987.2 Cayman 2.9 (PASM) Best Driving Experience Wheel Size
Discussion
I'm planning on picking up a 2012 Cayman 2.9 Manual shortly that's currently on 19" Sport design wheels and I see that it has 00041 in the options list so presumably is a PASM car?
Back when they were newer, I had a 2008 2.7 on 19" lobster claws and passive suspension and first thing I did was ditch the 19s and fit 17s. The ride was shocking on 19s and it felt so much more alive on 17s IMHO.
I'm buying a 987.2 because I adore the way they drive and feel they are real bargains for an end of an era car. I'm really not fussed about the looks...
Best to keep the 19s as its on PASM and the lack of sidewall gives the sharpest turn in?
18s are a better compromise even with PASM? A little less sidewall flex but just enough grip to exploit the chassis?
or go down to 17s - the size they were designed for (I believe) and forgo a bit of outright performance for maximum feel and feedback?
Back when they were newer, I had a 2008 2.7 on 19" lobster claws and passive suspension and first thing I did was ditch the 19s and fit 17s. The ride was shocking on 19s and it felt so much more alive on 17s IMHO.
I'm buying a 987.2 because I adore the way they drive and feel they are real bargains for an end of an era car. I'm really not fussed about the looks...
Best to keep the 19s as its on PASM and the lack of sidewall gives the sharpest turn in?
18s are a better compromise even with PASM? A little less sidewall flex but just enough grip to exploit the chassis?
or go down to 17s - the size they were designed for (I believe) and forgo a bit of outright performance for maximum feel and feedback?
This is ultimately subjective.
With that in mind, personally, I would argue for the 17s. I run the 17s on a 987.2C 3.4S and even with that engine the 235 rears are plenty for dry road traction (car was PASM, is now on Bilstein Damptronic, but that's another story). Short of having a fair amount of lock applied, you can use all throttle in any gear in most scenarios, even the 3.4 doesn't have that much torque.
The factory spec 205 fronts are a little skinny, though. The chassis does rather lack front end bite / positivity with the 205s and the braking performance isn't great. I go with 225/50 on the front, which has exactly the same rolling radius as the 205/55 factory spec 17-inch front (the 987.2 17-inch rims are slightly wider than the 987.1 17s, so the fronts will accept 225s just fine).
You do lose a tiny bit of the steering feel with the 225s versus the 205s. But you're still getting quite a bit more of that than with the 235s on the 18s or the 19s, but the 225s put some positivity and confidence back into the front end. Anyway, I'd say generally, the 17s have more feedback and feel more engaging and alive. The 987 feels a bit dead on the 18s and 19s by comparison. Anyway, as an overall compromise, 225 front, 235 rear, nearly square is what I arrived at, and I've tried most of the various options, including the 18s and 19s.
One other thing. Provided you've got either the Carrera S II or Spyder style 987 19s (both of which are quite light, the Carrera S II style are very nearly as light as the Spyder wheels, just for the record) and you're running a fairly recent tyre design like the PS4S, I'd say there's little benefit of the 18s over the 19s in terms of stuff like steering feel and ride etc. Same tyre width and contact patch, not much difference in feel / feedback etc. Put it this way, I prefer a 987 on the light 19s and PS4S to 18s running on older tyre design. Dropping down to the 17s is where you get the big difference in feel, though that's not to say you're guaranteed to like that difference!
Oh, and you can pick up a set of 17s pretty cheaply, so if you wanted to them, it wouldn't be an expensive experiment, especially as you could sell them on. Unlikely you'd be more than £100 or so out of pocket if the gave them a go and didn't like them. Worth a try, I'd say.
With that in mind, personally, I would argue for the 17s. I run the 17s on a 987.2C 3.4S and even with that engine the 235 rears are plenty for dry road traction (car was PASM, is now on Bilstein Damptronic, but that's another story). Short of having a fair amount of lock applied, you can use all throttle in any gear in most scenarios, even the 3.4 doesn't have that much torque.
The factory spec 205 fronts are a little skinny, though. The chassis does rather lack front end bite / positivity with the 205s and the braking performance isn't great. I go with 225/50 on the front, which has exactly the same rolling radius as the 205/55 factory spec 17-inch front (the 987.2 17-inch rims are slightly wider than the 987.1 17s, so the fronts will accept 225s just fine).
You do lose a tiny bit of the steering feel with the 225s versus the 205s. But you're still getting quite a bit more of that than with the 235s on the 18s or the 19s, but the 225s put some positivity and confidence back into the front end. Anyway, I'd say generally, the 17s have more feedback and feel more engaging and alive. The 987 feels a bit dead on the 18s and 19s by comparison. Anyway, as an overall compromise, 225 front, 235 rear, nearly square is what I arrived at, and I've tried most of the various options, including the 18s and 19s.
One other thing. Provided you've got either the Carrera S II or Spyder style 987 19s (both of which are quite light, the Carrera S II style are very nearly as light as the Spyder wheels, just for the record) and you're running a fairly recent tyre design like the PS4S, I'd say there's little benefit of the 18s over the 19s in terms of stuff like steering feel and ride etc. Same tyre width and contact patch, not much difference in feel / feedback etc. Put it this way, I prefer a 987 on the light 19s and PS4S to 18s running on older tyre design. Dropping down to the 17s is where you get the big difference in feel, though that's not to say you're guaranteed to like that difference!
Oh, and you can pick up a set of 17s pretty cheaply, so if you wanted to them, it wouldn't be an expensive experiment, especially as you could sell them on. Unlikely you'd be more than £100 or so out of pocket if the gave them a go and didn't like them. Worth a try, I'd say.
F6box. Thank you so much for such a detailed response. I actually pre-empted my purchase by buying a set of 987.2 Cayman standard 17" wheels for £150. They need new tyres, any particular favourites in 225 and 235 sizes?
Also on the fronts, wouldn't 45 profile 225s be a closer match to the rolling circumference of 205/50?
Also on the fronts, wouldn't 45 profile 225s be a closer match to the rolling circumference of 205/50?
Edited by jonindorset on Thursday 16th January 21:06
No probs, good luck!
The factory 17-inch front is 205/55, not 205/50. So, 225/50 gives exactly the right rolling radius.
Tyres are a bit of a nightmare, very few to choose from - you can't go with the N rated ones if you want the 225 fronts, obvs, as the 225 is not factory spec.
I use Yoko Advan V105. It's better than any of the official N-rated tyres for the 987 chassis (they're all ancient now), but not as good as something like a Conti Sport Contact 7 etc. But it's a nice tyre, a proper sport tyre and reasonably modern (much newer than the official N rated for 987), plenty good enough and, ultimately, the 17s with the Yokos are far more enjoyable than 18s or 19s with the very best and latest tyres, assuming you want feel and nimbleness and response and that kind of thing, as opposed to maximum grip etc.
If you're chasing ultimate grip etc, you don't want the 17s anyway.
I suspect the Yokos may not be available for much longer. That will be a problem if so, don't know of an good alternative, though haven't had a full search terribly recently.
Oh, and take care re load ratings and Merc-spec and non-Merc-spec re the V105s if you go for them.
The factory 17-inch front is 205/55, not 205/50. So, 225/50 gives exactly the right rolling radius.
Tyres are a bit of a nightmare, very few to choose from - you can't go with the N rated ones if you want the 225 fronts, obvs, as the 225 is not factory spec.
I use Yoko Advan V105. It's better than any of the official N-rated tyres for the 987 chassis (they're all ancient now), but not as good as something like a Conti Sport Contact 7 etc. But it's a nice tyre, a proper sport tyre and reasonably modern (much newer than the official N rated for 987), plenty good enough and, ultimately, the 17s with the Yokos are far more enjoyable than 18s or 19s with the very best and latest tyres, assuming you want feel and nimbleness and response and that kind of thing, as opposed to maximum grip etc.
If you're chasing ultimate grip etc, you don't want the 17s anyway.
I suspect the Yokos may not be available for much longer. That will be a problem if so, don't know of an good alternative, though haven't had a full search terribly recently.
Oh, and take care re load ratings and Merc-spec and non-Merc-spec re the V105s if you go for them.
Oh and one final note. PASM or not PASM really doesn't matter re the 17s, I wouldn't worry about that.
The pros and cons of 17s are the same regardless. If you like what the 17s "do" you'll like them with both suspensions systems - ditto if you don't like them, you won't like them on either setup! I've run both PASM and non-PASM 987s on all three wheel sizes.
17s. And the hound:
The pros and cons of 17s are the same regardless. If you like what the 17s "do" you'll like them with both suspensions systems - ditto if you don't like them, you won't like them on either setup! I've run both PASM and non-PASM 987s on all three wheel sizes.
17s. And the hound:
Edited by f6box on Thursday 16th January 21:50
The problem with 17's is availability.
Mind you, Michelin do offer the PS5 now in 225.50.17 and 245.45.17...
https://www.willtheyfit.com/index.php?width=225&am...
https://www.camskill.co.uk/m54b0s555p209249/Michel...
https://www.camskill.co.uk/m54b0s313p210298/Michel...
I'm not a Michelin fanboy, but I think from all the choices out there on tyres for the 17s, these would probably be my choice of tyre and size.
Mind you, Michelin do offer the PS5 now in 225.50.17 and 245.45.17...
https://www.willtheyfit.com/index.php?width=225&am...
https://www.camskill.co.uk/m54b0s555p209249/Michel...
https://www.camskill.co.uk/m54b0s313p210298/Michel...
I'm not a Michelin fanboy, but I think from all the choices out there on tyres for the 17s, these would probably be my choice of tyre and size.
Picked the car up on Wednesday last week and in spite of the weather am working through the process of making it just so.
It drives beautifully having just ticked over to 60,000 miles, having owned a 987.1 Cayman nearly 10 years ago, after a few miles it felt so good like an old pair of shoes! The factory quick shift took a small amount of getting used to but really love it now and the sports seats are a great improvement over the standard seats.
It doesn't have PASM, nor PSM 3.0 but I'm not sure it is any the worse. Its currently on the 19" wheels but the .2 suspension revisions seem to make it more tolerable before I swap them out.
Is anyone running Michelin PS5 on 225/50/17 and 245/45/17 or will I be the guinea pig if I refurb the 987.2 Boxster III 17" wheels I have and get them fitted?
It drives beautifully having just ticked over to 60,000 miles, having owned a 987.1 Cayman nearly 10 years ago, after a few miles it felt so good like an old pair of shoes! The factory quick shift took a small amount of getting used to but really love it now and the sports seats are a great improvement over the standard seats.
It doesn't have PASM, nor PSM 3.0 but I'm not sure it is any the worse. Its currently on the 19" wheels but the .2 suspension revisions seem to make it more tolerable before I swap them out.
Is anyone running Michelin PS5 on 225/50/17 and 245/45/17 or will I be the guinea pig if I refurb the 987.2 Boxster III 17" wheels I have and get them fitted?
jonindorset said:
Its currently on the 19" wheels but the .2 suspension revisions seem to make it more tolerable before I swap them out.
I can attest to this. My 987.1 standard spec Boxster on 17s n my Cayman R on 19s ride as smoothly as each other (though in an absolute sense I couldn't call either 987 smooth when it comes to rough road surfaces!). The 987.2 is on original dampers/springs but the 987.1 has had new rear springs & dampers and as far as crashyness on the rear axle I think the 987.2 on 19s is better. Although being Boxster vs Cayman it's not strictly like for like.Gassing Station | Boxster/Cayman | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff