Wheel question on narrow body 911.

[jsbfoto]

Been lurking on here for a bit and just purchased a 1976 911S with a 3.0 in it.
I have searched the forums and haven't reached a for sure conclusion on how wide of a rear wheel and can squeeze under the rear fenders.
I'm going to do the VTO performance wheels in 16" and have the several options in regards to offset and width.
Help!

[privatepang]

Think 16x8" is the widest. I've heard ppl do 9's but have to severely cut / roll lips

[Tidybuoy]

This is my '74 with Carrera Fuchs 6x16 front with 195/55/16, and 7x16 with 205/50/16 rear. I tried a 225/50/16 and it rubbed.

I've heard that 8x16, 951 Fuchs will fit in the rear due to a slightly different offset. On my car, I don't think anything wider would fit in the rear (i.e., 8" Carrera Fuchs) but some day, I hope to try an 8" 951 wheel.

[porwolf]

Does this help?

[moneymanager]

You won't get a clear cut answer because there isn't one. 205/15's on 7's will almost always work; but didn't on my 74. Anything bigger than that may or may not work with your particular car and tire. You really can't be sure until you get them on and drive the car slowly and carefully around the block a few times, checking frequently for signs of rubbing.

[fbarrett]

T'ain't just the wheels, either. Among same-nominal-size tires, actual sizes differ between tire brands. Best way is to just try it (borrow or buy a used wheel and tire) and see. Bring spacers, too.

Frank

[moneymanager]

Amen. I carefully fitted tires and wheels on a previous car, then swapped tires. The new ones rubbed.

[jsbfoto]

It's currently set up with 225/50/15 rears on 7" BBS's and 205/50/15's on 7" BBS fronts, car is very, set up for autocross, no rub on this set up.

[cmpski]

These might help. Sometimes it helps when you can "see" the different offsets or know exact measurements of one tire size to another. I understand not all tires of the same advertized size are the same and what works for one car might not work for another. They helped me.

http://www.sjdsm.com/tech/tire_size.htm

I have often wondered if we are putting too wide of a tire and too sticky of a tire on these old cars. They were pertty loose and unstressed back in the day with bias ply and early skinny radials tires. Are we quickening their usefull service life to a point that we will be offering the next generation, cars that are all used up. I hope not. I'm glad the orginal owners passed on a car with lots of life left.

[bullethole]

sure but remember 225 is still a pretty narrow tier. Just as a data point (i know its not the same) on my SC Race car, I can run a 17" 275/45 on the rear with just a little rolling of the fender lip. But i am also running CCW wheels which are a custom offset (I can't remember, what it is, my old mechanic had CCW make them in that offset). I have put 9" fuch's on the rear in 16 previously and had no issues running 275.s Fronts, I can squeeze a 235 in, but at full suspension compression, there is a bit of rub, even with the fenders rolled

[Wiese]

On my 1973.5 911T I run 225/50/15 rear and 205/55/15 front on 15x7 Cookie cutters. No issues and no fender rolling was required. Tires are Falken ZiEX-912. If I lowered the car a bit more and/or went to 16in wheels I may have to roll the back fenders.

[Hotwatermusic]

I have a '74 with 205's up front and 225/45's in the back, 16" Fuchs. Rear fenders are rolled. Falken 452 tires. All that being said, I can't imagine fitting a bigger tire back there, period. I could maybe squeeze a 225 up front on a 7" wheel if I rolled the front fenders, but 225's on the back is pretty much as big as i have ever seen on a narrow body.

[faverymi]

Interestingly....

Throw suspension setup into the equation..... and guess . Start over.

I'm dealing with the same issue in a narrow body. I just like euro height. I'm trying to get the lowest setup with the widest tire on a 16-7 fuchs. The silver car on the top pic looks perfect!!!. What brand of tires did you install?

Probably going with 205-50-16 in the back. with 16- 7" fuchs. I don't have 15 fuchs so I'm not even going to think about 15-7 or 15-8 fuchs on the rear.

[jsbfoto]

Got my wheels! 205/45/16 and 225/45/16 tires on 7" wheels, handles like a dream!

[Phares]

What brand tires did you end up going with? I'm the market so gathering intel.

[jsbfoto]

Didn't have much in the way of options, ended up with BF Goodrich, not in love with the tread pattern but the performance is good so far. If I had it to do again I would have done the 50 series front, would have fit and looked a bit more era appropriate.

[Phares]

Thanks! I have 6&7x16s and I think Goodyear GTs are the only matching pair I can find to fit. 195/55/r16 and 205/50/r16 is a hard combination to find.

[Lukesportsman]

Looks great! Rims set off the Al window trim quite nicely against body color for a very nice balance.

[jsbfoto]

Took a nice drive Sunday evening and shot this one, can't wait to get on with the rest of the mods!

[bicisportivo]

Very nice look! Did you decamber front or rear? Is you car too low for average driving? Spoiler looks close to the road. I have installed a test fit of 7x16 with 225/45/16s for the rear. Seems to fit, but car needs to be lowered to look correct.
Have not chosen front tires until I dial in the back. Your 50 suggestion is probably right for the front.
Thanks!
1974 911 Targa