Help with wheel widths and offsets

[Yatzee]

Hi,

I am having a set of wheels made and would like some help/input on widths and offsets. I have a 69 911 with SC/Carrera rear flares and want to run a wide wheel that will not rub nor do I want to roll fenders. The wheels will be 15's and I dont have a tire size in mind yet so any input on tires would be great too. I really want something a little more aggressive then my 15x7,8's Fuchs.

Thanks!

-Alex

[Mex]

Originally Posted by Yatzee

Hi,

I am having a set of wheels made and would like some help/input on widths and offsets. I have a 69 911 with SC/Carrera rear flares and want to run a wide wheel that will not rub nor do I want to roll fenders. The wheels will be 15's and I dont have a tire size in mind yet so any input on tires would be great too. I really want something a little more aggressive then my 15x7,8's Fuchs.

Thanks!

-Alex

Shooting from the hip here, but I'm pretty sure nine inches is as wide as you can go out back. I've heard you can squeeze eights in up front, but its tricky...

I'd search around old threads though, a lot of this is dependent on suspension/brakes/etc.

[Yatzee]

Thanks, i've searched around some and havent found too much help with the offset part. I wish everyone on the "right stance" thread had to put their wheel/tire set up sizes.

[Arne2]

With SC/Carrera flares, 9" with a 15mm offset is about max on the rear. For 8" up front, you'll need 25-30mm offset. Some use the 23mm from a 951, but that's tight on the outside and may require fender rolling. 30mm is fairly safe. Or so I've heard...

[Yatzee]

Great! Thats exactly the info I was looking for, can anyone confirm this?

[blockhed]

Anyone trying squeezing 10" in the rear ?

[sleepy911]

Originally Posted by blockhed

Anyone trying squeezing 10" in the rear ?

You didn't just type that on a message board with a bunch of guys. Ok I'll bite, yes but she compained it hurt. Lol

[darrin]

why are you limiting yourself to 15" wheels? It's my understanding that tire choices in this diameter have all but dried up -- you may be better off going with 16" wheels (or even 17" wheels), as there are a good number of tire choices in the 225/50-16 size that's commonly used on 16x8 wheels, etc.

[blockhed]

My mistake
Anyone try a 10" wide rear wheel on SC?

[KTL]

Originally Posted by Arne2

With SC/Carrera flares, 9" with a 15mm offset is about max on the rear. For 8" up front, you'll need 25-30mm offset. Some use the 23mm from a 951, but that's tight on the outside and may require fender rolling. 30mm is fairly safe. Or so I've heard...

Yes I can confirm what Arne2 is saying. His numbers are the accepted norm for fitting 8 in. and 9 in. wheels on a std. front fender and SC/Carrera rear flare.

I wholeheartedly agree with his comment on the 951 16x8 Fuchs that the +23mm offset of this wheel is tight. Something closer to 30 is better. However the challenge with that is the higher offset wheel can contact the steel can that covers the shock absorber shaft. Often you have to remove that can and install a rubber accordion boot.

CBRacerX (Chris) here on Pelican posted that he scored some Bilstein boots off of eBay and they fit great. He was nice enough to share the part number and I did some cross-referencing and found an even cheaper, equally good (I compared the two side by side and found little difference at all) part from a different VW.

The boots I have used are nearly a perfect fit over the shock shaft and bump stop. The part number is VW# 357 413 175A and is commonly found on 1997-2000 Golf III and Jetta III. The reason I think this 357 part is a good choice, besides it being inexpensive, is the top of the boot is a little wider than others i've seen and lets the bump stop donut fit nicely inside the boot.

10 in. wheel is tight. I've seen guys use a 10 but they need to run a 265 series tire to ensure clearance. 265 series tires are hard to find. Better off running a 9 or 9.5 wheel and use a 275.