finally…here is the story….
Back in 2002 when I first looked at purchasing my current 1999 996 cab..it had chrome turbo twists. They were a little too…much.. for me. Eventually I worked a deal that the Dealer would swap some Sport Designs from another car. At the time, I thought all 18 inch wheels were the same widths/offsets(wrong). Well I drove the car for 4 years until one day realizing that I had friggin Boxster wheels!!!!!! Well of course I could not sleep at night after this information reared its ugly truth…I started to seek other wheels. I sold my “Boxtser set”.I started looking at all other OEM options and really only liked 18 or 19 inch Sport Designs. I eventually decided against 19’s and bought a set of aftermarket 18’ black/polished lip. At first I liked them…my car is Guards red and the black/polished/red seemed cool. After just 4 months though, they seemed not to “work”. I had the car lowered with H/R sport springs. That looked much better…but still seemed too…”ghetto”… for an otherwise very tasteful, classic looking car.
Meanwhile, my brother in law caught the Porsche “bug” and bought a nice 2000 triple black 996 cab. He hounded me all last summer about how cool the wheels were..”give em to me”…etc. So in the dead of winter I called him one night and said “if you want em ..you got em”. We worked out a deal that he would buy them when I found and mounted a different set. So I of course go “shopping” everywhere you can find Porsche wheels. Wheelenhancement/Ebay/Craigslist/Rennlist..and a half dozen Porsche or car forums. I had decided to stay with OEM, and narrowed it back to a “996 fit” set of 18” Sport Designs or 19” Sport Designs. I was again drawn to the 19’s..However, there are very few 996’s with these wheels. A couple of nice folks did send me some pix with the 19’s on a 996..but it is really hard to tell if they look “right” without seeing in person. I then found a set on Ebay…bought them…and the guy disappears….I had to file a claim and got my money back. For the next 3 months I literally looked every day..everywhere I could find, to locate a nice… reasonably priced… set of OEM 19’ Sport Designs..Let me tell you….THERE IS NO SUCH THING.
I have had countless people 1.jack me around..say they want to sell but don’t when it comes time to really do it. 2. Try to sell something other than what I tell them I want. 3. Want WAY too much for used rims with curb rash and worn out tires. Or 4. Try and rip me off( that’s another story we won’t get into now). Along the way I had seen a brand new (new old stock) set of 18’ Sport Designs on Ebay, by a Porsche dealer in NY. They even had the rare 8’ fronts instead of the usual 7 ½ inchers. The reserve was way high and nobody even bid. I saved it in “my ebay” .
Finally after all this, I decided that the 19’s were not meant to be….and heard overwhelmingly that the best combination of looks and performance for a 996 is OEM 18’s. I looked up the 3 month old Ebay listing. It had the Dealers phone number. I called the parts dept. I asked if they “still had the wheels that were listed on Ebay 3 months ago”(long shot I know)…They did!!! I negotiated…..
So I wound up coming full circle and getting a Brand new ..never mounted ..set of OEM 18’ Sport Designs for less than a mediocre curbed up set goes for on Ebay. I bought new tires…. and spacers all around (15mm front/18mm rear)
That’s the story and I’m sticking to it!!!! And now for you viewing pleasure………
Well finally…here is the story….
Back in 2002 when I first looked at purchasing my current 1999 996 cab..it had chrome turbo twists. They were a little too…much.. for me. Eventually I worked a deal that the Dealer would swap some Sport Designs from another car. At the time, I thought all 18 inch wheels were the same widths/offsets(wrong). Well I drove the car for 4 years until one day realizing that I had friggin Boxster wheels!!!!!! Well of course I could not sleep at night after this information reared its ugly truth…I started to seek other wheels. I sold my “Boxtser set”.I started looking at all other OEM options and really only liked 18 or 19 inch Sport Designs. I eventually decided against 19’s and bought a set of aftermarket 18’ black/polished lip. At first I liked them…my car is Guards red and the black/polished/red seemed cool. After just 4 months though, they seemed not to “work”. I had the car lowered with H/R sport springs. That looked much better…but still seemed too…”ghetto”… for an otherwise very tasteful, classic looking car.
Meanwhile, my brother in law caught the Porsche “bug” and bought a nice 2000 triple black 996 cab. He hounded me all last summer about how cool the wheels were..”give em to me”…etc. So in the dead of winter I called him one night and said “if you want em ..you got em”. We worked out a deal that he would buy them when I found and mounted a different set. So I of course go “shopping” everywhere you can find Porsche wheels. Wheelenhancement/Ebay/Craigslist/Rennlist..and a half dozen Porsche or car forums. I had decided to stay with OEM, and narrowed it back to a “996 fit” set of 18” Sport Designs or 19” Sport Designs. I was again drawn to the 19’s..However, there are very few 996’s with these wheels. A couple of nice folks did send me some pix with the 19’s on a 996..but it is really hard to tell if they look “right” without seeing in person. I then found a set on Ebay…bought them…and the guy disappears….I had to file a claim and got my money back. For the next 3 months I literally looked every day..everywhere I could find, to locate a nice… reasonably priced… set of OEM 19’ Sport Designs..Let me tell you….THERE IS NO SUCH THING.
I have had countless people 1.jack me around..say they want to sell but don’t when it comes time to really do it. 2. Try to sell something other than what I tell them I want. 3. Want WAY too much for used rims with curb rash and worn out tires. Or 4. Try and rip me off( that’s another story we won’t get into now). Along the way I had seen a brand new (new old stock) set of 18’ Sport Designs on Ebay, by a Porsche dealer in NY. They even had the rare 8’ fronts instead of the usual 7 ½ inchers. The reserve was way high and nobody even bid. I saved it in “my ebay” .
Finally after all this, I decided that the 19’s were not meant to be….and heard overwhelmingly that the best combination of looks and performance for a 996 is OEM 18’s. I looked up the 3 month old Ebay listing. It had the Dealers phone number. I called the parts dept. I asked if they “still had the wheels that were listed on Ebay 3 months ago”(long shot I know)…They did!!! I negotiated…..
So I wound up coming full circle and getting a Brand new ..never mounted ..set of OEM 18’ Sport Designs for less than a mediocre curbed up set goes for on Ebay. I bought new tires…. and spacers all around (15mm front/18mm rear)
That’s the story and I’m sticking to it!!!! And now for you viewing pleasure………
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always nice to get a deal eh?
good call on the spacers, really makes an improvement on looks by bringing rims out flush with fenders. Been running with 15mm on all fours for some time now.
good call on the spacers, really makes an improvement on looks by bringing rims out flush with fenders. Been running with 15mm on all fours for some time now.
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Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 35
From: St. Louis, MO
Rep Power: 21
Nice work...and I agree about the spacers. The OEM wheels don't look wide enough without spacers. It's a must (IMO).
Looks great.
by the way, you should have gotten 19" sport designs...JK.
Looks great.
by the way, you should have gotten 19" sport designs...JK.
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