What is the best Size Wheel for a 1977 911S

[NH1977Porsche]

1977 911S with 42K original miles. This car has been in family since new. I have the stock 15" Fuch rims with the original Michelin 185/70 VR tires. I want to take off these wheels, and store them. I plan to buy either 15" or 16" Fuchs in either a 6" or 7" wide rim.
I want to keep the car pretty stock.

Handling is good considering the size of the tire. I want to make sure that I keep the proper ratio for total diameter of the tire.
Other concerns are not adding too much rotational weight to each wheel from the stock configuration.

I also want to make sure that I do not have the tire too big that they rub on the fenders/ wells.
If any of you have experience with having done this, I would love to see some pictures as well.

My car is silver exterior with black interior, and it is a narrow body so a wide wheel/ tire would not work in the rear, so I am thinking that it would be best for the same size wheels on all four's.
I hope to hear from many on this topic


Thanks, Pete

[rwest]

Hello Pete and welcome,

Common experience says that a 205 fits the narrow body cars, I've had several brands in 205 that rubbed, so I bought 195's this time around. As far as keeping tire diameters similar, just Google "tire size calculator" and you should find one that you can put different sizes in and they will give you comparisons including speedometer error. I think the one I used was from a Miata group, I think Discount tire has one on their site too.

Oh, one more thing, everyone expects the new guy to post pictures of his car!

-Rutager

[NH1977Porsche]

Thanks for the response. I will post a picture of my car has soon as I figure out how to load it on here.

So do you have 15" or 16" wheels on you Targa and are they 6" wide? 195/70?

Thanks Pete Torosian

1977 911S Silver

[rwest]

Pete,

My car came with aftermarket 16x7 wheels and I put 205/50s or 55s on them for he twenty years I had the car and this last round I had some cutting of the sidewalls; last tires I didn't, ones before I did. Pretty much everyone says 205 works, although I suspect my car might have been in a crash before I got it and maybe the fender wasn't done right (visually I can't tell.) I have always thought Fuchs need to be on 911s, so I sourced a used proper year set from someone on this forum. They are 15x6 and I put 195/65-15 on them. I used Goodyear Eagle GTs.

Best,
Rutager

[mpieretti]

I recently went through this very same issue on my '75 911s.
I too wanted a stock look and opted for 15x6 cookie cutter rims with 195 65 15 Dunlop Sport tires.

I really like the look and the handling compared to the oversized fuch/pirelli set-up I had before.
The 205 size tite is a little more aggressive looking on the car, but not "too much" on the narrow body cars in my opinion.

The 195 65 15 looks stock, but a little thin by today's stanfards.
If i could post pics from an ipad i would, but I'm not there yet....

[allaircooled]

I have 16x6 fuchs up front and 16x7 in the rear on my narrow body. 205/50 tires front 225/50 rear, if memory serves me right. Previous owner had rolled the rear fenders a little bit.

[Charles Freeborn]

205/60's on the stock 15's work well.
-C

[PK 77 911]

My car is a 1977 911s. One thing to watch out for is the actual width of the tread. They can differ by over half an inch. Tire rack has all these details on their site. I am not an expert but I would say that you have to consider the offset of the wheel you are putting on. Some folks on here may be running a different offset to what you may want to use. I run 205x15x60's on the front and 215x60x15 on the rear on 6" phone dial rims. I am not sure the off set of these. The rears had to have fender rolls as my car sits quite low.

I would say the 205x60x15 or maybe go to the 205x50x16 would be a good fit without having to roll the fenders. They will fill out the fenders nicely and not take away from the stock look.

I will have the wheels off my car next week so I can check the offset and the tread width and let you know if you like.

PK

[GMR911]

I have 16 x6 fuchs and 205x55x16 tires all the away around on my 77 911. works well for me with no tire rub

[Reifle]

My '77 has 16 X 8 Ronals with 215/50 all around! Runs great and no rubbing. Also, the car is set to "euro" height.

[NH1977Porsche]

Nice picture with the 215/50/16. I still have the car at US height. What brand tire do you have mounted on the Ronals? and how wide are they? I guess the tire width would be the controlling number to avoid fender rub.

Have you noticed a big improvement in the handling with the 16" wheels and wider tires over the stock 15"

Tomorrow I will post a picture of my car.

Thanks for the good info.


Pete

Stock 1977 911S

[NH1977Porsche]

Hello:

Does anyone have Michelin Pilot 205/55/16 on a narrow body 911S. I know this tire has a wider width (8.4") than some of the other tires out there and I would like to use this tire on Fuch 16X6 or 16X7 wheels. But before I pull the trigger on buying these I want to make sure that the tires do not rub the fender wheels.

My 1977 911S is all stock at stock US height.

Please let me know, and pictures are always welcome.


Thanks, Pete
1977 911S Silver with black interior

[stormin48061]

I had pilots 225/50/16s on the rears with no rubbing and 205/55/16s on the front with no rubbing or turning problems, mounted on 6s. 225/50/16s on 7s rubbed, I tried them. Now running 205/55/16s on 7s all around so I can rotate the tires at will.

[Reifle]

Sorry for the delay - I am running Dunlops and I find them to be pretty good. Right now I am not tracking the car etc... What I have noticed is the Dunlops have a wide shoulder - more so than other 215's. The car runs smooth and the ride is comfortable.

[NeedSpace]

I have a 1976 911s narrow body...when I got the car, I had 205/50VR15 on front and 225/50VR15 on back. I thought these were a little too small, they looked funny and road hard (to be fair, they were fairly dry rotted so that could have added to the experience).



I wasn't looking for racing tires, something for cruising/touring that would give a slightly more comfortable ride so I ordered Pirelli P4 215/60R15 back, 195/65R15 for the front. This is what they look like. I paid $500 all in and they ride and handle great. The 215/60R15s are only off from the original by .2% so my speedo would be pretty accurate. They don't rub at all and I think they look pretty good. BTW, I would also recommend that Miata spreadsheet. I used that along with a lot of searches to come to my conclusion.



Congrats on the purchase, looking forward to pictures!

[stormin48061]

NH i posted pics on the other thread for you.

[stormin48061]

NH, here you go as requested. Pilots 205/55/16s on 6s on the front and Pilots 225/50/16s on 7s on the rear.

[NH1977Porsche]

Car is original Paint and Interior

[allaircooled]

Very nice! I wish I was this lucky!

[manbridge 74]

Originally Posted by NH1977Porsche

Car is original Paint and Interior

^^Best wheels in my opinion. My 16x6 Fuchs weigh 4lbs more than 15x6. Each. Plus I'm sure more tire weight as well between 205/55/16 compared to 195/6015. I like the stock setup for 911s close to stock power levels.