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944 Turbo wheel upgrades

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Hello all!
Have recently purchased a 1989 944 Turbo and am soon to start the task of " personalising" it. The car has the original 16" drop forged alloys with 225/50 tyres up front and 245/45' s at the rear. These are in dire need of refurbishment and for the combined cost of this and new tyres all round, I had thought about buying 17" 993 style Cup II alloys/tyres instead. Jasmine seem to be offering pretty good deals on this combination right now.
Any thoughts/comments on the above? Will I need spacers etc? Will the handling go to pot???
Looking forward to some feedback please, guys!
 
Hi Derek,

Sorry I can' t help with wheels.
I take it your are the same Derek I met at Alyth yesterday?
I have just registered and, I am now off to find some adivce for my old toy.
Maybe see you guys at a meeting later in the year.

Cheers,

Neil.
 
Hi Derek,

I' m running 17" 996 wheels on my Turbo (pictured herewith as previously on my Lux).

We have 205/50 and 255/40 Conti Sports front and back respectively, and they seem to work very well. The wheels went straight on without spacers being a 55mm offset on the front (as per later 944 wheels from memory).

In some respects the front is a little under tyred compared to the last of the 944' s, running 225 fr & 245 back, but with the extra punch from the Turbo you need all the help at the back you can get.

When I changed the wheels on the Lux the increase in grip was astounding, (previously 225s on 15" rims all round) but perhaps not as much fun as you couldn' t hang the back out so much. I' ve only driven the Turbo with the 996 wheels on it but it feels nicely planted. That said, having only had the Turbo since November we havn' t had the weather to try that hard with it yet.

Ig13352.jpg
 
Thanks for the feedback, John.
Had thought about 17" wheels with 7" and 9" width rims respectively, running 225/45' s at the front and 255/40' s at the rear. Does that sound sensible???
 
Hi Derek,

I' ve had 17" Cup I wheels from a 968 clubsport on both an S2 and a Turbo for the past 18 months. They were 7.5" front with 225/45' s and 9.0" rear with 255/40' s

It was extremely difficult to notice any difference over the standard 16" s until the front tyres became very worn, then tramlining became extreme.

I' ve now changed to 17" Boxster twists which have a narrower 7" front rim and 205/50 tyres and the steering seems lighter, but the ride just the same

 
Cheers Paul!
I appreciate your feedback. You' re absolutely right, the 993 style wheels also have a 7.5" rim width at the front. Do you think that' s too wide??
I must say that the steering in my car is not too bad with the 225/50' s I have on just now, but it' s still pretty heavy when doing slow speed manouvres. Power steering?? Hmmmmmmm.
 
No, I think 7.5" with 225 tyres is the way to go as Porsche intended (That' s what the 968 used which has virtually the same supsension as ours)

Half an inch narrower is neither here nor there and I have seen charts on tyre company websites that say 225 will fit on 7" anyway. When my 205' s wear out I will put 225 on there

Buy whichever set is in best condition for the price would be my personal advice
 
Many thanks again for your feedback.
Have contacted both PWS and Jasmine for quotes on wheels/tyres packages. Will alos keep an eye open for second hand stuff in the Post and in 911 & Porsche World etc.
Will let you know how I get on!
 
When considering tyre profiles it is strange how different manufacturers measure their tyres. My front 205 Conti' Sports have a greater contact patch than my previous nasty cheap 225' s on the old rims.

I' m pleased to hear that 225' s will fit on 7" rims and may go that route myself, although you need to consider if the tyre wall flex would be adversly effected by trying to squeeze on a tyre on the limit of being too wide for the rim.

Again, I note with the Turbo it is the back where all the fun happens - big sideways moment exiting roundabout this evening[:D]
 
According to my handbook, 225/50' s are the recommended tyre profile for the 7" wide front rims, which seems strange, as the 245/45' s on the 9" rears look too narrow! Again, this probably changes with tyre choice, as a friend of mine has a similar car with conti' s on it and it looks just fine. 20mm of difference in tyre width between front and rear does not, however, equate to the 2 inches of difference in the rim width. Strange one!
And, yes, the turbo can give you some scary moments when the power goes down on greasy roads. It has taken me by surprise a few times in the past couple of weeks!
 
John

I' ve seen it written that it' s the N spec. that makes the difference i.e N spec. 205 is wider than common or garden 225. It' s on David Sims site but I have also seen the same text somewhere else, on an Australian site I think.

I understand that someone went to a PCGB regional meeting where a man from Michelli explained it all.

BTW have you seen the Conti Sport Contact 2, looks tasty.

 
Just to update my original train of thought - have had a couple of quotes for 993 " style" wheels, with new tyres, ranging from £720 + vat to £795 + vat. There is also the possibility of genuine 993 wheels and used tyres for £500 + vat. Or, I can get a set of refurbished 16" drop forged alloys, as are on the car at present, for £285 +vat, exchange. Or, I can just get my own wheels refurbished for about £160!!
Decisions, decisions.
 
Non-genuine wheels generally are heavier than the originals, so it is worth going for a genuine set if you can,
Tony
 
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