Embarressing wheel question

Stuttgart951 · 03-10-2003, 06:44 PM

Heres a quicky guys - this just popped in my head while I was examining my fenders tonight.

Ill be in the hunt for 16x8 or 9 inch fuchs for the rear of my 88 shortly. I was planning on simply moving the 7's up front to replace the 6's but then I recalled many people putting 944 offset 7's up front and I wondered to myself...

Can I just move the OEM 7's up front or will there be a clearance issue that Im somehow not aware of?

Danke

89911 · 03-10-2003, 06:56 PM

A 7" up front with a 205 will fit just find. The 7" fuch from a 944 has a little added clearance for some bigger brakes. I had 7" on my car for years with no problems and that with an 8" rear is a nice set up. Some of the discussion you may have heard is putting a 8" by 16" up front. The only one that "fits" is a 944 turbo fuch. I am still working out the issues with getting this one to fit. It is far easier to just go with a 7"

APKhaos · 03-10-2003, 07:00 PM

Michael,
The rear 7s are 23mm offset, which can be a little tight on the front. Some have mounted 7.5s and even 8s in front, but its a crap shoot.
Ride height and camber are critical factors. I'd try running backwards - mount your 7s in front and 6s on the rear. It will be VERY tail-happy, but if you are careful it will tell you want to know - drive carefully, and try some lowish speed turns both ways, and braking in turns [really careful with this one - do it in an empty parking lot]. If its going to rub, it will under these conditions. If the rub is minor, rolling the fender lips might fix it.

Disclaimer - I've not tried this reverse mount trick. Did the thought experiment, and was going to try it before I wound up buying four new wheels.

Bill Verburg · Bill Verburg's Garage

I've heard of cars where the +23mm 7 won't fit but have never seen one. In my experience they will fit fine w/ a 205/55x16 tire.

I even used them w/ a 6mm spacer for extra brake clearance for a while. No problem even on a very low car w/ moderately aggressive street camber.

I would also advise the +15mm 9s w/ 245/45 for the back.

The bigger and wider that you go the more problems that you will run into. The rate of increasing problems is geometric. I. e. small D in sizes can mean large D in problems.

APKhaos · 03-10-2003, 08:01 PM

Michael,
Bill's right - tire size is the key here. You probably have 225/50s on your 7s, which is what I had trouble with. 205s should fit without a problem.

marcesq · marcesq's Garage

FWIW, both 951 and 911 7x16s have the same offset 23.3. I have the 951 wheel on the front with 205/55s no problem anywhere.

Now if I can get those 225s to fit on the rear . . . . and the adventure begins.

scottb · 03-10-2003, 10:36 PM

I just put 7s on the front of my 84, with 205s. The driver's side tire rubbed, even though a few months prior to changing the wheels I had the front end aligned by a Porsche expert. I didn't want to muck around with rolling the funder, so I had the camber adjusted. So far, so good, but I really haven't challenged it on some twisties yet. Those that say it's a crap shoot are correct.

Wayne 962 · Wayne 962's Garage

Yes, it should fit fine. If not, check alignment, or look for a tire from a different manufacturer...

-Wayne

speeder · speeder's Garage

Question: What is the difference between 951 and 911 16x7s? They have a different part# but same offset.

Also, as Bill said, 205/55s should be fine on 7s in the front, (stock tire size), unless you are running too low of a ride height. The 205s actually fit 7s a lot better than 6s, in terms of rim/tire mating. I have seen 225s on 7s in front work, totally depends on brand of tire. No way would I run my stock rear 225 dunlops on the front, just doesn't look right for starters,+ clearance problems.

03-11-2003, 03:24 AM

79 with 911 7and 8x16's, 205's front, sitting at 24.75, no rubbing

gr8fl4porsche · gr8fl4porsche's Garage

One more wheel question.

If I ever find a pair of 8x16's or 9x16's for the rear of my '87, will my new Yoko AVS Int 225-50's fit okay or will I have to go with 245-45's?

jmohn · jmohn's Garage

Quote:

Originally posted by speeder
Question: What is the difference between 951 and 911 16x7s? They have a different part# but same offset.

Also, as Bill said, 205/55s should be fine on 7s in the front, (stock tire size), unless you are running too low of a ride height. The 205s actually fit 7s a lot better than 6s, in terms of rim/tire mating. I have seen 225s on 7s in front work, totally depends on brand of tire. No way would I run my stock rear 225 dunlops on the front, just doesn't look right for starters,+ clearance problems.

If I remember correctly there is no functional difference in the 7x16 Fuch's used on the 951 and the 911. The "trick", is to use 8x16 Fuch's from the REAR of an '86 944 turbo on the front of a 911. They have (I think) 10.5mm offset which privides more clearance at the fender. This only works with the 1986 951 rear wheels , this offset was changed to 23mm(?) for the '87 model.

Jerry M
'78 SC

Joe Bob · Joe Bob's Garage

I run 225/45 on 7s and 245/45 on the 8s....no rubbing.

masraum · 03-11-2003, 07:09 AM

The standard sizes for an 8" wheel would be 225 50 as used on '89 Carreras, but if you get 9" wheels you'll probably need to use a 245 45 as used on the turbo cars. To keep the standard ratio of front:rear tire you would want a 205 front to go with a 225 rear. If you go with a 205 front, but a 245 rear you end up with more understeer.

I think if you put a turbo motor or 3.6 in the rear adding more weight and more power you would probably want to compensate by adding the extra tire that you get with a 9" wheel.

Stuttgart951 · 03-11-2003, 07:20 AM

Alright guys - thanks. Ill just plan on adjusting the tire sizes a bit to get them to fit and work with the camber from there. The car sits at 25 and 25 1/2 which looks too high to me, but I dont want to adjust the torsion bars until I've got the bigger wheels mounted... small projects and tweaks are turning into endevours with this car.

There are a few cars on Pelican and "the other list" that look REALLY good - Ill see if I cant find them and post the pics on this thread - Id be curious what tire sizes these members are running and how low their car is.

ChrisBennet · ChrisBennet's Garage

Quote:

Originally posted by speeder
Question: What is the difference between 951 and 911 16x7s? They have a different part# but same offset.

Like someone said, the 951 and 911 7x16" Fuchs have the same offset.
The 951 version has more brake clearance. I.e. you can fit S4/993 brakes under the 951 wheels and if you don't "know" that it is impossible, you can fit Big Reds under them with some mods.
Visually, the 951 wheels have deep lug nut holes - like a 9x16 wheel.
-Chris

Todd Simpson · 03-11-2003, 08:09 AM

<>

One correction-the 10.5mm offset are the 911 8's and the 23mm offset are the 944.

So...the 911 7's, 944 7's and the 944 8's are all 23mm which makes them "a possibility" for the front. 225/50 can be done with any of them but it's hit or miss. Mine needed 2 degrees of negative camber and the lips rolled flat to do it.

JeremyD · JeremyD's Garage

Porsche Part # 951 362 117 00 16 x 8 Fuchs
That's the part # for the 944 Turbo wheels. Pre-1986 offset.

I am waiting on mine - should be here Monday - 9's in the rear.

Here's a couple of good sources:

http://members.rennlist.org/911pcars/WheelWts.html

8 & 9 inch wheels for SC

Rear tire size

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/101198-test-fitment-newly-refinished-fuchs-they-fit-kind-post720590.html#post720590

http://www.2k1civic.com/stuff/tire_calc.cfm

Happy reading...

Bill Verburg · Bill Verburg's Garage

Quote:

Originally posted by speeder
Question: What is the difference between 951 and 911 16x7s? They have a different part# but same offset.

The difference is in the hub section which was moved outboard to provide more brake clearance in the spoke area. The mounting face remained at the same position relative to the hub(that is what o/s is defined as), keeping the o/s at +23.3mm. The wheel essentially has a built in spacer.

The outer appearance of the hub has recessed bolt holes as the only obvious outward sign that the hub was moved outboard. 930 9x16 w/ +15mm o/s and 944 8x16 w/ +23.3mm o/s also have the recessed lug nut holes.

KTL · 03-12-2003, 06:10 AM

The funny thing about the 944 Turbo 16 x 7 is that it looks just like a 16 x 6 except for the deep lug holes. The standard 911/930 16 x 7 looks better IMO with the different shape of the wheel face. But if you need brake clearance, the 944 wheels are the way to go (or small spacers).