Whats the secret to running 7s on all four corners of a narrow body?

Shuie · 04:43 PM

I know it can be done. Well, sometimes anyway. Ive researched a bunch of old posts. Found some examples that required little or no modification or fender lip rolling being necessary. Found some that were able to make it work with suspension upgrades and fender lip rolling. Found others that would not work with any amount of negative camber or modification.

I want to run regular 23mm offset 15x7s on all four corners of my '72. The plan was to run a 205/55 or a 205/50 tire if need be. I talked to guy really knows this stuff and he basically guaranteed I would have problems fitting them or that I would end up blistering the paint on my rear fenders with the 15x7s.

Suspension mods will be 22/28 t-bars and koni sports. I have no problem rolling the fender lips. I do not want to run a 16x6 or buy the R wheels.

What do I need to do to increase my odds of being able to make this work on my narrow bodied car without screwing up my paint? Is running a 45 series tire on a 16x7 easier?

Any help is appreciated.

azasadny · azasadny's Garage

Sherman,
I'm running 7jx15's on my unmodified '74 with no problems. I have Dunlop Sport 9000's in 205/50/15 in the front and 215/50/15 in the rear and I've never had any rubbing at all...

ttweed · ttweed's Garage

Sherman-

Use 205/50-15 tires and dial in as much negative camber as you can get (-2 degrees, maybe) and you will be fine with those big T-bars. I run this exact setup on my SWB '67S with stock fenders (no flares at all), stock T-bars, and 18mm ARBs. I had to roll my lips, but with the small flares you have it may not be necessary.

TT

tangerine911e · 03-30-2004, 05:16 PM

With that setup you should have no problems with 205s. Just be careful if (when!) you want to step up to 215s or 225s. I love the look of the narrow body cars with wide rubber (well, wide for a narrow car!).

Ash

IROC · IROC's Garage

I ran 225/50s on 7x15s on my '76 in the pre-flare days. They fit fine. It took a combination of ride height, suspension stiffness, camber and rolled fender lips to make it work. Having said that, what works on one car doesn't necessarily work on another, so I would recommend finding someone who has the tires and wheels you're looking for and do a little test fit.

Mike

Shuie · 03-31-2004, 03:56 AM

Thanks very much guys!

Ive got a pair of 15x7s right now. Im going to start trying to make a 205/50 tire work in the rear. Whats the best 205/50 tire out there right now? I got pricing on a Yokohoma Avid V4 and a Dunlop SP8000 in 205/55, didnt check to see whether they do those in a 50 series. I'll check into the sport 9000 Art Z mentioned. What else can I look at for a street tire?

Silveresrty911S · Silveresrty911S's Garage

I'd look at the Yokohama AVS ES 100's, I've got them on mine and seem to be holding up just fine, great grip even wet! I agree with Mike, I'm on 215/60's rear 7" and 205/55 front 6" on my '77 and with neg 1.5 and slight rolling of fender on stock (Koni) suspension they do fine
However I did notice with myself 190lbs and a large instructor 220-230 on the passanger side, I had some slight rubbing driving in an Autocross. I guess I'll have to roll the fenders a bit more. Hope this helps.

Adam · Adam's Garage

They should fit without modification, ideally.

These are 15x7 (23mm offset) Fuchs and I run 205/55-15 all round. The only mods are that it's pretty heavily lowered and I rolled the front fender lips when the car was painted (it rubbed with my old 205/60s, but only on bumps while at full lock - bumpy driveways, gas stations etc).

I think the trick is to find a very squared-off looking tire. Bulging tires seem to make the issue worse than it is.

Good luck.

Andy Ring · 03-31-2004, 04:38 AM

Just to add another confirmation, I have a 72 (just like you) and I'm running 7 x 15 all around with 205/55s. I had a bit of rub against the front spoiler but discovered that it was because the spoiler had been mounted about a quarter inch too far aft. Readjusted it, and have had no problems. Don't autox or anything, just a driver.

jase007 · jase007's Garage

Don't have 7s but ... I run 215/60/15s Yoko ES100s on 6.5" x 15" minilites, stock TB with recent Konis on my '76. Fender lips are rolled and car is only lowered a little. No rubbing...even with two "healthy" passengers

Jason

ttweed · ttweed's Garage

Quote:

Originally posted by Shuie
What else can I look at for a street tire?

Falken Azenis RS Sport, but the 205/50-15 is in short supply right now due to high demand by autocrossers. They are absolutely the best bang for the buck. $270 a set mounted and balanced from my tire guys, and they stick close to an R-compound Kumho in the dry and still wear reasonably well.

TT

ttweed · ttweed's Garage

Quote:

Originally posted by IROC
I ran 225/50s on 7x15s on my '76 in the pre-flare days.

I also did this on my '73E before it was flared, using the old BFG R-1s and a performance suspension setup, and had no rubbing, but other early cars have not had the clearance for this, depending on the tire design.

TT

jmz · jmz's Garage

cool pic Adam

isaacyoon · 04-01-2004, 06:13 PM

In shuie's initial message, he raised the question of using 16x7 in a narrow body porsche. Is this possible?

Jeremy Cottrell · 04-01-2004, 06:17 PM

I ran 15X7 cookie cutters with 225/50-15 A008RS on my 72. Worked great with no rubbing. They were track wheels so looks was not an issue.

Shuie · 03:02 AM

Isaac, P-Thomas runs 16x7 on all four corners of his orange narrow body 3.5 MFI car. His car is one of the ones I was talking about. Stunning car. If only a set of 16x7s could make my car look like this

Heres another stunning car running 7s at all four corners. 15x7s on this one. Definitely not enough pictures of this car out there.

Ex911ences car, 15x7s. Gorgeous car.

isaacyoon · 04-02-2004, 07:37 PM

That's beautiful. You wouldnt know more about the porsche like what tire size w/the 7x16. Also if they had to roll the fenders. I contacted wheel enhancement and they told me 7x16 were not possible because of rubbing on my 76.

IROC · IROC's Garage

Quote:

Originally posted by isaacyoon
That's beautiful. You wouldnt know more about the porsche like what tire size w/the 7x16. Also if they had to roll the fenders. I contacted wheel enhancement and they told me 7x16 were not possible because of rubbing on my 76.

7x16s with 205/55s are a pretty safe bet on the front and rear of a '76. I've seen a '77 with 225/50s on 7x16s in the rear, but it was running at "rally" ride height...

Mike

cnielsen · 04-03-2004, 04:04 AM

what about running the 944 turbo 7x16 wheel? The offset is a little different and puts more wheel/tire to the inside instead of the outside, where it causes problems. I would not forsee any interference problems with these wheels...and you could run BIG brakes!

There are a few for sale on e-Bay right now.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=43956&item=2470453857

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=43956&item=2470430744

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=38662&item=2471373924

Shuie · 05:32 AM

Those look just like 911 6x16s in the pics. Thats the look I dont want. Just a personal preferance, but I dont like the look of the perfectly flat part inside the lip.

I thought the offset on the 7x16 951 wheel was the same (23) as the 911 wheels, but that it had more room for bigger brakes due to some of the material being shaved from the inside of the wheel. And that the 8x16 was the different offset.

New question:
Whats the story on the 951 7x16s? Different offset? Or just a little more room for brakes? Or are there different version of the 951 7x16 as well?