Wheel and Tire Questions.

[hoss4659]

I am planning to move from 6/7X16 wheels to 7/8X16 on my '88 Carrera. I will keep the 225/50 16 tires on the 8" wheels. And put the 205-55 16s on the 7" wheels. Now, after looking at a lot of pics on this forum I think the 8" wheels and tires are a bit shy of the "look" I want--would prefer to have the rear wheel and tire pushed out about 0.5" . I have found a 12mm spacer from TPI. This will require longer studs. In addition to the "normal" length of 45mm, I have found studs in the lengths of 52mm and 66mm at Vertex Auto. With the 52mm studs will I have a safe number of lug nut threads engaged? Will the 66mm studs be too long? too long = the studs bottoming out at the top of the alloy lug nut before proper torque is reached?

Second set of questions on fender lip clearance with the 12mm spacers. Close enough that rolling the lip would be necessary? Would more negative camber at the rear be advisable?

Would going to 9X16 wheels with a -3ET be a more workable solution? Hate to abandon a new pair of 225-50 16 tires. They would look a bit stretched on the 9s. Bill V., what size tire would you recommend?

[safe]

245s fits and looks good on 9" wheels, 255 will also fit if the offset is right.

[Jesse16]

With my 87 on 17", in the rear I've got 255's on 9" at offset 18mm and absolutely no problem. Standard Camber and no fender roll. Have never rubbed. Was told 19mm was a good number also.
Fronts are 215's on 7.5 at offset 37mm with room to spare, could go out another 1/2" easy to my eye. No problem with rubs or hitting my AC hoses or strut in the back but they are close.

[BER]

I personnally don't like to use spacers on a 911, but again that is just my personal preference.

If you can swing it financially, I would go with 9x16's in the rear. Here is a pic of 9x16 on the rear of my '84. I am using 245/45-16 tires. This combo fits fine with no rolling of fender required. If you mount your 255's on the 9" Fuchs, you may need to roll the rear fender, but I have no experience with 255's.

[Oh Haha]

Here's my SC with 225/50/16 S-Drives on 8x16 wheels with a .25 spacer.



How low is your 911? That may be a determining factor in what you can actually fit.

I had 245/45 on the same wheel/spacer setup last year and the look was about the same to my eye.

[BER]

Beautiful car Wayne. I always wanted a Pacific Blue 911!!

BER

[Oh Haha]

Thanks BER!

[safe]

Keep in mind that the actual width and "look" can be significantly different from brand to brand and model to model of tire for the same size.

[hoss4659]

Wayne---
The car sits a bit higher than I would like. Going in plan is to get the wheels and tires set up and then eyeball it to figure how much to lower it.

Digging around the net it looks like TruDesign and Zuffenhausen have disappeared as suppliers.

[BRAIDusa]

I'm with BER on the 9" with 245. make sure you get the +15 offset version though. The -3 offset will stick out too much.

You can get our version through Pelican of course.

[littleoldman]

Interesting - I have a 79 SC. Have 8x16 front and 9x16 rear and everything is working well. Once had some front rubbing of the drivers side front. Only drivers side. The car is in the midst of a backdate - would the running be due to that issue or is something else wrong. Would 8 and 9s rub on a 79SC?

[BRAIDusa]

The front's on SCs and Carreras are very tight. We have had a 175/70-15 mounted on an ET35 wheel grab the front, un-rolled fender on our rallycross car. I'm assuming it happened at full lock with full compression but, non-the-less, it happened. I've also heard that these cars are not as symmetrical as you might expect and consequently the left front often is tighter than the right!

I understand 8" fronts with 225 tires can be made to work if you get the offset righ, roll the fenders and increase camber. I think it also helps to not lower the car too. I'm not sure what offset is ideal but suspect it is in the +30 range, Stock 911 is +10. The definitive nswer is on this forum somewhere though.

[hoss4659]

I have struck out trying to find 245/45x16 all weather street tires. Does anyone have a source?

Paul--will the 17" BZ wheels be available in 7" and 9" widths? If so, when?

[kuba_kuba]

No problem with 255 at rear for me, but even with 205s (they are strangely wide - almost an inch wider than the original 205s car came with) I get a rub at front left after lowering.

[BRAIDusa]

Originally Posted by hoss4659

I have struck out trying to find 245/45x16 all weather street tires. Does anyone have a source?

Paul--will the 17" BZ wheels be available in 7" and 9" widths? If so, when?

Yes, there's that issue too.

We will have 7/8 and 9" available very soon. We are actually just finalizing the specs. Maybe February.