Center Lines on a 911

[Keith S]

Does anyone have any photos of a 911 fitted with polished Center Line rims? I have a set of 7 x 15s, fully polished, which I am considering using on my black '74 Carrera while I figure out what to do about the stock rims (swap the 7in rears to the front and fit 8in at the back?).

I have never seen a 911 with Center Lines and am curious what the effect would be. And yes, they are Porsche PCD and factory 7in offset.

Thanks!

[tobluforu]

I would think that using thoses types of rims would not allow your brakes to cool properlly. But, what the heck do i know..

[Keith S]

Interesting point. Hoever, center Lines have been used on many race cars over the years without apparent problem but.....???

[makaio]

The solid centered Centerline wheels will not allow for adequate brake cooling, if you use you car for anything more than around town use.

[masraum]

Are they the solid centered? Centerline makes lot's of styles these days. It seems centerlines are used primarily on cars that don't use their brakes the way a sportscar would.

[GIBSON]

In the late 1970's I ran Centerlines on my 67S. Here's a photo (sorry about the condition..) of me at turn 6 at the old Riverside race track. I'm running 7 and 8.5 inch Centerlines with used IMSA Goodyear race tires I got from teams that were finished with them. My budget was not large and used tires were the best I could do sometimes. I figured they were already heat-cycled that way. I never had a brake problem with the Centerlines. I had moderate fade by the end of a session but nothing to really worry about. I never did any endurance events so I can't speak to the brakes after a few hours but they worked well
in 30-45minute sessions.



Bruce Herrmann

[Chuck Moreland]

Heres one



I would be suspicious of the solid-type centerlines' ability to hold up to cornering forces. The company is focused on straight line stuff.

[Keith S]

Bruce - thanks for the info. Good to hear from someone who has actually used them. The brake cooling issue wouldn't be a problem for me anyway as the wheels would only be a stop-gap until I sorted the Fuchs. Not many mountain passes round here and the twisty roads are too narrow for heroics!

Chuck – thanks for the link. Ugly car... However, I disagree about Center Lines being 'straight line wheels' as the company founded its business on off-road racing where cornering (and other!) stresses are unbelievably high. True, Center Line does make some drag-only wheels but mine are the traditional solid, bomb-proof rims which made the company famous way back when. But thanks for the input – and a good-looking web site..

I guess I'm just gonna have to bite the bullet and head for my tyre shop to get a wheel or two swapped over. I'll let you know the results!

Thanks all.

PS - any more pics would be welcome.

[Oldporsche]

For a long time Doug Cook Racing had exclusive rights to sell the centerlines in 5 hole 130MM lug spacing. You could order these wheels in custom widths which exactly the right offset for whatever use you wished. They were a cheaper alternative to the other custom 3 piece wheels that were available.

Locally the short track racers used these rims. They were light and very strong. Conering forces? Well they were used on stock cars and World of Outlaw cars. How much damage and force are would you be considering?

If one piece of rim became damaged they could be rebuilt/replaced because they were two spun aluminum shells that were rivited together. In all they worked well.

I haven't followed the product line lately, the last ones I looked at were 15" and I wasn't interested because of the selection of tires available.

Good luck, and enjoy

David Duffield

[GIBSON]

You have to remember that when I was using Centerlines there were few companies making wheels for 911's. Wider Fuchs were rare and very expensive so Centerlines were a popular choice.
As was mentioned, they were easy to repair, could be produce in a variety of sizes and offsets and were realtively light.
I thrashed mine and never had a failure. I kept a set of Fuchs 7's and 8's for street use and kept slicks mounted on my Centerlines.