Wheels: 16x8 951's vs 911's

[rollandburn]

Hi, looking to improve the look of my 1985 Carrera by moving the stock 7's up to the front and widen the rears with some 8's. As I peruse available wheels I am wondering if the 944 turbo 8's (951's) have any disadvantages (or advantages) compared to the 911 8's? Or are they essentially the same except for the need for a spacer on the 951's? If there are good reasons to hold out for the 911 8's I don't mind waiting, not in a rush.

Ps. I've searched and read many a wheel thread, didn't feel confident in what I read with respect to this particular question. Apologize for the rehash if this has been beat to death

Pps. Brakes are stock wide a-types, hadn't planned on upgrading, not tracking

[GeorgeM]

The offset of the 8" 951 wheels is the same as your 7s, 23.3. So while they're wider, they won't look that much different. The 911 8x16 has a 10.6 offset, so the "deeper dish" look that you're looking for and more wheel well filling on the outside.

The 951 8" is more a front wheel fitment for the 911.

I'd recommend holding out for a set of 8s or 9s with the 911 offset.

[rollandburn]

Originally Posted by GeorgeM

The 951 8" is more a front wheel fitment for the 911.



I'd recommend holding out for a set of 8s or 9s with the 911 offset.

Hmmm ok, thanks for the info...seems I know less than I thought. =]

So the ideal would be to buy these 951 8's for up front, and scour the web for 911 9's for the rear. Hopefully I have that right...

[darrin]

Originally Posted by rollandburn

Hmmm ok, thanks for the info...seems I know less than I thought. =]

So the ideal would be to buy these 951 8's for up front, and scour the web for 911 9's for the rear. Hopefully I have that right...

If you're simply looking to fill the wheel wells, another option is to add spacers behind the rear 7s (and either run 7s up front or add spacers up front too).

Suspect you'lll have fender rubbing issues up front with the 951 8s, especially if you upsized to 225/50-16 up front.

On the rears, going with 9" wide wheels requires running 245/45-16 tires, which have VERY limited selection when compared with the 225/50-16 size used by the 7 and 8" wide wheels, further, almost all of the extra inch of width on a 9" fuchs (vs an 8" fuchs) sits inside of the hub -- cosmetically the 8" and 9" fuchs are quite similar.

[KTL]

Apology accepted. It has been beaten to death.

To run the 951 16x8 up front you need to shave or roll the fender lips and maximize the negative camber at the strut mount. There's no getting around doing this. If you don't do it, you'll rub the side of the tire on the fender. That is, if you use a 225/50 tire. If you stretch a 205/55 onto the 16x8, it'll give you a lot more tire clearance but looks like garbage and is not a proper tire fitment

The other advantage of the 951 16x8 is brake caliper clearance. The whole reason this wheel (and the 951 16x7 front wheel) was created was to get clearance for the new brakes with larger Brembo calipers that were introduced on the '86 944 Turbo. The wheel has a deeper hub on the back side of the wheel and that effectively pushes the face/petals of the wheel away from the caliper. That's why the lug holes are countersunk (to avoid the need for longer lug studs) and the wheel looks almost exactly like a 911 16x7 Fuchs. It's the same reason a 951 16x7 looks a lot like a 16x6 Fuchs wheel

[panzerfaust]

Originally Posted by KTL

Apology accepted. It has been beaten to death.

To run the 951 16x8 up front you need to shave or roll the fender lips and maximize the negative camber at the strut mount. There's no getting around doing this. If you don't do it, you'll rub the side of the tire on the fender. That is, if you use a 225/50 tire. If you stretch a 205/55 onto the 16x8, it'll give you a lot more tire clearance but looks like garbage and is not a proper tire fitment

The other advantage of the 951 16x8 is brake caliper clearance. The whole reason this wheel (and the 951 16x7 front wheel) was created was to get clearance for the new brakes with larger Brembo calipers that were introduced on the '86 944 Turbo. The wheel has a deeper hub on the back side of the wheel and that effectively pushes the face/petals of the wheel away from the caliper. That's why the lug holes are countersunk (to avoid the need for longer lug studs) and the wheel looks almost exactly like a 911 16x7 Fuchs. It's the same reason a 951 16x7 looks a lot like a 16x6 Fuchs wheel

will a 8x16 10.6 et clear the front 930 brakes on a factory wide body?

[KTL]

I'll have to check that for you. I don't have a 16x8 ET +10.6 rear wheel on hand right now but I can check it with a 16x7 ET +23 wheel. The 16x7 and 16x8 have a similar center section and that'll give an indication of brake clearance from the back of the wheel spokes and the wheel barrel.

[GeorgeM]

Originally Posted by KTL

Apology accepted. It has been beaten to death.

The other advantage of the 951 16x8 is brake caliper clearance. The whole reason this wheel (and the 951 16x7 front wheel) was created was to get clearance for the new brakes with larger Brembo calipers that were introduced on the '86 944 Turbo. The wheel has a deeper hub on the back side of the wheel and that effectively pushes the face/petals of the wheel away from the caliper. That's why the lug holes are countersunk (to avoid the need for longer lug studs) and the wheel looks almost exactly like a 911 16x7 Fuchs. It's the same reason a 951 16x7 looks a lot like a 16x6 Fuchs wheel

Excellent point. I have 16x7s on the front of my '89 3.2 with 930 brakes, and I had to shave the cooling fins and still use a 4mm spacer so the wheel clears. A also have to put the outer wheel weights on the outside vice inside the barrel so they don't get scraped off by the calipers.

[KTL]

Thanks for sharing that about the 16x7 fitment. I had a similar fitment with 930-like brakes in the rear (a small Brembo rear caliper from a 993, mounted over a 930 rear rotor) when using a Fuchs 16x8 ET +10.6 wheel. The caliper would hit the inside of the wheel barrel and I used a 1/2 inch spacer to push it out a bit and get the clearance I needed.