Correct Wheel fitment for 5 lug 914 w/ GT Flares

tommott · 06:32 PM

I am hitting the home stretch on my 914/6 project and am now just getting to the final details. I am finally looking for set of wheels that will fit properly with my setup and was seeing if anybody could help me out.

The car has fiberglass GT flares. The front suspension is to be swapped out with a 911 suspension and the rear is going to have the 5 lug wheel adapter. In looking around I was originally going to go with 16" (7"s in the front and 9"s in the rear). After looking for some tires for that set up I am no longer too hot on it. It appears that the bigger 16" tires are starting to vanish.

I have been doing some research on 17" wheels. I really want the look of Fuchs and came across the wheels that Subydude sells (there have been several threads on Pelican regarding these wheels). I was wondering if they would fit on my 914? The fronts are 7.5" and the rears are 9", the offset on these wheels is 35mm in the front and 16mm in the rear. These wheels, I believe, are made to fit a 911 w/ SC flares. A link to the website is below.

Any help, or steering in the right direction, would be greatly appreciated.

http://www.wheeldude.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=314

rfuerst911sc · 09-21-2008, 03:33 PM

I think any wheel/tire combo that fits under SC flares should fit no problem under 914 GT flares.

tommott · 09-21-2008, 04:39 PM

That is what I originally thought, but the more I thought about it I am little worried about the fit on the inner part of the wheel (wheel well) as opposed to the out part of the wheel (flares).

tommott · 09-22-2008, 06:29 PM

Does anybody know what the correct offset is that I should be looking for to fit a set of wheels under the GT flares front and rear?

Dave at Pelican Parts · Dave at Pelican Parts's Garage

IIRC, 911 wheels up through the 3.2s will fit the inner fenders of a 914. Later ones may not, without spacers of some kind.

--DD

tommott · 09-23-2008, 07:48 AM

Dave,

Would it then be safe to assume that any Fuch that would fit an 89' or under 911 that is 7" wide in the front and 9" wide in the rear, or smaller, should fit on my 914 w/ flares?

Dave at Pelican Parts · Dave at Pelican Parts's Garage

As far as I know, yes. Going with 8" rears should be safer (the M471 cars used 7" wheels all around but ran 1" spacers), but 9s will likely fit also.

It definitely can depend on the exact installation of the flares, of course. The details can make more or less room.

--DD

trekkor · 09-24-2008, 02:36 PM

Depends on the type of tire you want to run to determine the proper backspace.
Vertical sidewalled vs. cantilevered. Also radial and bias plied.

Any greater than a 4.75" backspace and you will need spacers to avoid rubbing the inner fender wells and the front strut tubes, regardless of the wheel width.
If I flare my car this winter, I'll run 8x15's and 9x15's with a 4" backspace.

If I can find a way to fit a 13" rim I'll do that instead/as well, as I have an endless supply of Goodyear 11" slicks that are only a couple of hours old. ( Rears from Formula Atlantic cars )

KT

trekkor · 09-24-2008, 02:41 PM

Oh, and BTW,

I know you said you wanted a specific wheel. You can have custom wheels made for about $100 each to whatever dimensions you require. ( 5x130 bolt circle )

I had a set made in 4x100. ( 15x8 )
http://www.diamondracingwheels.com/

They are a little heavier than an alloy rim, but they are very affordable and you can skip running spacers if you get the backspace right.

They ship in less than 7 working days.

KT