944 Wheel/Tire Questions

Hi all,

I own and track/AutoX a 1984 944 N/A. I am looking at putting some new wheels on the car. It has maybe 130 hp at the wheels.

I run wheel adapters. Ultra high quality, custom made in USA, anodized alum. hubcentric, lug centric, the whole deal. I want to keep the wheels/tires on the car, no swapping. Very limited street use, basically to and from the track/autoX.

Option 1: Enkei RPf1 17 x 9 fr 245/40/17 - 17 x 10 rr with 255/40/17 Hankook RS3.(these wheels are actually lighter than the narrower ones at 15.5# fr and 15.9# rr)

Option 2: Enkei RPF1 17 x 8 fr 225/50/17 - 17 x 9 with 245/45/17

Option 3: Stock Porsche cookie cutters(no adapters) 15 x 7 with 225/50/15 max. perf. tires.

I'd like to put maximum tire under the car. It is lowered, koni yellows, 300# fr. springs, big rear T-bars, LSD, upgraded bushings, Turbo S sways, etc. I have done the math and I'm confident with the adapters they will fit with no issues.

Last year I ran 18's with wheel adapters and the car was amazing on them even though they were super heavy at about 25 lbs a wheel.

Thoughts?

Pic of car on heavy 18's:

I think you have more tire on that car than you need.

I sold the 18's. Now I have no tires.

Okay, so now you need more...

FWIW, I was not able to out-grip my 944 on the 225/15 R-S3's. I had the stock Sport Suspension, LSD, and steel balljoints. Tires were mounted on the phone dials (86). I also won my class season championship 2 years on the trot.

I really don't think you'd go any faster on the staggered Enkei's, at either size. Cookie cutters + R-S3's is my vote.

What I found with my 924s is that wider sites up to 225's helped everything after that gave more feeling of grip but I was actually scrubbing off more speed in the corners. So I went back to the 225's. On long high speed tracks I ran 205's for less rolling resistance and less air resistance and although I may have given up a little bit in the corners I was not a good enough driver to make it really matter. Also I found that the car is a lot more unforgiving with 225s and wider tires. There was a lot less warning that things were going to go wrong. And when it did I was going just that bit faster so it was all that more spectacular.

Good comments guys.

I hate the look of the cookies, but looks don't make me faster.

I have run the car on cookie cutters with v710's. While the car was fast, I found it too easy to lock up under braking. With the larger tires, I never had this issue. I was using Hawk Blues up front with Pagids in the back.

I literally drove the tires off the car that weekend. It was a more technical track and the 911 guys kept asking what turbo I was running. This leads me to believe I could benefit from a wider tire(so I can corner even harder). I'd really like to not have to brake...

Last time out my friend was in his identical 84 944 on 225/45/15 NT01's and my brother on 16" 205/245 RA1's in his 944 and I was on Ecsta LE sports in 225/40/18 fr and 245/35/18 rr and I was destroying both of them. I also have an issue with running out of 4th gear at Mosport with the 15's.

I wish I could test the car on 245/255's. But if it doesn't work, it'll be an expensive mistake.

944 respond well to a slightly wider rear tire. It's difficult to find anything to fit 7s and 8s, though...

Maroon92 wrote: 944 respond well to a slightly wider rear tire. It's difficult to find anything to fit 7s and 8s, though...

Bridgestone is offering the RE-11 in the orig. 944 Turbo sizing. 225/50/16 fr and 245/45/16 rr.

Too bad most of the old 16" wheels available are bent. I've been through a few sets now, all out of round. All sitting in my basement. I guess that's to be expected for 20+ year old wheels.

I had been hording 16's I have three sets of 5 (in case I bend one) I want a set of OE Fuch 16's. I had a set on my 86 951. They came on the car new. I wish I sitll had those. Hell I wish I sitll ahd the car.

Most of the Fuchs that I find for sale these days seem to be for 944s.

Surprisingly the phone dials and the set of flat ones (from a 928) are not all the bad weight wise. I also have a set of 3 piece dp's that look really cool but weigh a ton compared to the stock Porsche wheels

Woody wrote: Most of the Fuchs that I find for sale these days seem to be for 944s.

If they are real OE ones they have been hard to come by in my neck of the woods. there seems to be a flood of re-pro fuchs around. The problem with those is that the re-pros are significantly weaker than the OE ones. OK for the street but many have complained of the re-pros cracking / braking when used on the track. Also the re-pros are heavy compared to the real-deal.

How about these:

http://www.924board.org/viewtopic.php?t=37855

I like those. ^

But it's alot to spend to achieve what I already have in a set of cookie cutters.

Also, I wouldn't want to street drive those tires.

Oh, and Fuchs are getting stupid expensive here in Canada. $1200-$1500 for an OK set of 16"x 7, 16 x 8.

Okay, the wheels are 3-piece which means you can increase and change the offset to suit your needs by simply buying different barrels. They are also damned strong as Revolutions have been used in racing and rallying for decades.

Eventually to achieve real serious levels of grip you will need to start hauling a set of wheels/tires to the events with you shod in seriously sticky rubber that you don't use unless you're racing. Its just the natural progression of things in the racing world.

turboswede wrote: Okay, the wheels are 3-piece which means you can increase and change the offset to suit your needs by simply buying different barrels. They are also damned strong as Revolutions have been used in racing and rallying for decades. Eventually to achieve real serious levels of grip you will need to start hauling a set of wheels/tires to the events with you shod in seriously sticky rubber that you don't use unless you're racing. Its just the natural progression of things in the racing world.

I've been there, done that. I've been competing for the last 15 years in both Time Attack and AutoX. I've trailer-ed cars, carried multiple sets of wheels/tires and swapped brake pads, seats, etc. At almost 40, and with a bad back, I'm tired of it. I want to drive to the track, go fast, drive home.

I know Revolutions are good wheels, I've never owned any but I've had Keiser 3-pc.

I know it's a compromise to run one set, but one I'm willing to accept. What I hope to do is make up for the lack of ultimate sticky rubber with tire width. Many people said I couldn't make the car handle and still ride really well, my 944 does both. I use a Sparco EVO 3 seat, not the best for locking me into place, but at 6'3" and 240lbs, I can be comfortable for a 6 hour drive to the track.

I'm still on the fence about this though.

I do take the car to PCA social events, and to local cruise nights, so looks are a little important to me. I also do the odd sunday morning drive with one of my kids. My friends car is on 15" cookie cutters with NT01's and I don't like how it looks, too small.

I'd ultimately like to run Fikse's or CCW's, but they are just too much money considering what the car is worth.

Still thinking.......

if you're already using adapters, then I would change the pattern to something more common (5x120/5x114/5x100). then you'll have access to many more common wheels. Corvette/Camaro/Mustang wheels should provide width and if you're careful, good looks.

just a thought.

you might also look at what the V8 powered 944 folks are using.

It's funny you say that turboswede, after I bought my adapters, thinking that 5 x 114.3 was the way to go. I regretted not going for something that would allow me to run Corvette or BMW wheels.

Sadly at around $350 I don't want to spring for another set of adapters. I could try and sell mine, but they'll be a tough sell.

The V8 944 guys generally swap into later Turbo cars, allowing for a high offset wheel to be used, opening the door big time for a wide array of Porsche wheels.

Get some aluminum rear arms and solve that problem. BTW, to swap between early and late offset in the aluminum rear arms you just swap the out spindle and rotor.

I used 87 944 rear arms and swapped in 924S rear spindles to keep the offset I needed.

I already have alum. rear arms from an 86 944 turbo on my car. Early offset.

The front is the issue. I have steel from arms and I want to keep them that way. I have heard you can use newer spindles with the steel arms. Maybe that's an option...

I guess I'll start searching for an early to late offset setups.

In reply to johnnytorque:

Why bother with the late offset stuff? The parts are more expensive and they are heavier, plus the wheels that it opens you up to are all pricey as well.

I say that if you want to stick with the 225's and 15's, get a set of 1985.5/1986 944 Phone Dials and run the R-S3's. They look good, they are light, and they are relatively cheap. If you really think you can benefit from the stagger, get a set of 86 951 16" staggered Phone Dials. Then you can run the 225/245 combo and the car would look really sharp. Sell the adapters.

yes, you can run the late offset spindles with the steel arms. theres nothing special about the aluminum arms until they changed the length later in the series.

the trick is using the later spindles and maintning your mechanical speedo.

luckily the early turbo spindle can be machined for the speedo cable.

I would look at 928 and 911 wheels, but anything Porsche related gets jacked up stupidly in price as you've noticed.

I like Javelin's idea though, the phone dials are better looking and not much heavier than the Fuchs. if you must go larger in diameter then Option 1 sounds like it would meet your needs best.

johnnytorque wrote: I like those. ^ But it's alot to spend to achieve what I already have in a set of cookie cutters. Also, I wouldn't want to street drive those tires. Oh, and Fuchs are getting stupid expensive here in Canada. $1200-$1500 for an OK set of 16"x 7, 16 x 8.

8's are where the money is.

Lol. Thanks guys. I went searching for late offset interchangeability. I can't be bothered. Too much money, too much work, not enough gain.

Here's a pic of my car on 86 951 phonedials( 7's & 8's). I grew tired of them rapidly. I dislike the look plus I really don't want 16's.

I do own a set of ol' Skool Riken mesh in 5 x 130 - 16 x 7. They are out of round, but I contacted Memory Fab in Cali about using the centre's in some new 17" barrels. They can do them but at a cost of $1200 + shipping. What do you think?

I really don't want porsche wheels. None of the early stuff, except maybe RSR Fuchs in monster widths, but them I'm limited with the wide 15" tire options.

I could install this recent purchase(bought for $200) and run some super wide stuff...

mmmmmm.....superlight widebody.