Upgrading/upsizing wheels on an '87 Carrera

[druckpress]

Hey guys,

I'm looking to get some higher performance tires on my '87 Carrera and I'm finding the options really limited for 15" wheels. I'd like to keep the look of my p-car but have more selection and better quality. Are there tires for 15" wheels anyone can recommend?

Or, as an alternative, are there options for 16" or 17" wheels that don't look totally out of place on that car? I found a smoking deal on some 17" turbo twists with tires and when I told my friend about them he almost killed me for even considering putting those wheels on that car...

[JeremyD]

Eurowerks | Zuffenhaus [ Charlotte, NC Porsche & BMW Service and Repair ]

[rnln]

This is a very personal thing. I used to be very confused about what people thinking when seeing turbo twists wheels on an old air cool 911/930. But the more I see them, the more I think it's ok, and slowly starting to like them.
Maybe it's depend on where you are. If you are in Claifornia, who cares. But if you are in an conservative area, people might come and choke you to death

[chuckr]

This is my 88 with 17's

[Dueller]

17" Turbo twists w/2o5/255's on mine...small spacer on front, too large spacer on rear. These will be eleminated shortly...look ok but not exactly correct IMO. It did open up my tire options.

[darrin]

My '86 came with 16" fuchs -- 6" wide on the front and 7" wide on the back (16x6 and 16x7). I currently use these as my winter wheels.

I've upgraded my summer wheels to another set of 16" fuchs, this time using 16x7 on the front (same exact wheels as were delivered for my rear wheels) and 16x8 on the rear (this is the wheel combo used on 930s). The rear wheels fit perfectly without any modification, I "rolled" the inside of my front fenders with my lug wrench so that they would not rub on the outside edge of the front tires (easy to do). I mounted the 16x7/16x8 setup with the same 205/55/16 (front) and 225/50/16 (rear) tires that I ran on my 16x6/16x7 rims.

Still good availability in this tire size. 16x6 and 16x7 rims are fairly inexpensive and easy to come by -- 16x8 (or 16x9 -- which will also fit without modification) are a bit more expensive. Be sure you're picking up fuchs rims with the appropriate 911 offset (and part numbers) as the 944s used similar looking rims with different offsets). You can have these refinished to look identical (finish-wise) to the 15" wheels on your car. I believe that a set of refinished 16" rims will run considerably less than the 17" Jeff Alton alternatives. I personally like the "vintage" fuchs look a LOT.

[Drisump]

I too have 15'' wheels (which I like on the car) and was forced to choose from a very limited selection the tires that I finally settled with. I bought a set of BF Goodrich G-Force Sports. I would say that they stick well and are predictable. I've used them for one day of DE and have put on about 4K miles. Other 15" 911s have ended up with "all season" choices, such as the Michelin Pilot Exalto and the Bridgestone Pole Positions. Many people in the surrounding clubs have up-sized to 16 or 17 to expand their tire choice but I'm concerned that after investing a considerable amount of money to up-size, the tire choice will evaporate "over night" like it did with the 15. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong but I think it's been a while since some new performance cars have come with even 17" wheels. You would think that there are enough 15" 911's, and others, still racking up miles, for a premium performance manufacturer to step forward and offer something..... I live in hope. By the way IMHO Fuchs are the ONLY wheel that look proper on a 3.2. Cheers