27 replies to this topic

[Lemming]

Ok, I'm in the market for some 18 inch wheels for my white 968 coupe. I would love to buy some really high end wheels, but alas, all my money is currently being dumped into my 924S/968 trackcar. So my question is, does anyone have any experience with Arrow Tire and Wheel (see http://cgi.ebay.com/...P...TRK:MEWA:IT ) ? How's the quality? I'm thinking the black smoke wheels would look pretty nice on the white car.

[flash]

i don't think the offset on the rear will work

[rustech]

Sport Classic IIs have 65 offset rears and work fine. A thin 5-10mm spacer will give them a perfect stance.

[Lemming]

Sport Classic IIs have 65 offset rears and work fine.  A thin 5-10mm spacer will give them a perfect stance.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hmm, I just happen to have a set of 7mm spacers that I'm removing from the 924S track car

[flash]

ok - should have qualified that with "without spacers"

eric - you know i hate spacers - it's a race thing - they aren't legal in racing because they aren't considered safe - i've never used them for that reason - i've also had balance issues on other guy's cars because of them

if you love the wheels though, and you use good spacers, you could probably get away with it fine - a lot of guys do on the street, and they seem to be doing just fine

this was an odd porsche phenomenon i discovered when i started talking to porsche guys - in 25 years of builidng cars i had never run into any other make of car that successfully used spacers or even considered it - very weird that is so accepted a practice on this one

[Greimann]

The Sport Classic II at 65mm offset will fit fine without spacers. The spacer just fine tunes the asthetics of the fit.

[BruceWard]

What is wrong with spacers if longer lugs are fitted?

I avoid them due to classing considerations. But if sitting on the lugs is good enough for my rotors and wheels it should be good enough for spacers.

[BruceWard]

Back on topic. They were used and came with a few scratches but I got these wheels with new tires for a similar cost to what you are looking at. Personally I would shop around for a set of used wheels.

[flash]

dave - i thought you had inside rubbing without the spacers?

bruce - to answer your question, most people don't use longer lugs with narrow spacers - this is bad - the stock lug nuts are already bad enough (and also not legal for racing) - less threads available on them because of spacers is asking for a failure - that's a problem

any off center alignment of the spacer is a balance issue - you should also have them balanced with the wheel - this is not easy

they aren't legal for racing - that's a problem

like i said though, plenty of guys use them on the street and have no issues - i just would not trust them under heavy load or on the track

[Greimann]

dave - i thought you had inside rubbing without the spacers?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

With the rear suspension at full drop on the adjuster, on a hard corner, or full compression, the Continentals I had just barely touched the inside of the wheel house. Those 265mm Continentals were WIDE. Physically wider than the 275 Yoko's I have now, which are not a problem.

[6spcab]

One thing of note: Porsche used spacers on many of their race cars from the factory and early 44's sold to the public used rear spacers from the factory as well. My old 78 or 79 911 Turbo (don't remember which)had them in the rear as well from Porsche.
Small 5mm spacers are fine and pose no problems. Thicker and I would go with bolt on spacers such as H&R. I used them on the rear of the GS while sending over 390 hp to the rear wheels. So in terms of safety, there is no issue if used properly. The key word being properly. Keep in mind that many tire shops such as American Tire (I don't care for them anyhow) will not work on your car if it has spacers-including factory ones. Another downside with spacers is the hubcentric nature of the wheel is lost if thicker spacers are used unless the spacers are hubcentric like H&R spacers. Racing regulations vary from track to track so I cannot comment there.


I was looking at those wheels as well and they are just 4 miles away. They are a bit heavier than some, lighter than others, but claim to be forged. I may go over to check fitment.
Lee

[Lemming]

I was looking at those wheels as well and they are just 4 miles away. They are a bit heavier than some, lighter than others, but claim to be forged. I may go over to check fitment.
Lee

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

4 miles. get in that car and check them out

[PcarFan]

Did you end up getting them? I really want to see these wheels on a 968!

[PcarFan]

heres my little crappy photochop from paint heh

[Jason Judd]

I'm thinking of new 18" wheels, too. But I'm comparing Fikse's and BBS' brands. If you're thinking of using them on the street, you better not use the BBS, though, from what I've heard.

I like the Fikse Mach V and their new Profil 13 models. According To Fikse, their Profil 13's are 20 lbs for 9.5" X 18" and 21 lbs for 11" X 18"...the Mach V model is 1 lbs heavier per wheel.

Jason

[Ragnar]

The 18" wheels sure do the 968 well. I run 17" Cup's and have been looking for 18", both for the 928 i had, before i "converted" to 4 legs in the front, and for my current 968 cab.

In the process i came across a Porsche bulletin, where they strongly recommend not to use 18" wheels on models not originally equipped with such wheels.

Check the bulletin: http://www.update.uu.se/~bqt/18in.pdf

best regards

Ragnar

[flash]

yeah - this is CYA against the guy that puts heavy wheels on the car and then decides to track it or drive it hard and expects stuff no to screw up or wear out

basic physics here - more mass equals more stress - more tire contact area means more stress

gotta be careful on choices - i don't know where the limit is on our cars, but i do know that guys on the track snap spindles all the time, so i have to think it's not too far away from stock

if you want to go big, you really have to go lighter than stock to compensate for the increased size and still stay in the ballpark - unfortunately, most guys don't do that, often for budgetary reasons, and ultimately roll the dice, break something, and end up spending more money than if they would have bought the right wheels in the first place

i figure we'll start seeing some worn out stuff pretty soon - a lot of guys have gone to 18s lately, and not many of them have gone light

[Lemming]

Did you end up getting them? I really want to see these wheels on a 968!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Not yet, I was hoping that Lee would drive over and check out the quality of the wheels. I like the look based on the p-shop image.

[Anchorman]

I seem to recall reading someplace that there was a version of the 968 that came with 18" wheels. Anybody know?

[6spcab]

I seem to recall reading someplace that there was a version of the 968 that came with 18" wheels.  Anybody know?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I emailed these guys way back then and still have not received a response. I will try again today. If not, I may possible be able to drive past them on the way up to getting the car smogged.
Lee