Pulling trigger on FM10 and KD's...
 

After much research and deliberation I am going ot order these up in the following specs...

84 Carrera

Fikse FM10 Technipolish
G-Force KD's
7.5 front with 205/50/17
9 rears with 255/40/17

Gonna do this today so if anyone has any suggestions or alternate ideas please respond.

(P.S. CUP II's for sale with SO2's with same sizing as above. Mint, 5k miles on them)

-Jeff
nolift911@hotmail.com

You can fit 8's in the front no problem. I have two sets of Fikse wheels for my '87 911 Carrera and they fit fine.

Cheers, James

I put the 7.5 and 9" FM-10s on my 78SC about 1.5 years ago.

I wish I would have gone with the 8's in the front. With the factory alignment specs the 8's would fit easily. With the 1.5 degrees negative camber I run I could probably fit 8.5" but that may through off the balance between the front and rear wheel widths. The 9's are fine in the rear but you could go with 9.5"s if they get the offset dead on. If I did it again, I would make the 9.5" wheels fit.

Also the 205's in the front are too skinny. I run 225's Kumo Estacia MX on the front and they fit the wheel perfect. I first ran 215's on the front and they were too skinny.

I currently run 255's on the rear but wish I would have gone with the 265's. There is enough room on the fender side and the 255's look a little small on the 9" rim.

Hope this helps. For cleaning the wheels use a soft paint brush to get into the crevices.

I agree. Why not 8's in front with 225/45's instead of 205/50's?

With Fikse's 911 offsets, they'll fit with no problem.

Good luck,
Tim

I second the recommendation for 8's up front.

My other suggestion is to ask about the coating of the rim. I bought my FM10s in 1999 with the standard finish, which I believe was the technipolish. While the rim center has a nice protective coating, the polished aluminum rims do not have a coating. This makes it much easier for brake dust to eat into the finish of the rims. I let heavy brake dust from the track sit on the wheels for 5 days once, and it was *not* a fun experience to clean them.

Therefore, I recommend asking Fikse or your dealer about coating the entire wheel, to make your life easier. A friend recently purchased, and I think the clear coating was $50/wheel.

I would got with any Fikse but the FM-10. The FM-10's are hard to clean. Don't say I didn't warn you...
-Chris

Put 225 on front and clean with Simple Green.....those FM10s look very nice

hard to clean...you said it, my friend! There are little nooks & crannies inside each "spoke" that needs to be carefully cleaned. I love the look, though.

There is a "lip" the creates "corners" on every spoke. I can't find a blow-up right now, but see if this pic helps:

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/rfusi/fm10_a.jpg

From Simple Green's web site

I've wondered about the SG/Aluminum issue as well, since Fikse specifically recommends a 50/50 mix of Simple Green/H20 to clean their wheels.

I prefer P21S wheel cleaner, and have never had a problem using it on both Fikse and Kinesis wheels with various finishes.

Tim

OK so 225's?

Wheel Enhancement told me mods such as serious fender rolling and lots of negative camber will be needed to make those fit.

My 205's rub slightly at the track...kinda leary about going bigger.

My thoughts were I do a few DE events a year and yes my car does push a little but I thought the added grip of the KD's would help that...point is for me it is not a huge issue...and I was trying to cut weight as the primary focus of this excercise...

I would never go with a fatter tire in the rear so why get a 9.5?

I want light. Suspension has RUF sways and the yellow sport shocks are my only mods.

-Jeff
nolift911@hotmail.com

I clean my FM5s with a wash mit and normal car wash soap. Works fine so far...but the FM5s have to be a bit easier to keep clean.

Don't know if it's the same car YMMV but I have the combo listed below and plan on going to 275 rubber in the rear, my wheels where ordered as "maxed out" for a C2, so I going on the assumption that the offsets are right on. The FM 10 are hard to keep clean, I use PS21 gel and as it stays put a little longer in the lip area seems to clean fine. They look great but if I did it again(to many $$$ for Fikse) I'd get the FM5 spoke, easy clean good looks. check the pics in the gallery. good luck!

Oh, I see there's nothing listed below! frt, 8.5x17(235/40) rear, 9.5x17(255/40) soon to be 275/40

FYI, I have 8's & 9's on my 77 911S w/ SC rear flares. I run ~-1.5 of camber in the front, and both front & rear fenders are rolled. I've had the following combos on the car:

235/275 (old-style R1s)
235/255 (A032Rs)

next is 245/275 (Victoracers)

We had a tech session at Fikse's place earlier in the summer. The black anodized centers (race black finish) looks pretty trick as well. Plus it would not show the grim in the corners.

with 225's up front you will be working on the front fenders, stay with the 205's unless you want to roll the lips and maybe yank(sorry pull) the fender out some when your at the track, Kevin

Hmmmmm....I guess I asked for this with the posting.

I always wonder how you can get two completely opposite experiences with fitments on the front. I know the cars are different. My fenders are rolled, not significantly as in there is room for more rolling if needed.

I just don't need massive rubbing at the track. I had my 205's on for 2 years before I discovered I had a rubbing issue which showed up at the track.

I am buying these from Radial Tire in Silver Spring and was told I can get teh correct offset to work with 7.5 or 8 with a 225...

-Jeff
nolift911@hotmail.com

I've got some corrosion from the rain on my FM-10's. Is there any products out there that I can use to get rid of the corrosion?

back to the topic-
I've got 8's up front and 9's in the rear on an 89' 964_C4, when steering all the way to either side the tires would slightly rub. I'm running 225/45's up front. Hope that helps.

Too much uncertainty there Jeff. You should cancel the order and put some pristine 7 and 8 x 15 fuchs on your car.

http://www.pelicanparts.com/support/...s/beerchug.gif

http://www.pelicanparts.com/support/...s/fork_off.gif

Uh huh....http://www.pelicanparts.com/support/smileys/dom.gif

Anyway back to the issue at hand. 7.5 will allow a 225 so why go 8? I would like to here the reasoning behind this other than it would allow me to go larger than 225 which I would never do.

I am guessing that there should be a way to use he correct offset for no rubbing issues at all...maybe Fikse knows.

-Jeff
nolift911@hotmail.com

Fikse is very knowledgeble on offsets and can no doubt make the right one available to you. The problem is getting the right information to them through your dealer(wink,wink) I all honesty the dealer just wants to make the sale, you should not depend on them solely for fitment. Have you tried to talk with Fikse direct? re: desired tire size/track width/ rim capatibility/offset?

When I looked into Fikse their o/ss were

• 7.5" +25.0mm
• 8" +18.6mm
• 9" +18.6mm
• 9.5" either +25.0 or +12.3mm
• 10" +18.6mm

Assuming that o/s is still the same The 7.5s will fit the front fine but the 8s would have trouble, I would use 225/45 on 7.5s and the 9s will fit the back fine using 255/40 but the 9.5 or 10 will not fit easily if at all.

You need to be aware that the 225/45 fronts may require a little lip work but it shouldn't be a real big issue, they are only marginally wider (less than 1/4") and a bit shorter than the 205/50. But the tread width is bigger and a better match for the rears.

Current Fikse suggestions from the factory for our cars ('78 SC through the 3.2 Carrera) are 8" and 9" wheels in 17". I talked with Jim Fikse and Travis Johnson in customer service.

I asked about fitting up S03 for tires and was directed to the 235/45/16 front and the 255/40/17 for the rear as the best fitment.

Yes they fit with no problems and I have a very narrow front driver's side on my SC. But I don't like how the car drives with the SO2s I ended up with in those sizes. S02s run extremely narrow in tread width and very wide shoulders. I will buy 225 and 255s in the SO3s when I get the chance. 225/255 are a better combo than the 205 or 235/255 IMO. Thank for the help from guys like Bill on this list.

Get the Fikse "SpeedSilver" paint on the wheels for $79.00 a wheel and forget about the cleaning problems. Mounted, balanced, polished lug nuts ($200!) and Wash. 8.8% tax make them $3,462.70.

I went with clear coat and bare rims to save some cash. In retrospec I would pay the additional $320 and never worry about cleaning or corrosion again.

I'll bet you'll love the tires.

http://www.standingwave.org/albums/p.../afk.sized.jpg


If I knew then, what I know now, I would stick with my 7 and 9 Fuchs and put the money in a 3.6, YMMV. 205s and 245s work great on that set up and the 16" wheels shortens the gearing enough to notice. I have yet to decide which look I like better. The Fikse wheels do lighten up the look of my car though. The compliments are also continious for the Fikse wheels so pride of ownership is fun.

http://www.standingwave.org/albums/p.../aat.sized.jpg

It would be very interesting if some of you Fikse owners would post the o/s of your wheels(or the front space and back space #s which are easily measured. Fikse no longer provides that info on their website. :(

From the above posts it appears that they have different o/s from what was available a few years ago. An +18.6mm o/s 8 will stick out too far in the front of a Carrera.

For those that are concerned about the height of 17s, 265/35 and possibly 275/35 are becoming available. The 265/35 is .4" shorter than even a 245/45x16. I haven't sen the 3s for the 275/35s yet.

rdane, If you put a 3.6 in your car you will want a smaller(225/45) front tire or a bigger rear tire(265 or 275).

I believe my front 8" wheels have an offset of 21 or 23mm. Fikses have unique serial numbers on each wheel, and Fikse will give you the build information on that specific wheel if you call. I will try to remember to write down the numbers of my front & rear wheels when I go home if anyone wants a definitive answer on what worked for me.

Well it looks like 7.5 in the front with 225's are the way to go.

I spent some time up at summit looking at the cars and it seems to be the way to go. One thing that was interesting was looking at a few cars with the 7.5 and 225 setup seems to have more around the fenders than my current setup with 17's and 205's on Cups.

So if I can get the correct offset all should be good.

-Jeff
nolift911@hotmail.com

I have fikses 8's and 9's with 30.5 and 18 mm offset with 225 and 255 with no problem at all with rubbing. The 8's seem better with the 225's than my other 7.5 rims.

Tim

This is on an 84.

Tim

Now we're getting somewhere.

Tim L's 9 agrees with the #s I have 9x17 is +18.6mm o/s w/ 5.73" of backspace.

the 8s are probably the +31.3mm o/s w/ 5.73" of backspace. Do you need any spacers Tim? Any rubbing especially on the inboard side? During parking lot type hard turns at full lock?

I have fit two sets of Fikses (FM10 and FM5's) on two different late 80's 911's with no problem. 8's up front have been no issue and actually have better clearance on the outer lip then a fuch 7". I would suggest a 9.5 in the back. You could possible get away with a 275 track tire there and a 255 would still be fine. The 9" back limit is a 255 tire. As far as finish, the FM10's are tough to clean. I think they are fine for everyday use. For track driving, I would suggest getting the FM5's if you like the look. You could always get the FM10's anodized black also.

Thanks Bill, I want it now. The 235/255 is not the best set up for the track IMO even with a 3.0 L engine. I will be going to a 225/255 SO3 set up with my FM10s.

I also agree that I have more clearence with the 235/45/17 on the 8" FM10s than I did with the 7x16 Fuchs and a 225. The 205 on Fuchs and the 235 on Fikse's are very comparable for clearence on the front of my car. No spacers and no rubbing.

Yes, the 8s will have more lip room if the o/s is +31.3mm, the lip room comes at the expense of backspace, hence my question about rub on the inner panls.

+23.3mm Fuchs 8x16 w/ 225/50 tires will rub on the tub in full lock turns.

Nothing rubbing on the inside with the 235s. I am also using 930 brakes.
Sorry I missed the inside issue.

Mine will rub at full lock out in parking lots on the inner fender wells. I used some stainless steel sheet metal to protect this area. It only happens on the squarer track tires.

Well I called Fikse and and they say 8's with 235's and 9's or a 9.5 with 255.

Maybe I will just keep my cups...:(

-Jeff
nolift911@hotmail.com

"Maybe I will just keep my cups.."

besides the obvious reason of costs why would you when you can add rubber width and get more clearence in the wheel wells?

I am currently running 235/255 and I definitely don't wish I had less front tire. Spring rates, sway bar sizes, and sway bar settings also play a big role in understeer/oversteer, so tire size alone is not the only factor.

I will try to get my Fikse offset numbers tomorrow to contribute another data point.

Rob, what tires are you running?

I'm currently using Yokohama A032R's. I bought these because they were all that was available on short notice during my last tire emergency (isn't that always the way)? I was actually running a set of old-style R1s before these, and the sidewalls were noticeably stiffer. I could tell the difference before I was out of the parking lot...seriously.

8's are ordered and 9's for the rear

225 up front 255 in the rear...will post pics after I get them