Added weight of plus size wheels/tires

I really like the look of the 19' Carrera S wheels on the Cayman S and this might seem like overkill but... I'm worried about the negative effects of unsprung weight. Does anyone know how much additional weight I can expect to be penalized for by forgoing the standard Cayman S wheels and tires and going for the 19's (wheel and tire together)?

Unsprung is certainly something to keep in mind when modifying the vehicle, but you really need to worry about it if you intend to track your car somewhat regularly. I believe (but not sure) the lightest option 19' wheel for the Cymn is 27#. Which is actually not bad considering they are 19', comparable to the SSR GT10 for example. However, the BBS and HRE competiton wheels can be had around 20# for up to 9.5' or 10' wide ones. However, it is difficult to justify those for street usage as they more fragile than the Porsche wheels. One advice I can give you is that no matter what you do, stick to brand name wheels.

Thanks FT. I respectfully disagree with you about only worrying about wheel weights if you're tracking the car. I have a 1998 Acura/Honda NSX right now and I've noticed a huge difference when driving the car with OEM, lighter than OEM and heavier than OEM wheels/tires. Since the Cayman S is expected to weigh about the same as my NSX, is also a mid-engined/RWD car, and have similar power characteristics I'd imagine that heavier and lighter wheel/tire combo's would make a difference. But I do agree with you about sticking to a good aftermarket wheel. Personally, I like that Porsche offers options (Honda/Acura did not with the NSX).

Also remember that it's not just the weight of the wheel, but the weight distribution. If two wheels weigh the same amount in total, the wheel with more weight further out will require more power to move (or stop).

Da Hapa, Nice to see you on this forum in addition to NSXPRIME. Coming from an NSX, I too was sensitive to wheel weights. After driving both 18' and 19' on the Cayman, I selected the stock 18' wheels for my Seal Grey CS(and saved $2000 to boot!).

I agree that one can feel the difference wheels make on car's acceleration. Of course tires make a big difference as well - since they sit the furthest from the center they contribute in a substantial way, but with tires the weight range might be one or two pounds, where as with the wheels we are talking close to 6 lb. from the numbers I have seen. Wheelenhancement.com is a good place to start - you will see all wheels for the Cayman on one page, and they are good about answering questions including weights.