Porsche Enthusiasts Club Forum

Hi,

the wheels on my S2 could do with a refurb. Not sure if i should invest in this or buy some different alloys. I quite like some of the Boxster wheels etc, are these a straight fit or would i require spacers?

Just not sure which way to go as i intended to leave the car standard...... if i went the refurb route anyone know anywhere good to get them done in the B'ham area?

Spen

Lots of folk say good things about Laptab

That depends on the offset of the wheels.

All Porsche wheels have this cast on the rim.
Check what yours is and then check what boxster wheels are.

These sites might help you

http://www.wheeldynamics.net/appguide.html

http://members.rennlist.com/911pcars/WheelWts.html

Larger wheels do tend to make them tramline, this can be cured by fitting 968 Castor blocks.

I had larger wheels on mine and went back to standard D90's which are a dull looking wheel. I painted mine black and had a polished rim to bling them up a bit.

The car felt transformed when I fitted the original wheels back on and I would not change back. My only regret was not doing it sooner.

I found that Laptab offer the world but don't deliver. When I took my alloys to them they refused to do them and told me the best thing to do was sell them and buy a new set. Fat lot of use that was.

I eventually got them done by Image Car Care in solihull.

http://www.imagecar-care.co.uk

do they shot blast the wheel at image and re powder coat them or just repair?

I'm not sure, I was just happy that they could refurb them. I didn't ask them how they did it. Give 'em a call and ask.

Try doin' 'em yourself like this guy... http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=3680224 ...only joking.

Looking at the parts book the 968 castor block is a 951 part as is the ecentric bolt. The 951 castor block is an improved design; slightly sturdier to cope with the extra load but no change in geometry. The ecentric bolt that holds the back of the control arm to the chasis allows you to change the castor. if its rotated moving the back of the control arm inwards towards the middle of the car the lower pivot for the hub is moved further back thus increasing the castor. I'm guessing that would make the car more inclined to go straight on and less inclined to follow every rutt in the tarmac. I wonder if a little extra toe-in would reduce the tramlining too. I'm not going to fiddle with this myself but the engineer in me loves to work this stuff out.
This article goes into some detail PAGE5 is the relevant part. http://cai.pca.org/NewsLetter/2006/Winding%20Roads%20July%202006%20LR.pdf
Interesting link.http://www.ozebiz.com.au/racetech/theory/align.html

P.S. nice to talk to you on the phone Sean.

blimey thats technical, i know you're a long way away but you'd enjoy centrals day at centergravity on 19th april

I'll take any excuse to spend time behind the wheel of the porker..

Here's a picture of the original caster block that came off my car compared with the updated 968 version on top. The new one has much less rubber so does not allow the rear of the wishbone to 'wander around' as much and therefore reduces the tramline effect. Incidentally the original ones are no longer available and have been superceded by the 968 version for all models.

That's interesting. How much do these new blocks/bushes cost then?

Berlyn services do a pair for around £100. The WSM also advises replacing the locknuts when you do the job.
http://partsforporsche.co.uk/osc/wishbone-right-p-1792.html?osCsid=2276d03afbd22c79eff0abe55af79b9e

providing you are running the correct profile rubber and the track (from left to right wheel hasn't changed) then a 7j18 and a 7j16 should behave the same. 18s may change the overall weight of the wheel and a heavier rim would have a stronger gyroscopic action so be more inclined to go in a straight line. Suspension setup is a voodoo art with hundreds of permutations. Porsche would have spent ages setting up the stock geometry to get the legendary handling out of the cookie cutters, tele'dials and then d90's. I am however pretty sure that with a bit of fiddling and head scratching a 944 can be made to handle well on 17s or even 18s. I think maybe it would be a good article for All Torque "Getting a '44 to handle with big rims" or just a general article on suspension geometry.
Ben..