Wheel Spacer Options

I have been told several options on wheel spacers Opt 1 -- 17mm all around Opt 2 -- 6mm front/15mm rear My requirements are to get the wheels out as far as possible, get the "filled out" wheel well look (without lowering a PASM car -- springs are just too low for most roads), but NOT to mess up the handling and not require any fender mods. The 17mm would obviously not alter handling negatively, however it might be too far out in the front -- possible overhang and fender rub??? So, I am leaning toward 6/15...6 would be good in the front -- no mods required...my main concern now is what it would do to the handling. This car will not be tracked much. Any experience floating around???

Lots of thoughts on the subject if you do a search. My opinion is to leave all spacers off since they don't add anything other than some eye candy. The large ones will throw up debris and ruin your finish since they push the tires out past the fenders and mixing sizes is a handling no-no from the PCA experts. Most folks go for the "look" however and will advise you differently so it will boil down to your preferences. Do you want performance or pretty? Or both?

I put 5mm all around - it makes the tires flush without throwing debris all over the side of the car. As Santa Fe says, others will have other opinions, but I think any more than the 5mm to 6mm range will effect the handling adversely, if that's in fact something that matters to you more than looks. brad

i had 15mm spacers all the way around and didnt have any trouble with handling. if you look around you can find pics of my wheels with the spacers. they are more for looks than anything else, as SF mentioned, and any thing more than that and your panels are going to take a beating. i have my stock wheels on now without spacers and i actually notice that the car seems to hug just a little less than it did when my spacers are on....might be my imagination though..anyway...my 2cents.

Also be sure and read the post where Porsche attributed premature wear to one members Cayman 's rotors to non-factory spacers/wheel bolts. Be sure and have and use a good torque wrench if you do this yourself.

I just installed 7mm in the front and 15mm in the rear. I tryed 15 mm on the front and rear and it is too much in the front. I would not go more than 7mm in the front. You might be able to go with 17 mm in the rear, but another member tryed 18 mm in the rear and said the were to much.

Santa Fe- I read that post several weeks ago concerning the rotors. I dont get it -- how do spacers affect a rotors operation? What was the final outcome of that dispute? Jet

Jet, Who really knows. The aftermarket spacers could have been out of spec (round), the wheel bolts could have not been torqued properly or come loose, or had different weights or??? But this dealer apparently chose to blame the non- Porsche parts. I think the owner finally got them to back off but if you look for it again it was updated by the owner. Porsche only sells 5mm spacers for a reason you know.

Presumably moving the wheel outboard increases the moment arm (not sure that's the correct term-been a while since physics 101) which stresses the rotor /pad interface to create some degree of wobble. Talking microns here. Substantially magnified if the wheel and or studs aren't torqued properly. Metals do flex, especially when then get hot.

Who are you guys buying your spacers from? what the cost range?

My CS was ordered by the dealer with this option - 5mm all the way around. I believe the factory charge is around $500 or a bit less. Not sure I would have ordered this option but since I bought the CS from their showroom for a very compelling price - this was not an issue. MJB

How many 5mm spacers would you like for $20.00 each for a good Christmas deal?

Boothe Design - Not clear to me why you are making me an offer. As I previously posted, my car has this factory option. I did not order the car, it was a showroom purchase. Lastly, I would not have ordered this option. It is not clear to me that there is a performance benefit; specially for around $500. Lastly, with all due respect, is it me or is your post somewhat of a smart a$$ offer? MJB

I have 5mm f and 15mm rear, they are from H&R and were pretty cheap if I recall. I used GT3 wheel bolts in front (they are 5mm longer then stock cayman ) and RAD Wheel Bolts in rear, they exceed all porsche specs and are TUV certified....and were only a few $'s each, and they are Dacromet coated. (the dull gray coating found on the OE ones that resists corrosion etc...). as for handling, you would have to be schumacher to notice a 10mm track width change in the front, and I'm not even sure if he would. dw

Very sorry, MJB, that you did not like my answer, or post. I am a club sponsor and that message was directed to the world and not you. Very sorry also if I punched the wrong button and so badly offended you. We make about 15 sizes of wheel spacers; From 4mm to 3 inches which will cover almost any need that you might have. Porsche asked me to show them my spacers about 10 years ago, which I did and they said that they would never approve the use of adapters. Did you also notice that they have been making spacers and adapters ever since?

Mr. Boothe, I have been trying to get to you for a month, however your website is sending me error messages that your mail box is full. I would like to purchase wheel spacers, please send me a PM as how to get in touch with you...

Boothe Design - I appreciate your reply. Have a nice holiday! MJB

any suggestions for 19" rims?.....5 mm Front & 10- 15mm max. rear appears to a good fit.

Since you asked. No more than 5mm all the way round. If you doubt that ask Porsche why they only sell 5mm. Looks over function applies to some however and if that is your desire then ....

I have the 19" Sport Design wheels... 6mm spacers in the front and 15mm spacers in the rear... Actually I like the way the car handles...

Go with Boothe spacers with 6mm or 7mm in the front and 15mm in the rear. It fills it out the car perfectly and their quality is unmatched. 2,800 miles and not a single chip. You won't even see excessive dirt on fenders from the rain because they fit perfectly inside the wheel wells. Handling appears to improve a little with a wider track as well. As far as the naysayers on this subject- there are people on this site that think that make-up on their wife is a unnecessary modification so don't give too much credence to the "stock only" guys. The Porsche engineers as good as they are still are restricted by hitting price points and gov't regulations. It is always good to make a great thing even better. Mod On!! Go with the 6mm/15mm and you will not regret it!

johnb, will that set-up (6/15) work with Carerra S wheels? The reason I ask is that I didn't think the spacers option was available from the dealer with those wheels (which are what I have on my CS). thanks!

I just purchased a set of 19x11 Sport Design for the rear of my CS... You must use the 15mm spacers with this configuration... I'm using the Michelin PS2 305/30x19... Works for me... Many say this combo will cause the car to push more when cornering... It's not true with my CS but I also added the H& R Springs and Sway Bars at the same time...

Talk to the guys at Boothe and they will tell you everything you need to know to make the right decision. They are a wealth of knowledge on the subject. They actually should write an article on they subject and post it. It would open a lot of eyes. There product really is the best. The guy where I had them put on does wheels, tires & spacers for only high-end cars and says they are the best he has ever seen.

johnb, did yuo go with the chrome wheel bolts or the black-chrome? Trying to decide which I want. What wheels are you running? I have the Carerra S.

Chromw lugs. I have the standard Cayman S 18's. I think it is the best looking wheel on the car (just a personal opinion of course) and with the colored caps, chrome lugs and spacers they really look good. (I will be lowering the car as well soon that will really make the look pop)

Oh please. While I couldn't care less whether my or anyone else's car is stock, I still have a very hard time believing that a 12mm (0.47 inches - less than HALF an inch) increase in front and 30mm increase in rear track will have ANY significant (read: noticeable) effect in improving the handling characteristics of the car. If there really WAS a noticeable and/or significant improvement, then why the heck didn't Porsche just increase the track of the front and rear by that MINISCULE amount when the car was being designed?? Also, I'm still waiting for someone to prove objectively and conclusively that increasing the track by a 30mm (a whopping 1.18 inches) difference can even be detected by someone looking at 2 cars side by side. In fact, if someone who has 15mm spacers installed is willing to send me a rear view of his car, I'll match it with a picture of MY stock CS, decolor and mask identifying marks, and post both pictures here. Let's see how many people could pick out which one has the wider track. Obviously, this has NOTHING to do with price points and government restrictions. If spending the extra money to add spacers makes you happy and makes you think the car handles better because of it, by all means do it. Just don't try to convince others it makes any useful difference in performance, because there is no proof it does.

I agree about the handling, which is why I wrote: "as for handling, you would have to be schumacher to notice a 10mm track width change in the front, and I'm not even sure if he would." I also posted pics of the rear of my car with 15mm spacers on the 1st page of this thread...you can see the difference for sure. If not so much in the picture, definately in person.... dw

I agree (wow - that's a new twist for me) :dance: ... I can't say that the 12mm front and the 30mm difference in the track has had ANY effect on handling... However, I do feel the CS looks much better lowered with the wheels set out... I bought my spacers from Ralph at Booth Designs... Excellent experience!!!

Oh, I'm not denying anything about the improved looks. I just doubt that the improvement is noticeable unless you know what you are actually looking for. davew, I acknowledge what you said on the first page; I wasn't addressing you specifically. But johnb21 has been making these (ridiculous, IMO) claims about his spacers for a while now and I'd really like to hear/see some objective tests to back them up. He goes so far as to say he can feel an improvement in handling - I say hogwash. Anyone willing to send me a picture of their Cayman w/ 15mm spacers taken from the rear or 3/4 view? The picture should be of the entire car, not just the rear fender. I'll try to match the picture from the same angle with my car and post the two pictures for comparison.