"New" 911R Wheels?

JTO · 07-23-2003, 11:54 AM

Hey Gang,

Is anybody making new 911R wheels? I was told by Steve at Rennsport Systems in Portland that a guy in CA is taking 15" Fuchs and adding an inch of width to the back side of the rim and coming up with a wheel similar to the 911R 7" wheel. Any knowledge of this?

Thanks,
Troy

ErVikingo · 07-23-2003, 12:28 PM

Have not heard of this. But I'm interested.

Randy Webb · 07-23-2003, 12:33 PM

Interesting, but how strong would that be?? Can it be as strong as the original forging?

JTO · 07-23-2003, 12:40 PM

Randy:
I have only heard good things about Steve and his shop. The work he is going to be doing for me is top notch. I can't imagine he would suggest that I use anything less than great. I believe Steve has used these wheels in the past for other customers and thinks highly of them. I just want to get some independant confirmation of their existence and quality, just for my knowledge, and I guess for others.

I want the width in the rear without flairing the fenders. I like having a sleeper and I like the trim body. I don't want to spend $1500-$2000 per wheel for original 911R wheels.

Anybody else?

Troy

JTO · 07-23-2003, 02:20 PM

Hi Noah,

Yes Steve spent about an hour discussing the mods to my car. Super nice guy. He reeled me in quite a bit on what I wanted to do to the suspension on my car. Basically he said what I spec'd out would be ideal for a race car but hell on the street. I am anxiously awaiting his cost proposal, etc. I asked him to include a set of these "new" 911R wheels. I am still curious however if anyone knows more about their origin.

Thanks for the good word regarding Steve. After my MM experience, I have trouble trusting anyone when it comes to my car.

See ya,
Troy

bob tilton · bob tilton's Garage

i think there are vendors producing them but not advertising due to liabilities. i had my wheels re-finished locally and i spotted an "R prototype" wheel in the rack. when i inquired he said it was a work in progress piece. this is a shop that does not cater to the p market like the other players.

i would be curious as to what there selling for?

JTO · 07-23-2003, 03:19 PM

Hi Bob,

Steve said somthing like $1500 for a pair (rear only). That seems pretty high but it really depends on the quality of the finished wheel.

Troy

bob tilton · bob tilton's Garage

$1500/pr!

that's not much of a savings. call me ignorant but i think you can still find a pair of real R wheels for $2k.

304065 · 07-23-2003, 03:33 PM

Don't the R wheels take tubes?

I wonder what the price of a custom set of HRE 346's with real fuch centers would be. Now we're talking 3 piece, but you could paint them like Calzia did, RSR style, and nobody could tell up close.

Scott Clarke · Scott Clarke's Garage

Troy-
Weidman wheels in Oroville. CA does this. I spoke with Harry Weidman (very knowledgeable and friendly) about just this topic at Emory's event this spring. He said that it costs about $350 per wheel, but couldn't remember if that included refinishing. He had some wheels on hand that he had refinished, and they looked very nice. The finish he uses is closer to original than Al Reed's product (although I'm very happy with my Reed wheels). I think that this is the way to go. 215/60s will then fit, but you will need to mess around with spacers to get them to fit.
-Scott

911pcars · 07-23-2003, 04:40 PM

Since Lindsey Racing makes 17" Fuchs (any width) out of 16x6" Fuchs , maybe they can make a 15x7" Fuchs as well. However, the rim profile may not look factory identical. I've seen wider "Fuchs" wheels made from two wheel sections welded together.

I guess it all depends on how authentic you want it to look/be.

Sherwood Lee
http://members.rennlist.org/911pcars

chuckw951 · 07-23-2003, 04:49 PM

I think many of us early 911 owners would be interested in 911R "replica" or widened wheels. Quality and proper offset would be the issue for me.

Randy Webb · 07-23-2003, 05:24 PM

I agree with all the Good things above about Steve W., but note it isn't his shop that makes them. Maybe he has tested them or trusts that the manf. has done so.

I don't know much about welding? Can anyone say yes or no to whether welding would weaken a forged Al piece like this?

"I want the width in the rear without flairing the fenders."
- Don't we all!

Bobboloo · Bobboloo's Garage

I believe you need to use deep sixes to make a 911R replica wheels if you want it to look like A 911R wheel.

The deep sixes like the 911R wheels were not designed for tubeless tires but people seem to get by. As for track use without tubes I guess that's another question.

TimT · 07-23-2003, 05:37 PM

Steve W deserves the"guru" his status!

I have called Steve a few of times, seeing if rennsportsystems could help me out on my project. Not only does Steve offer sage advice, he has steered me to other sources for oddball performance parts I am looking for.....

Steve is an absolute asset to the Porsche community

JTO · 07-23-2003, 07:42 PM

Thanks for the replies everyone. I'll get to the bottom of this. Randy, I'll find out about the welding and how it affects strength, although the answers will not come from unbiased people probably.

Hey thanks Scott. I was hoping you'd respond since I think we talked about this once. I'll give this guy a call.

Thanks all,
Troy

Randy Webb · 07-23-2003, 09:07 PM

Actually, why not just ask Steve W. about the strength of thewelding -- he probably knows.

911pcars · 07-23-2003, 10:53 PM

Generally speaking, if done correctly, a weld joint should be as strong or stronger than the surrounding metal. Welded wheels are not something out of the ordinary. Ask Jack Olsen. He has welded Fuchs wheels on BBII. I think they're doing fine (so far).

Sherwood

andyjboy · 07-24-2003, 03:29 AM

There is a shop in North Hollywood, CA that carries out this work & has done numerous 911R wheel 'conversions' from deep sixes.

I got the details of the shop from Rick Cabell when I was investigating the possibility of having some 911R wheels made for the rear of my early (narrow body) car. Cost was just under $300 per wheel.

However, shortly afterwards I found a company in Germany (closer to home - I'm in the UK) that has been producing widened Fuchs wheels for use in competition for a number of years & so I sent them a pair of 'deep sixes' to have converted to 911R spec 7x15" (49mm offset).

The work has now been completed & the wheels will shortly be on their way back to me.

I decided that I would send them a pair of wheels that required refurbishment rather than some that were perfect since, if the wheels didn't turn out to be any good, I wouldn't have ruined a pair of perfect wheels.

I will post pictures of the wheels in their 'raw' state when I get them back - probably end of next week.

Andy
'69 911E--------->R

cegerer · cegerer's Garage

While we're talking R wheels, I saw a car at Watkins Glen running R wheels on all 4 corners. Didn't know these could be run on the front. Maybe this car had modified suspension or something, not sure. Anybody know if this can be done without making any modifications???? -- Curt