Expressions of Interest: Stud Pattern Change Hubs

[SteamWolf]

Hi all,

I'm considering getting 911SC front hubs and rear drive flanges drawn up by a design draftsman mate of mine, and then have the designs sent out for CNC manufacture. They will be FEA'd and certified by a CPEng for road and race use.

Why?

So we can have a choice of wheels other than the Porsche 5x130 limitations. The stock pattern limits wheel choice, a LOT. Changing to 5x120 (Commodore/BMW/Mercedes) or 5x114.3 (Ford, Japanese) opens up pretty much every wheel maker on earth to us. Most likely will use standard size wheel stud diameters rather than the oddball size used by Porsche.

(Adaptor hubs are illegal for road and race use in Australia.)

No firm idea on costs but the more sold the cheaper they become.

So, is this something worth pursuing? Would anyone else be interested in this?

[SteamWolf]

Nobody wants to run different wheels than what is available already on their cars?

[poorsha]

What he said

[Ronnie's.930]

I've never seen a wheel, regardless of the bolt pattern, that would look better on a 911 than Fuches (or well done copies).

[SteamWolf]

Originally Posted by Ronnie's.930

I've never seen a wheel, regardless of the bolt pattern, that would look better on a 911 than Fuches (or well done copies).

Wow. Really? Wow.
Ok, the death of individualism has spoken. All good then.

[Flieger]

Fuchs, Torque Thrust D's. There are some 6 spoke wheels I like. That's about all I need. I never knew our wheel choices were limited.

[Ronnie's.930]

Originally Posted by SteamWolf

Wow. Really? Wow.
Ok, the death of individualism has spoken. All good then.

How is one person expressing an opinion about wheels the "death of individualism"?

What I meant, was that I would not be in the market for custom hubs and flanges because I have seen many varieties of wheels on a 911 and they all look like "seconds" by comparison and I have not seen a wheel on another mark that would look better than Fuchs. Most of the aftermarket wheels look far too modern for this ancient car body design, and the larger diameter wheels look just plain dorky on these tiny cars.

[VFR750]

It would be nice to have options.

[bbthomson]

I agree with 'Ronnie's 930'...he was just voicing his opinion.

Like 'Flieger', I am happy with the current choices as there are a few and they appeal to me. However, I am sure there are options not yet done that will change my perspective.

No one said being a pioneer was easy. Do it because you want to...I am now subscribed as I have interest to see where this goes.

[SteamWolf]

Mainly interested to see if it is of interest to others as the only way to make it worthwhile will to be to make them in volume, otherwise it'd be cheaper to pay someone to chisel wheels out of a block of gold plated platinum.

Part of the concern is that while wheel options are limited by my geographic location (Japanese style race and road wheels are abundant, Porsche fitment wheels are limited to 20in fashion wheels or private import at significant expense). Fuchs are the most common wheel I ever see and I'm over them. Surely I'm not the only one.

If the majority feel the same as Ronnie, that's fine. But it means it's not worth pursuing the production of hubs if I'm the only one that wants them.

[GaryR]

Plenty of choices now, not something worth worrying about IMO. Now if you can have someone produce 915 parts that areas good as OEM THAT would be something worth investing in!

[Arne2]

Originally Posted by SteamWolf

Fuchs are the most common wheel I ever see and I'm over them. Surely I'm not the only one.

I doubt that you are the only one, but from my conversations with other Porsche owners around here, I'd guess that the number of owners who are "over" Fuchs are a rather small minority.

But for competition use... that's a separate issue. Looks are secondary there—quality, strength, weight and fitment are paramount. And a different PCD would certainly open up choices there, and likely more affordable choices at that.

But while I can see advantages for a few people, I'm one of the apparent majority who are not over Fuchs for my street car, so don't count me as a potential buyer. Just a supporter of the possibilities.

[SteamWolf]

I was under the impression 915 parts are available. Considering the cost, they'd want to be as good as OEM!

[djb25]

I could see this being of interest to my fellow mid-year model owners.

We're pretty limited as far as wheel choices go.

Could also be useful for larger diameter wheels - there's essentially nothing available in a 17" wheel for a mid year car, and 16" tire options are becoming somewhat limited now.

[Flieger]

Fuchs are lighter than most other options- including fake Fuchs, Minilites, aluminum Torque Thrust D's. To go lighter you need old magnesium Minilites or Torque Thrust D's and those are unsafe (the castings were porous to begin with, now they have fatigue cycles on them). Even then I am not sure if they are lighter. Fuchs are getting old but their forged aluminum is still hard to beat.

Mahle gas burners are lighter but they are very narrow and not as strong.

So to me it is a no-brainer. They are the best wheels for a 911 and they are iconic.

If you want to get race rubber in a larger diameter you can do the BBS thing, or BBS hoop and Fuchs center.

[Uncle]

The tribe has spoke Jim. Time to put out your flame and leave the island.

[JQ911]

I am just curious if somebody made these in 5x130 pattern in pre-964 offsets. I would like to know how this would look in ours in black centers

17 SSRs
17 BBS RSs

[SteamWolf]

Yeah Simmons used to make a wheel like that for Porsche.
Uncle, so it seems! Maybe I should keep it local due to lack of broader interest.