Porsche Enthusiasts Club Forum

Hi, so when I bourght my 944 Lux it came with some great looking BBS rims on it. However I have since found out that after some harder driving that they rub on the nearside rear lip of the arch! So I am thinking I really need to get them replaced.

So here is the problem, I know nothing about wheels and dont really understand the whole offset thing! The car is an early 86 with an oval dash so it has the older suspension setup and no ABS. The current wheels are 215 R16 on the front and 245 R16 on the rear. I like the fatter rear tyres on the back so I am wondering what size I can get away with? Any advice would be useful, I have seen a couple of 944's with boxster wheels on this site that look really good!

Thanks for any help C

Hi Chris. Whats the Aspect ratio. Thats the number after the first number. Say 245/40 (Thats 245mm tread with. 40% of which is in contact with the road in a straight line. You get the rest when going round a corner if the tyre pressures are correct!)
Is it the fronts or rears you have problems with?
If you have an oval dash I would have thought thats the later suspention. ?????? Not well up on the older cars as mines a late one.
What rim width have you got front & rear?
Have you got cast bottem arms on the front or pressed steel?

Car looks great

If you really like the wheels it would be nice to try and hang on to them rather then spend lots on a new set.

First of all have you taken the wheels off and checked there are no spacers already on the hubs - this 'could' be making them sit out a bit too far. With the wheels off you may see some markings on the rear with the width and offset - what are they?

Finally, do you know how old the rear shocks are? They are possibly well past their best and maybe the car is leaning too much. New shocks will be far cheaper than new wheels and tyres and could improve the handling nicely at the same time.

Looks like wheel off set issue to me, especially the rears. Check here http://www.driverstechnology.co.uk/wheel-offset.htm
& then measure yours, the rears look way out!

Hmmm, that is an interesting point, there may be spacers! I have no idea how old the shocks are, but it happens most when someone is sitting in the passenger seat so that could be something to look at. I will take the wheels off and see whats what! I will post back with some more information. I totally agree that it is silly to buy a new set of wheels if i dont need to! Thanks C

Rubbish. The second number gives the sidewall height as a percentage of the width (the first number).

Ok, so I have had the wheel off, the details were just under the hub covering the wheel bolts but I took it off anyway and there is a spacer. So...

245/45 ZR16 Tyres
10J H6 ET11 Wheels

I am going to see if I can get the shock absorber checked out tomorrow.

Oh, and whilst I was merrily out there on quite a nice day for working with the car I started to replace the nearside mirror glass...what a pain in the a**e that is! Found out my replacement glass and backing has a different fitting....that will teach me to get it off ebay! Going to have to order one from a supplier now.

Thanks for the help guys!!

Yes I got it wrong. The second number is sidewall height in percentage of the tread width. 40% of 245. Which would be 98mm. Sorry

OK That answers a lot! 10inch or J wheels are marginal on a 944 & this is why you have clearance issues. If you have no spacers then you'll struggle without getting the wheel arches rolled. At a guess you need around an ET20 & you can't convert from 11 to 20 without a BIG lathe!

Think they are going to have to go on ebay and I will have to get some stands whilst I source new wheels. So what sizes ideally would I need to give the car a good look?

Think thats a shame as they really suit the car. I would take it to your body shop first for a quote as new wheels won't be cheap. You will also need spacers & tyres. Someone like Porscheapart (Ramsbottem) will probably have a range of wheels for your car. But I don't see it as a cheap option. I have Boxter alloys on mine. Or you might find wheels from an S2 or turbo on ebay. Thats if it's the late suspention.

What are the specification of the boxster alloys you have?

Have you thought about a set of D90s? They look a bit more 'of the period' but fab at the same time and are a 16" rim normally so don't upset the handling too much.

I have a set on my lux and am getting some Toyo Proxes fitted tomorrow so can provide some feedback if it helps?

Adam

Yeah, I am just this minute looking into some Design 90s that Porsche-Part have right now. I am also thinking of Teledials (I like them).

The teledials are unloved generally, but personally I love them. But you would need big balloon tyres for them and tyre choice is very limited. Also you won't find a particularly sporty tyre in the correct size as 15" rims are 'so last millenium'