914 Wheels

pressman · 10-24-1998, 07:47 PM

Hi,

I'm looking at this wheel adapter from JCWhitney (i know it sucks but i heard about it so i thought i'd look) it converts your 4 lug wheel to a 5 lug offset so i'm wondering if anybody has tried it and if somebody could answer the following questions.

1. how good are these am i gonna loose a wheel at speed?!

2. will 5 lug porsche wheels fit on these?

could anybody shead some light on these?

thanks, Mike

Daris · 10-26-1998, 06:17 AM

You need to consider the thickness of the adapter. In the rear of a 914, there isn't a whole lot of clearance between the tire and the fender. If you do get it to fit, you're stuck with the 165/15 tire.

Before you buy adapters, look into having your rotors redrilled to fit the pattern you want.

Regards,
Daris

pressman · 10-26-1998, 05:30 PM

Hi,

Re-drilling my rotors? to fit the Porsche 5 lug offset, now won't that weaken the hubs on the car? and what is the standard 5 lug porsche offset? and what would i have to do to make it work well so i can run 16X6.5 Porsche Rims? what would i have to buy i.e studs and such.

As you can see i'm intresting in doing the 5 lug upgrade. so any advice would be apreciated,

P.S i'm not really looking to buy a 911 front suspension this year so i'm looking for alternative methods.

thank you, Mike

JP Noonan · 10-27-1998, 09:33 AM

You might have better luck on a VW bettle/bus site. Those adapters are much more common on those vehichles.

As for what they adapt, call JC but I think they adapt the VW (4x100mm???) to a domestic pattern (5x5,5"???). The only 914 I think I've seen them on was a late uncles flared 73-74, in the picture it appears to have Camaro or Corvette "Rally" wheels. However judging by how my uncle was I would gues the adapters are a cheap fix.

If you are worried about weakening the rear hub I think the 70-72 914 hubs are reinforced so that at the factory they could by used on either the 914/4 or the 914/6. Either way (70-72 hubs or 74-76 hubs) I think this would be stronger than any 4 to 5 adaptor.

pressman · 10-27-1998, 01:09 PM

Hi,

I Own a 72 914 so from what you say the hubs are reinforced. so is it possiable to redrill the front hubs to the 5 lug pattern?

Thanks, Mike

pressman · 10-27-1998, 02:56 PM

Hi,

I forgot to ask this question in my previous post.. Ok well if i do decide to redrill my hubs can i use 911 Vented rotors instead of the stock 914 or how does that work? can anybody shead some light for me on the subject of re-drilling my hubs to fit 5 lug

JP Noonan · 10-27-1998, 04:28 PM

As far as I know any 914 rotor can be drilled to fit the 911 bolt pattern. I don't know exactly what the difference in the rear hubs makes, I've just been told there is one. Talk to Wayne to see if they can sell you the rotors machined to 5 lug. The rotors themselves are fairly cheap so it wouldn't be a bad idea just to get new ones while converting.

The vented 911 rotors are too wide to be used on 914's, unless of coarse the whole front suspension is swaped.

Also about the 16x6.5", rims look at Tim's fan web page forum under driving set up and tips. Someone there put 16X6" I think, but just barly. My friend put a 86 SC front suspension on his 914, and to roll it around put on some 16x7" with 225\50\16's. even without spacers the tires rub the fenders. So be careful.

What it seems most people do is to put 911 front brakes and susp, then just redrill the rears keeping the 914 rear brakes (including emergecy brake).

michel richard · 10-28-1998, 05:04 AM

Wayne and Tom say that they don't recommend using hubs from 1973 on to convert to five lugs, which I understand and is fine. There was however, an article in european car magazine a few years back on converting to five lugs. The shop that was doing the work in the article mentionned the lack of reinforcing bosses but also said that in their actual experience, that had never caused a problem.

I wonder to what extent the bosses are there simply to provide grip to the threads of the bolts whereas they may not really be required when using lugs pressed in. How were the 914-6 wheels attached ?

Daris · 10-28-1998, 09:21 PM

It's been a while but if I remember correctly, the best way to do it is to swap the entire front suspension with a 911, replace the rear hub with a 911 (?) and redrill the 914 rotors.

If you're interested in redrilling, call RIMCO in Santa Ana, CA (information = 714-555-1212). They're one of the best machine shops in So. CA.

I'm certain that Wayne can tell you.

Regards,
Daris

Wayne 962 · Wayne 962's Garage

Ok, let's see if we can quickly shed some light here. Replacement of the front end is easy - the parts are interchangeable with the 911. As for redrilling your rotors in the rear, not really recommended. I would suggest redrilling early, reinforced hubs (they are reinforced for a reason), and then purchasing 914-6 rotors which will just bolt-on to the rear. As for using the 911 hubs, that won't work, because they won't bolt to the 914-6 CV joints. You need 914-6 stub axles, or you need to redrill the hubs (91404 stub axles).

Hope this helps,

Wayne