Tire fit question

[jbaeng]

I found some Prosche wheels and Conti tires that I'm looking at buying for my 1988 NA 944. They are 17x7 w/ 205/50/17 tires for the front and either 17-8.5 or 17-9 w/ 255/40/17 fir the rear. I'd consider different a tire size once i wear these out since t think these came off a 911.

my question is; will these wheels/tires fit w/o any mods as is?

I sure though anything will be better than the junk that came with them - 15" wheels with sears roadhugger m+s tires. I even tried some auto-x this year and gave everyone a good laugh!!

thanks

[944 boy]

What style wheel? The offset is the important part. Any late offset wheel up until 933 and select wheels after that will fit without mods or spacers. I have had up to 275's on 993 10" twists and currently have 18x11" 996 twists on the back right now with stock fenders (will have huge flares soon enough).

[Dantilla]

Those tires will fit fine, depending on the wheels used. But having such an extreme stagger will make the car understeer.

911s require wider tires in the rear because most of their weight is back there. A well-balanced car like the 944 will be most fun to drive with equal tires front/rear, or at most, a slight width difference.

If this car is used on the track, it will not handle well. For simple street driving, they may be fine, if you're not an aggressive driver.

[jbaeng]

i believe the off set is good (55), here is a picture of the set:

[jbaeng]

yeah, i would go with 225 front 245 rear or so for the next set of tires, recognizing the 944 needs balance. I also found a 16" set off an '86 944 that would cost me a little less.

Does the '86 have the same offset? these have the 225/245 tire combo already.


I'm thinking of going with the 16" set for performance but i like the looks of the 17" (twists?) better. what does the gang think?

[Dantilla]

1986 wheels will not work on an '88.

All 944s used "Early offset" wheels up through 1986.

Beginning in 1987, "Late offset" wheels were used, and are still being used. The offset was changed to accomodate anti-lock brakes.

Early cars can use late wheels with spacers. Early wheels on a late car will stick outside the fenders, and won't work.

Tire selection for 16" wheels is getting poor. I've gone to 17" wheels on my own 944 to take advantage of the better tire selection.

[Techno Duck]

That 16'' set you posted are D90's and will fit your '88 fine. The other guy was probably using spacers to make them work on his early offset car.

[jbaeng]

yes, the 16's are D90's and he claimed they have a 55 offset.

Thanks for the input, I'm still leaning towards the 17" wheels