Hi all!

New to the forum. Taking delivery of a 2007 Cayman S next Saturday (7/14) and I can't wait! It's an Arctic Silver w/ Black interior and the following options:

6-speed manual tranny
810 - Floor Mats - Interior Color
404 - 19" Turbo Wheel
P16 - PCM 2.1
P74 - Bi-Xenon Headlamp Package
573 - Automatic Climate Control
342 - Heated Front Seats
680 - Bose High End Sound Package

I'm getting this at a good deal, so decided not to do a custom order. Plus it has pretty much everything I would want anyway. I will get the sport steering wheel added later. Except I'm not sure about the wheels - the 19" Turbos.

I have the option to swap them (for no cost of course) with the 18" Cayman S OEM wheels/tires if I want. I've not driven a Cayman fitted with the 19"s, so I can't tell how harsh the ride is.

But I also live in the Boston area, and am a bit concerned about the coming winter/rain/cold. I only have to survive this coming winter though, as I will be moving to San Diego in June of 2008. If I was to stay in Boston, the 18" would be an easy choice. As I only have 1 winter to get through, I'm not sure..19"...18"...

For those that have the S with the 19" Turbos, how is the ride? Too harsh? Rims too heavy? Easy to break on a pothole?

For the winter I would also need to shell out a lot of money to get 18" winter wheels with tires. But if I get the 18"s to start with, I could just change tires - cheaper.

I love the look of the 19"s. Not sure about the harsh ride and how much I'd need to spend for one winter to survive. This car will be my main drive too.

If I get the 18", it may be more practical (less harsh I gather - don't know though if a huge difference, and less money for winter tires). But then in one year..

Thoughts? I need to let my dealer know this week for my 7/14 delivery and my head is buzzing!

first off congrats! If you are looking for everyones opinion, I'll jump on on it..... I LOVE the turbo wheels. However... On arctic silver, I prefer the color or the other own wheels. I think the turbos look better with a more contrasting color.

How is the ride quality with the 19"s? Also, the tires were 235/35 and 265/35 from what I recall. Is that not the standard for the Turbos on the Cayman?

I have the 19" Carrera S wheels and love them. I have even put a set of standard CS 18" and preferred the 19"s as far as feel when driving hard. I like the looks and the ride to me is not harsh maybe just a little firmer, but I don't drive on very ruff roads. I have PASM on my car and have been told on many occasion how great the car rides. They just can't believe that a sports car can ride so nice. As for winter, I have driven my car in the cold and these tires 18" or 19" will make the car ride like a log wagon until the tires get warmed up. They are "Summer Only" high performance tires. If it were me, I would just try to get by for 1 winter.

Correct, but in light snow, I would need to only change tires on the 18"s and change the whole wheels/tires if I get the 19"s - this is the dilemma...Not sure how the stock tires are in wet/rain.

I guess it's simple really if I think about it.

1. Don't use the car when there's snow (stock PS2s are fine in rain I read)
2. If I need to use the car in snow - then I can:
a) Swap out the 19"s with snow wheels/tires (more costly and only for 1 winter)
b) Swap out tires (if I get the Cayman 18"s to begin with)

So really it's a cost thing, but I was wondering if there are any other downsides to the 19s.

I'm not sure that is true. 305s come on AWD 997s, not Caymans. 265 is max on the rear OEM for Caymans. Someone can correct me if I am wrong.

Welcome Urbo!

I am originally from Boston and understand what your talking about. My build is almost the same as yours and I have 19s. See Sig.

Some things to think about:

1. There's probably no way you want to drive in the snow on PS2s. In fact, below 40 degrees or so, they are not good for traction. Forget about ice. I'm pretty sure the manual will tell you not to drive below a certain temperature on the OEM summer tires.
2. I'm used to a much harsher ride but I have found 19" wheels to be pretty soft (in comparison with no PASM). Unless you hit jarring bumps, IMO they are fine.
3. I WOULD worry about potholes, especially in the spring. City streets could be bad ... FORGET about cobblestones ... don't even go near them. I would consider the tire/wheel insurance if offered.
4. You might also consider the fact that if its a one for one swap, the dealer would love to trade straight up for you. Those wheels are what, a $2400+ option? Upon resale (and I know that is hard to think about now) they will be worth more money on the car, however little that might be.

If I were I would keep the wheels if you have another car, just don't drive the Croc in the snow/ice. Hope for a mild winter If you get a harsh winter and let the car sit, it might sit for a month at a time and your temps can get pretty low (unless your in the Cape). Consider getting a Porsche or Boothe trickle charger (not the cheap kinds). See http://www.caymanclub.net/news-items...nder-sale.html
Letting the car sit for a couple of weeks while there is snow on the ground ... not a good idea without one as the battery does discharge, especially in the cold.

BEST of Luck and congratulations on your new car.

If I had a car coming in with the 19" Turbo wheels I would not swap them for the 18" OEM wheels even up, I would expect the dealership to credit me back the additional charge for the Turbo wheels over the Cayman OEM 18" wheels which is what something like $2k??

Also please post in the correct forum, I moved this to the wheel and tire forum.

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I agree you should take the Turbo wheels with the car. I wanted to do this at purchase but instead went with the OEM 18's. Now I will buy Marion MR3's which are a Turbo look a like and use the 18's for the track.

If you can rough out one winter you can buy some take off 18"s from someone and have both sets. As for the ride, you'll be fine out here in CA either way. I have lived in Boston and CA and the road quality difference is night and day. Good luck!

I have driven both and the 19s ride just fine. A CS equiped with 19s just won the "Ride quality" catageory of the motor trend best handling car test in the June 2007 issue. I unfortnately bought a CS equiped with 18s. After looking at the pics on this site I am now not happy with the appearance of the 18s. I am now buying 19s and it will cost you an extra 4-5 grand after the fact. You will have no problem selling the turbo wheels whatsoever. What ever you do- DO NOT- let the dealer swap you out even for the 18s. Also dont even try to drive with PS2s in snow or ice. The tire compound is all wrong for winter applications. I got caught out is a couple of snow/ice storms in my BMW with PS2s and it was no fun -trust me.

urbo73 - The turbo (style) wheels you're getting OEM on the car are made specifically for the for the Cayman with the appropriate widths and offsets, but are not the same size/offsets as the actual 997 turbo wheels. The 235/35s and 265/35s will fit just right. I would also not let the dealer trade them for the Cayman S wheels straight up, either.

If you have to drive the Cayman S during the 1 last winter you're going to be in Boston - there are all-season n-spec tires recommended by Porsche that will fit the 19" wheels... buy them from TireRack and have them shipped directly to one of their recommended installers, and just have the tires swapped... put the PS2s in the garage for the Spring. You can get a lot of tires mounted and balanced for the price of a 2nd set of rims...

brad

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