max wheel/tires on early cars?

twin plugged targa · twin plugged targa's Garage

I currently have 16s 6's and 7's but with 205 tires front and rear installed by P/O.
I would like to have more rubber at rear.
I believe P/O have problems with rubbing at rear and 'may' have had 225's there?. Rear does not appear to have excessive camber yet although is lowered.
I am battling with the idea of RS or Carrera flares (whats the difference?)
Or attempting more neg camber.
Or changing to 15" wheels?
Anyone any combos which work other than stock of course!
advice appreciated,
And merry xmas all
-Benhttp://www.pelicanparts.com/pmpre/images/twin_plugged_targa/close_up.jpg

ttweed · ttweed's Garage

Ben-

You may or may not be able to fit 225/50s in the rear without rubbing. I have seen a lot of variation in the early cars as far as clearances go, and the difference between tire manufacturers within the same listed size is another variable. Most people have not been able to do it with 16" wheels without some clearance problem. I was able to fit 225/50-15" on 7" rims on my lowered '73 without a problem (w/ 26mm rear T-bars, 18mm rear sway bar, 1-1/2 degrees negative camber, and rolled fender lips), but I have had friends with the same year car who rubbed on one side with the same tire/wheel combo.

With a custom offset rim, it would be a piece of cake. Or with larger flares, as you are obviously thinking. RS, SC and Carrera flares are all the same width, they just differ in the shape of the wheel arch bead.

Todd Simpson · 10:35 AM

I vote for leaving the bodywork stock, the paint looks beautiful, and if you get creative you can get 225's under there and keep the stock look.

I didn't think you could get 225/50's in the back until I saw this thread...the 1970 911T conversion 90% done

If you decide to go this route, be careful in your testing. I've seen two nice early cars with the paint burnt about 2 inches up from the lip because the tire rubbed. It seems the lips aren't the real problem, whereas in the front the lips are the only issue.

Another option is to find a pair of 7" 944 turbo fuchs that went on the front of that car. They look just like 911 6's, they don't have the same "dish" look because they put the extra width on the inside. These should allow 225's to fit easier, and you may even be able to squeeze the 944 8" fuchs from the back of that car. They'll look just like your 7's on the outside and put an extra inch of width on the inside. These are considered rare, the 944 only used them for one year but they do come up. Part numbers for both are in the Bruce Anderson book.

twin plugged targa · twin plugged targa's Garage

I do remember that thread now,
I may increase the camber 1st and then have a go. Bit nerveous about having the fenders rolled as p/o did it and damaged the paint!. That was not before he rubbed and bubbled the new paint

AHG!

I guess the brands of tires which are best are the old style tires without that rim saver extra bit of rubber?
thanks for the comeback
Ben

Joe911 · 12-24-2002, 09:49 PM

I currently have 15x6 - 205/50s on the front and 15x7 with 225/50s on the rear. Currently running 1 degree of negative camber (adding more soon) and lowered about 1.5 inches. Lots of room on the front - very tight fit when I tried 1 inch spacers. Tighter fit on the rear (closest fit on the passenger side).

twin plugged targa · twin plugged targa's Garage

Does anyone know if 15's 7" with 225 tires are wider than 16's 7" with 225 tires?
know it may sound daft but here goes!
also are there any known tire manufactureres that work- have a better profile to reduce rubbing?
-Ben
just trying to figure it out before spending odles on tires

slammed1000 · 12-25-2002, 04:02 PM

go to www.tirerack.com and type you tire size in. choose a tire manufacturer and look at the specs. they give all of the tire sizes and widths on that page. you should be able to figure out what your after. a 225 on a 6" wheel reguardless of 15 or 16 has the same width as long as the profile is the same.

marcesq · marcesq's Garage

Quote:

Originally posted by Todsimpson
Another option is to find a pair of 7" 944 turbo fuchs that went on the front of that car. They look just like 911 6's, they don't have the same "dish" look because they put the extra width on the inside. These should allow 225's to fit easier, and you may even be able to squeeze the 944 8" fuchs from the back of that car. They'll look just like your 7's on the outside and put an extra inch of width on the inside. These are considered rare, the 944 only used them for one year but they do come up. Part numbers for both are in the Bruce Anderson book.

944 16x7s have an offset of 23.3 which is the same as the 911 16x7. The 944 turbo 16x8 with the 23.3mm offset will not fit on the rear of a narrow body . . . been there tried that. Unless maybe the ride height is set at the same level as a Camaro SS w/Gabriel Air Shocks

Todd Simpson · 12-25-2002, 08:03 PM

Marc-You are correct on the 7" fuchs from the front of the 944 turbo, they are the same offset as the 911 7" fuchs, the difference is they have more clearance for bigger brakes.

I gotta disagree with you about the 8's though. If addictionms can put 7's with 225's on the back of his car, and the 8's stick out the same amount, why wouldn't they fit? If anything, they would fit better, as the additional width would pull the shoulder of the tire in a little bit giving more clearance.

None of this is firsthand knowledge, at this point I'm just asking why it wouldn't work. I'm still amazed someone got 225's on 7's on the back of an early car. Just looking at Ben's car you can see how close he already is with the 7"s and 205's. He'd have to do a lot of work or camber to get 225's in there.

ttweed · ttweed's Garage

Quote:

Originally posted by Todsimpson
I gotta disagree with you about the 8's though. If addictionms can put 7's with 225's on the back of his car, and the 8's stick out the same amount, why wouldn't they fit?

The 951 8" x 16" rims DO NOT "stick out the same amount" as a 7" x 16" Fuchs. They both have the same offset (23mm), so the 8" rim will be positioned in the same place in the wheel well, relative to it's centerline, but it will "stick out" 1/2 inch more on both the inside and the outside than a 7", due to its increased width.

The 911 8" x 16" Fuchs with the 10.6mm offset "stick out" even more. All the added width is on the outside with that rim.

TT

marcesq · marcesq's Garage

Quote:

Originally posted by ttweed
It is the 911 8" x 16" Fuchs with the 10.6mm offset that do not "stick out" any more than a 7". All the added width is on the inside with that rim.

TT

Tod: What Tims says. EDIT: SEE TOD I'M WRONG AGAIN

My experiance with the 944 8x16s on the rear is actual.

Todd Simpson · 12-26-2002, 10:09 AM

OK...I'm going to bow out from any more advice here, as I need to be learning, not consulting.

Tom-I understand your point about offset, the 951 8's would have the additional width half on the inside and half on the outside when compared to a 911 offset 7".

I'll stew on the 911 8" fuchs rubbing on the inside of the front as opposed to the outside, that still doesn't make sense to me. The offset represents the distance from the center line to the mounting point?

Is it a positive number or a negative number? Most other modern cars have 30-40 mm of offset, so the wheels sits towards the inside, correct?

Thanks for the help, sorry for cluttering the board with bad info. Gotta make this one an FAQ.

marcesq · marcesq's Garage

Quote:

Originally posted by Todsimpson
Thanks for the help, sorry for cluttering the board with bad info. Gotta make this one an FAQ.

Hey Tod . . . seems to me that I have learned quite abit from you in previous posts. In fact, I probably lead the league in questionable info.

Turns out my prior experience with lesser vehicles does not always apply to our rolling obsessions.

Regards.

Marc

Jim Richards · 12-26-2002, 06:41 PM

twin plugged, I have 6 & 7x15's with 195/65 and 215/60 Yoko A-008P's on a 73E. I have some rubbing on the right rear when cornering, but only when there's two people in the car.

Cornpanzer · 12-26-2002, 07:15 PM

Jim, can you show us a pic of your car? Thanks!!!

Jim Richards · 12-26-2002, 07:24 PM

Here 'ya go...

Cornpanzer · 12-26-2002, 07:27 PM

Wow, that is a nice car you bought! If you ever get a chance to shoot a pic in the bright light I would love to see a profile shot just to see how well that tire fits in the rear. Thanks!! Looks cool tho

ttweed · ttweed's Garage

Quote:

Originally posted by Todsimpson
I'll stew on the 911 8" fuchs rubbing on the inside of the front as opposed to the outside, that still doesn't make sense to me.

No, Tod, you're absolutely right, it doesn't. After reading your reply, I realized I had a total brainfade on that point myself on the first take.

All the offsets on Fuchs are positive (curbside of centerline), and the 911 8x16 ET10.6 Fuchs put the extra width on the OUTSIDE compared to the 7", not the inside! I have edited my post above to reflect that. The 8" 911 offset wheel on the front of a narrow body makes the track too wide and the tire hits the fender lip.

The best graphic representation of the various Fuchs offsets was posted on another thread and I saved the image to my website because it was so helpful in visualizing the differences:

Sorry for the confusion,
TT