17" wheel replacement on a Targa 2003

Hi, I now have my Targa, but it has 17" wheels! Clearly I need to replace them asap! I've seen some on Ebay. My question is, are they a straight swap if: a) They are from a 996 (narrow-bodied) b) They are from a 997 (narrow-bodied) Do I need spacers? Anything else to watch out for? I'm only interested in genuine OEM, I'm not interested in the replica wheels following my earlier post. Cheers.

Yes to (A) Too many 997 Variants to recall which answer is B

Hi GD - didn't realise you have a Targa. Any pics? What spec does it have? Which design of wheel are you going for? I think the standard 17" wheels have the multi-spoke pattern IIRC. Otherwise, 'yes' to question (a). ~ Maxie

I'll post some pics, once I get rid of the wheels, they are a bit of an embarrassment! Options: BOSE PSM Tip S Extended Leather Full carbon pack, inc. gearstick, wheel and shift Small wheel upgrade Seal grey, black leather I think that's it!

You could post 'before' and 'after' pictures! What design of wheel have you gone for? Agreed, the standard 17" wheel looks a bit undertyred. What are your likes/ dislikes of the car so far? ~ Maxie

+ Very, very fast + Nice engine note + Not as noisy as a convertible (I guess that's obvious, but didn't occur to me until I drove it) + Very planted + Not much wheel/road noise + I just found out it's got parking sensors + A million times better than my BMW - Drivers seat has a barely noticeable wobble in the mechanism that will tightening - When driving over bumps, the roof creaks a little bit...will need a bit of advice on what to do about this.... I bet it's a common problem I fancy the 5 spoke Carerra alloys personally. I'm not a fan of the split rim and the Turbo II look a little dated now (but that's probably because I had them on my Boxster).

I have the 5 spoke carrera alloys on my silver 2003 targa and they look great. and here they are......

From the manual: Front 205/50 ZR 17 (tyre) 7J x 17H2 (rim) 50mm (rim offset) 1456mm (track) Rear 255/40 ZR 17 (tyre) 9J x 17H2 (rim) 55mm (rim offset) 1500mm (track) OR Front 225/40 ZR 18 (tyre) 8J x 18H2 (rim) 50/52mm (rim offset) 1465/1461mm (track) Rear 285/30 ZR 18 (tyre) 10J x 18H2 (rim) 65mm (rim offset) 1480mm (track) I've currently got the 17". So if it's a straight swap, don't I need to change the spacers (maybe just remove them?) when I put the 18" on please? Better still, if I do need to change the spacers, does anyone know exactly what part I need to get from the OPC? For example: http://www.porsche.com/uk/accessoriesandservice/personalisation/tequipment/911-996/wheels/ Lists 2*17mm spacers and 4*5mm spacers?

> I have the 5 spoke carrera alloys on my silver 2003 targa and they look great. They certainly do and are the right choice IMO.

So can anyone answer GD`s original question as to wether alloys off a 997 narrow body will fit straight onto a 996 ? Thanks Steve

Hi, I put earlier, that the official 18" specification is: Front 225/40 ZR 18 (tyre) 8J x 18H2 (rim) 50/52mm (rim offset) 1465/1461mm (track) Rear 285/30 ZR 18 (tyre) 10J x 18H2 (rim) 65mm (rim offset) 1480mm (track) Official Carrera 996 wheels correctly show 8J and 10J (front/rear): http://www.design911.co.uk/index.htm?Region=UK (click wheels -> Porsche original) Boxster (986) ones list as 7.5J and 9J (front/rear), which suggests that you cannot put 986 18" wheels on the 996 (although I have no idea what the rim dimension is referring to). They also have different rear ET numbers (ET52 for the 986 versus ET65 for the 996). I suspect the ET number refers to the offset, but I'm not sure. So, this reads to me as though the 986 Boxster 18" rear wheel is quite different to the 996 Carrera. The front is similar, but slight difference in rim dimension. I note that copies/replica's/3rdparty don't have a distinction between 986 or 996....this might suggest why there's been so many negative comments about replicas. As for the 997, I have a nasty feeling that they are going to be different again (on the rear). If someone can copy out the specification from the 997 manual for the 18" wheels, this will confirm it. I'll be getting sight of a 997 manual on Wednesday, so I can check for you then (if no one has replied before then). Does anyone know the official spacer part needed for standard 18" OEM wheels?

Hmm, ET is indeed offset: The offset is described by the term ET, which is from the German word 'Einpresstiefe' translated as 'insertion depth' From: http://www.driverstechnology.co.uk/wheel-offset.htm so, if you're after replacement, straight swap bolt on 18" wheels for your 996, then avoid the Boxster 986 ones! I wonder if this is because the 996 has a bigger bum than the 986 and thus, the wheels need to sit out further.

Thanks GD. Better find out the ET of the Carreras before I pay for em :lol:

One thing to remember is that you can always use spacers/shims if the wheel has a smaller offset, but you can't do it the other way round.

Just to put this thread to bed, I've found out the following: 997 wheels have different offsets to the 996. 986 wheels have different offsets again. 997 and 986 wheels are not recommended on the 996 (according to the OPC), even if you could get spacers and shims to make them fit....so if buying secondhand, make sure they come from a 996. 996 18" wheels fitting onto a 996 with 17" wheels are straight bolt ons and don't require spacers or shims.