Wheel spacers

My 1981 911sc coupe has the 16 inch wheel package with 225/50-16 on the rear. The wheels don't seem to fill up the flairs very well. Has anyone seen this also? I like the look of the factory Fuchs but would like to fill the fenders. Is it ok to use wheel spacers? If so what size should I use?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Dave

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Shouldn't be a problem. Don't know what size you'd need but here in the UK, there a a few outlets that sell them so in the US there are probably hundreds.

I have 9X16 fuchs w/245s on the rear of my SC. They fit real nice. My car has also been lowered a bit. Lowering seems to make the wider wheels look even better in the wheelwells.

Deplas:

I'm not sure that spacers will do the trick for you.

All they will do is bring the wheel to the outside of the car body more, not fill up the space or decrease the distance between the fender lip and the top of your tire. The only way I know of reducing the distance between the tire and the body arch is to lower the car. I have an '83 911SC and we lowered the car to "European Specifications", and this really minimizes the gap between the wheel and the body flare. Don't forget that the US Government required uniform bumper heights, and that is why your car sits so high.

Lowering is simple, since it is done by a mere turn of a few screws, but you must re-align the car again, since you have changed the alingment settings. Also, if you use too large a tire (other than that specified by Porsche AG), then you may have some fender clearance problems. But in general, there shouod be no problem to lower the car and not have it look like it's going through a flood (similar to too short trousers on a person).

Hi I'm new to the board and have been getting great info off of it for the last few months. Anyway I finally have a question. Does anyone know where to order or purchase wheel spacers in the US?

tia

I think that my car has been lowered to euro-specs. But the wheels and tires don't seem to fill out side to side not the fender to top of tire. If you look at the car from the back the tires seem to be too far in, the track isn't wide enough.

Automotion sells spacers in 3 sizes but I cant figure out what size to get.

dave
'81 911SC

Dave, the best way to fill out the rear fenders is to get 16 x 8 rear wheels. Yeah, baby! I think the 8s should have been standard on the 78-89 911s, they work so well and look so great (actually, I think they were standard on the '89).

Unless you get really involved, you are not going to have much luck with spacers. You CANNOT simply slide a thick spacer on, and bolt the wheels on. The stock studs are not long enough! I think the biggest you could safely use is a 1/8 inch spacer, which would hardly be noticeable. If you put a thick spacer on, you will be causing a serious safety hazard, because your lugs will not be threaded on far enough. There is a spec for how many turns the lugs need. I think it is 9 complete revolutions. Just be careful with this. Remember, the factory made the stock studs a certain length, and this was done WITHOUT taking into account a spacer being used.

Of course, you could always install longer studs, for instance if you put in studs that are in inch longer than stock, you could safely put on an inch spacer. That's what the factory did with the 911 Turbos. But, this is a costly thing to do, for the studs, spacers, and labor. You'd be much better off just getting the 16 x 8's.

There are also aftermarket spacers that have new studs built into the spacers, and you bolt the spacers to the hub and the wheel to the spacer. These are usually pretty costly, and I would not trust them personally on my own car.

Brian

As far as the respondent looking to purchase spacers. ERNIES ALLOYS in Miami FL is the least expensive outlet for the bolt-on adaptors(not block spacers). 1's are $75 a piece and 2's were $ 95 a piece. Goood luck with it.

Rich

I'm a big fan of completely filling the wheel wells of everything I own. Believe it or not (I have pictures) I had a set of gemballa's on a 78SC that measured 17x11 in the rear with 255/40s on them - the key to this fit was backspacing and tire size. The tire is more narrow than the rim giving the effect of a huge tire. The widest point is at the bead, so when the tire moves up into the well the tread does not hit. You do need to roll the fender, grind the adjustment plate bolts, and check the oil lines for clearance to be certain nothing will touch while cornering. This same car now has 930 flairs and wears 12x15 wheels with 345/35 yokos. The rim is only 1" wider than before but the tire is nearly 4" wider - this shows the effect tire size has on things. Like the above fellow stated, be carefull using spacers. It is best if you get wheels that fit properly (like the gemballa's) or buy new studs to lenght. I have a few spare spacers if your interested.