993 caliper upgrade, can I use 951 Fuchs?

[David W]

I am considering a 993 caliper upgrade on the front of my 87 911 narrow body as pictured below. I know that my 911 7x16’s won't clear. I have been reading about the 951 7 and 8 x16 Fuchs. Does anyone have direct experience with using them on the front of a 911 with this setup? What spacer (if any) did you use? I am leaning toward the 7x16 951’s because of cost, but I have heard they are not as attractive as the 911 7x16’s. Do the 8x16 951’s look better, the extra inch might help with the side walls (if they fit).

I have 9x16 Fuchs for the rear where I plan to use 993 rear calipers and 930 rotors. Any problem with clearance using the 9x16’s?

Thanks! David

[JeremyD]

Yes, that's my picture.

The 7x16 951 wheel will fit (without spacers)

the 8x16 951 will fit (without spacers)

the BBS RS wheel (16 - 7 and 8 ) will fit. (without spacers)

[David W]

Thanks Jeremy! Sorry about the photo (non) credit! What calipers/wheels did you use on the rear?

FYI, I have most of the parts for the conversion except the Wilwood rotor and 951 Fuchs. I tried some BBS racing 20 bolt wheels 8x16 and the centers hit the face of the wheel and even with a 20m spacer the bolts on the inside touched the bleeder valves. I assume the RS's have larger OD centers. The old BBS centers could be used with 15-17 inch halves.

Regards, David

[JeremyD]

On the cabriolet I had 993 front calipers on willwood 12.9 rotors and custom hats - in the rear I had 993 calipers on 930 rotors (wheels 951 8" x 16 fuchs and 9 x 16 rear fuchs - but for awhile I had BBS RS 16 x 8 and 16 x 9 track wheels)

On the 1974 I went with 993 calipers on cut down 993TT rotors (Steve Weiner) and 965 calipers on 930 rotors. ( I have a set of Zuffenhaus 17" fuchs 9 and 11 x 17 and True design - built of 951 7-8" fuchs - same offset)

Wheels = o

[KTL]

Same experience as Jeremy. He actually was the one who test-fitted the 951 16x7 for me to confirm fitment. What you'll find is, the clearance is VERY tight. So tight that the rubber cap on the caliper will rub on the wheel ID. This also means that you can't have the wheel weights in the wheel barrel near the spokes. Weights should on the inboard side of the wheel or outboard where most don't like to see them.

The key to the 951 Fuchs is their deeper hubs, which is why they have countersunk lug holes- specifically for the reason of clearing brakes, since the '86 951 gained the larger basic Brembo calipers. A 16x7 951 looks like a 16x6 Fuchs and a 16x8 951 looks like a 16x7 regular 911/930 fuchs. The 16x8 definitely looks better of the two.

For the rear you'll need a small spacer if you use regular 16x7 or 16x8 911/930 Fuchs. I used 14mm H&R spacers and that gave me just enough clearance for my nice 16x8 911 Fuchs. As Jeremy said, the BBS RS 34-bolt street wheels clear these brakes no problem. The hubs on them really aren't all that deep. The key is the barrels have no taper at all. They're virtually straight like a cylinder. I ran them in 16x8/9 configuration and they're great track wheels.

Still hunting for your clutch fork shaft kit. I'll keep you posted!

[David W]

Thanks Kevin!

Did you have the same clearance issue with the 8x16 (i.e. wheel weights, etc) as with the 7x16 951's?

I am actually making a decision to finish the 87 as a 73 RS look or go 73 RSR. I have the late 930 hubs/s4's etc and a set of 7x9x16 Fuchs. But it will be much easier to finish the body on a RS look, but I wanted more brakes than the stock Carrera and I already have the S4 setup. I have done some test fitting (but I don't have the Wilwood rotors) with the S4's and 911 7x16. Even with the built in spacer of the late 930 hubs I need a 1/4 spacer for the 911 7x16's to work! The S4 are a lot longer (makes sense) than 930 calipers. I love the RSR look so I may go that way. The 8x16 951's are not cheap! Plus I have a set of BBS 20 bolt race whells that will NOT work on a NB with S4's.

No great hurry on the fork.

Love this site, thanks guys!
David

[KTL]

The 16x8 in the rear wasn't even close for the 993 caliper and the 930 rotors. However when I drilled my 993 calipers to fit the rear, I probably didn't get the caliper down as far on the rotor as I would have liked. But that being said I did not have pad sticking out over the rotor, so the caliper was installed at an acceptable height. Still, the clearance wasn't even close from a radial perspective. So I used the 14mm spacers and that pushed the wheel far enough away from the caliper to clear the taper inside the barrel

[David W]

Kevin, To clarify I was talking about the 8x16 951 on the front vs the 7x16 951 (same issues?):


"What you'll find is, the clearance is VERY tight. So tight that the rubber cap on the caliper will rub on the wheel ID. This also means that you can't have the wheel weights in the wheel barrel near the spokes. Weights should on the inboard side of the wheel or outboard where most don't like to see them."

Thanks David

[JeremyD]

yes, 16 x 8 951 is a tight fit too - you can not use the rubber caliper bleed covers - you can't put weights in that area. They are a tight fit, but they fit. The 7" 951 wheel and the 8" 951 wheels fit almost identically - Don't put too much powdercoat on the inside of the wheel... kidding

[KTL]

Yep, I agree with Jeremy. The brake clearance of the 951 16x7 vs. 951 16x8 is a wash. The clearance is very tight. I recall my rubber bleeder caps having an angled wear area on them where they touched the wheel barrel. Real close.......