8's & 9's mount just fine!

[Carrera3.5L]

I finally had 225/45 tires mounted & balanced on new-to-me 951 8's and swapped them out yesterday for the 911/930 7's in front. I have had 930 9's in back for a number of years and that didn't change other than getting new tires for them.

Did not have to do anything special for fitment: no fender rolling/trimming, no excessive negative camber, no increased ride height, nothing. No interference lock-to-lock nor rubbing on the fender well when cornering (albeit mild cornering for street use) or when speeding over notorious railroad tracks. Bilstein shocks with 22/29 hollow t-bars, FFensport upper strut bar and Vision Motorsports/Kokeln adjustable front & rear swaybars are the only suspension mods...

Front ride height is currently at 24.75" and will come down another .25" shortly because there is plenty of room with the 45 series tire. Rear ride height is high (and disproportionate in relation to the front) for now due to the recently replaced stock bumpers in favor of Yellowbird style units. Haven't had time to finish other projects with the car yet before setting final ride height and corner balancing for good...

A few pics:












If anyone is interested in my old 7's that were on the front, here is a link to the ad in the Pelican classifieds:

FS: (2) 7Jx16 Fuchs w/ Tires & Center Caps

Ralph

[BlueSideUp]

The 8s look really good! Any shots a little farther back yet?

How many miles do you have on that car now? I seem to remember your engine rebuild article saying you had 120K a while back. Great job maintaining the car, it looks new.

[ulrichd]

So the extra width of the 8s' over the 7's is all on he backside of the wheel? They don't seem to stick out any further than my 7's.

Ulrich

[fly4val]

Ralph,

Looks really terrific, almost transparent....you're giving me ideas to do a wheel bump on my stock '88 Carrera ;-))).....thanks for sharing!

[fly4val]

PS what are 951's? I understand the 8 ref but not the series ref, thanks

[Mike Feinstein]

944 Turbo.

[don911]

I noticed you have Hankook R2S tires. I had 225/45/16 on my street wheels for a while. I noticed when I put on my 225/50/16 Toyo RA1s, the RA1s are a little wider than than the Hankook 225s. If you change tires, you may have a tighter fit. Even with RA1s, I haven't had any issues fitting 225s up front with 951 8" wheels. I'm currently just over 24" up front (with rolled fender wells)

btw - I really like the Hankook tires. For the price, I don't think you can beat them for a decent street tire. Also heard they're great autox tires.

[bossladys 911]

What size rubber do you have on rear ? Great looking ride.

[JeremyD]

Looks great ralph - thought you were dead set on the toyos!

[jbrinkley]

hey Ralph, I'm confussed, I thought diameter was supose to be as close to 25" as you could get ,as that was what was stock.
with that tire don't you have a 24" diameter? Those are 16's right?
I only bring it up because of the 25" thing, and If I'm mistaken I'd like to know.

[MIK911]

Great job. Car's looking sweet. Oh yeah, 3.5 ain't bad either. Looks and brains....good combo.

Are you running a wider tire on the 8's compared to 7's? What size tires?

[450knotOffice]

Ralph, the wheels look great! Did you stick with the 245's in back? As for the 225's up front, how does the steering feel compared to your old 205's? How about the grip levels? Does it feel stickier up front?

[Nader]

I have Yokohama ES100s in the same dimensions on my 8" 951 Fuchs up front, and they bulge out beyond the rim, and stick out just past the fender lip.

[livi]

Looks really great!

[Bill Verburg]

looks good, a little lower would look even better. Any particular reason the central duct is open? Right now it appears to be a big air brake

[Carrera3.5L]

Thanks for the compliments guys...

BlueSideUp - the chassis has 109,000 miles on it as I drive it daily, rain or shine. I bought it in May '03 with 79K on it, rebuilt the motor from Sept-Nov. '04 at 90K so I now have about 19,000 on the motor. No complaints, makes ample power and all I do is put gas in, change the oil and once every other year do a complete filters change w/ valve adjustment. Drawbacks is that it has over 30 dyno runs (and more coming soon) testing various parts and fuel mileage is only about 20 mpg around town. It's really a 10 ft car, it had its share of dings & scratches when I bought it and I've left a few of my own as well...

Ulrich - you're right, they really don't seem to stick out much past the 7's. When I first put them on, I stood back and wondered if I had installed 951 7's in error...however the images are somewhat misleading because if I put my fingers between the fender lips and tires, they would indeed make contact if the car were lower or if the suspension was loaded up enough whereas the old 7's would have been tucked in. I may eventually roll/trim the lips for peace of mind or if the car is ever used for DE events but for street use it doesn't appear like it will be an issue...

fly4val - like Mike said, 951 is an internal designation for 944 Turbo, much like 930 is for 911 Turbo. I guess I could have also said 944T...Where in Everett are you? My in-laws live up on one of the hills off Mukilteo Blvd with a view of Camano Island and the entry to the Port of Everett. He's a fuel systems engineer at Boeing over at Paine Field. Everytime I go up there I hang out at Arnies...

Don - I went with the 45 aspect ratio because I was worried about potential clearance with 50's. I'd rather have the extra room and compensate on my terms rather than having the circumstances dictated for me... I'm going to drop the front another .25" and leave it at that...Time will tell if the Hankooks are worth it, the 200 treadware isn't appealing for daily driving but with my yearly mileage if I can squeeze 15K out of them (fronts shouldn't be hard, rears may be more difficult) that's close to 2 years driving for me.

Jeremy - I was going to get the Toyo's due to their higher 280 treadware rating and my "friend" at Toyo made it sound like it was no problem until it was time to do the deal and than all of a sudden made himself unavailable...I also have a contact at Yokohama for discounted pricing, but ES100's are on national backorder in both 225/45 and 245/45's so that was out of the window. I guess the Hankooks (with their skimpy 200 treadware rating) won on default as there aren't many 225/45's options to choose from...

Jerry - rear drive wheels are still stock at 24.6" overall diameter and the fronts are at 23.9" I believe. The smaller overall diameter in front will make it "feel" like I have bigger brakes than what I really have... You get your 3.2L turbo dialed in yet? I'm wondering how much quicker you've gotten since our last 3rd gear comparisons from 2,500-6,000 rpm with the LM1...

Mike - the old 7's were on 205/55's vs. 225/45's on these 8's...

Scott - yes, same 245/45 out back...as far as feel/grip goes, who know? I've got about 20 miles on them thus far...want to go to Ortega today and find out? You know where to find me...

Bill - central duct is open because nothing to put there at present. The motor doesn't require any additional oil cooling at this point for street use, the engine cooler and Carrera cooler in the fenderwell is more than sufficient. Motor doesn't run any hotter than 180° during the cooler winter months and never exceeds 220° during a summer heat wave sitting in traffic. If the car ever becomes a dedicated DE car I will revisit this area but for now...

Ralph

[AvonGil]

Interesting.

FYI, I have 7s up front on my car and they rub just a tad on one side with fenders rolled and 205s. The car is lowered 23.75" so they come very close...

[fly4val]

Ralph,

I am part of the Lazy B here in EVerett also....I'm an old Douglas guy from Long Beach so I ususally have my shorts in an uproar due to some of the nonsense that goes on here at Boing Boing....

Yep Arnie's is great, much better view than Ivar's but dont go there to either one very often as I'm allergic to fish and the rest of their menu is so limited for other choices......

Thanks for the clarification on the 951. I've been out of Porsche since the early 70's so learning a bunch as I go...

I live on the poor side of the hill off of Colby/Madison bv the SE corner of the Everett country club....

Currently, I'm managing the mod of three Air France surplus 747's from pax to full freighter. We have a large program of 747's doing the P2F dance at a modhouse in Xiamen China for many different ailrines.

[Carrera3.5L]

Thanks for the data point... I'm sorry to hear that you are having rubbing problems with your 7's.

In no way am I saying that everyone can bolt-up 951 8's on their SC/Carrera and be free and clear...there are many other variables that come into play and what works for one may not work for another...this is only an example (and data point) where one didn't have to go to extra lengths (at least not yet) in order to fit a slightly wider wheel/tire combo in front.

Call me lucky...

Ralph

[Carrera3.5L]

Originally posted by fly4val
Ralph,

I am part of the Lazy B here in EVerett also....I'm an old Douglas guy from Long Beach so I ususally have my shorts in an uproar due to some of the nonsense that goes on here at Boing Boing....

Yep Arnie's is great, much better view than Ivar's but dont go there to either one very often as I'm allergic to fish and the rest of their menu is so limited for other choices......

Thanks for the clarification on the 951. I've been out of Porsche since the early 70's so learning a bunch as I go...

I live on the poor side of the hill off of Colby/Madison bv the SE corner of the Everett country club....

Currently, I'm managing the mod of three Air France surplus 747's from pax to full freighter. We have a large program of 747's doing the P2F dance at a modhouse in Xiamen China for many different ailrines.

My father-in-law was also a Douglas LB guy, and migrated north in the early '90's...

I've only eaten once in the restaurant at Arnies, I enjoy the downstairs bar/pub...nothing like some mussels steamed with white wine & garlic along with fresh, warm sourdough and an Alaskan Amber (or 2 or 3) to wash it all down...

I think the tour at Paine Field is a must-do for anyone in the area, pretty impressive seeing all those 747's lined up in various states of assembly...

Ralph