What if I get 7s and 9s for my SC?

[scotricker]

I have 16" 6 and 7 fuchs now with no rubbing issues, etc. What if I put the 7s on the front and watch the for sale forum and grab a set of 9s for the rear? Will the tires clear the fenders? Will I need to roll the fronts with a bat? Or will they fit just fine with no anguish? Tires now are 225/50/ZR16 on the 7s

[IROC]

This fitment has been done so many times that it is pretty safe. Your biggest problem is going to be finding tires for the 9s in the rear...

[Joe Bob]

Yeah, 245/45s are a rare bird....

[tcar]

You should not have to roll anything.

7's and 8's fit fine.

The 9's will fit if the 8's will (different offset).

[Racerbvd]

7&9s, no problem, been running them for years on my SC.. But, you may have to roll the FRONT fender lip (hand built cars vary), if your SC is lowered, there is a better chance of it.. As for tires, Conti is making & selling them again in 16" size and since Porsche is offering 16" Fuchs through the Porsche Classics program, you can bet they wouldn't have done that if they couldn't get street tires in those sizes.
My 78..


My 83..

[rattlsnak]

I have some Forgeline 8x9x17s for sale! They allow you to run a 245 in the front and a 275 in the back without mods.

[McLovin]

I've had a lot of SCs and Carreras over the years.

I've run 7s on the front with 205/55s, and have always had to roll the front fenders.

It is very close, but I've always had to do it. If the car is not lowered at all, and/or you are running some negative camber, I think you'd be fine with a 205. But almost every 911 is lowered (stock height is very high).

That's with 205s. I think with 225s you have no chance of not rolling. And, with normal street camber, I could see that not working at all.

The cars are hand built, and there are some variances, but I think the biggest factor is ride height and camber setting.

[jamesjedi]

I just checked out the TireRack.com. They do not have much in regards to the 9's. There used to be plenty of 245/45's but not anymore. Now the selection is limited to DOT competition tires. Tires taller than 45 start to look a little "off", or simply to tall. They may also contribute to the tires rubbing. The 7 and 8 combination is nice.

It is a consideration, depending on how you use the car.

[McLovin]

There are vendors other than TireRack that have 245/45 16 tires.

[sp_cs]

Mine on 205/55/16 Front, 225/50/16 on 7 and 9s- with a hefty lowering. The 225/50 fit fine on the 9s, have run them for 10k miles plus with no issues

[scotricker]

thanks for the pic! that's just what I was looking for. looks great.

[darrin]

scott -- to reiterate, you'd need to put the 205/55-16 tires on the 7" wheels to have any chance of working without rolling fenders. Further, different tire brands have different widths for the same tire size (i.e. some 205/55-16 tires might rub while others might not). On my car, eliminating right tire rubbing took more fender rolling than the left, reinforcing the "handbuilt" nature of our cars.

Oh, and you might just want to hold out for a complete set of 7"s and 8"s (or 9"s) and save your current set for snow tires/winter wheels. The narrower wheels work better with snows.

[scotricker]

thanks for your reply,

I have 205/55/16s on the front 6" wheels now without any rubbing issues, so I guess they would run the same on the 7s. Or would I want a wider tire on the 7s?

I am also thinking about your snow idea, too. Keep the 6s for the front, and get another pair of 6s for the rear and run 6" snows all around for the winter. Rally style.

[McLovin]

205/55 on the 7s on the front is perfect. IMO, you don't want to go wider than that on the front of a street 911.

[sigep174]

Hope you don't mind me cutting in on your conversation about Fuchs wheels...it just brought up a question I have about my own.

I have 17" Turbos on my 80 911SC. I wanted to verify the depth and wondered the best way to do that. (Tape measure, but from where to where...)

Thanks...

[sigep174]

Forgot to include an image...http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o151/sigep174/18-1980Porsche911SC1.jpg

[Richard Burns]

You may need to watch the clearance of the air con lines inside the rear wheel arch The larger width tyres can rub against it and wear through no air con no worry.
Richard.

[darrin]

Originally Posted by scotricker

thanks for your reply,

I have 205/55/16s on the front 6" wheels now without any rubbing issues, so I guess they would run the same on the 7s. Or would I want a wider tire on the 7s?

I am also thinking about your snow idea, too. Keep the 6s for the front, and get another pair of 6s for the rear and run 6" snows all around for the winter. Rally style.

Scot --

The 7s have a different offset than the 6s, or put another way, the outer edge of the 7s stick out a fair bit farther than the outer edge of the 6s -- this is what causes the rubbing on the fender. This is also why I suspect that 6s on the rear would not look very good (as they'd be set back a fair bit further into the wheel wells than the 7s and a LOT further than the 8s or 9s).

Snows -- Although I ran 205/55 up front and 225/50 in the rear this time, I plan to run 205/55 on both my 6s and 7s once I wear out my current set, as I'd get better snow/ice traction from an narrower rear tire.

[will hung]

This image will give you an idea of what differences there are in regards to wheel width, offset, and their effect on fitment/rubbing issues.