PZabo

Will they work? 17"x7" and 17"x9". 55 offset

Any problems with the fit or offset of this wheel. I'd like to replace my 16x6 and 16x7 Fuchs, but don't want to if it is going to mess up the ride or handling of the car. Also, how light are the Cup wheels?

KLehmann

I had the Cup 2 style wheels (993 style, not 964 turbo) made by Mille Miglia- replicas. They were heavy and not very strong. 3 of the 4 wheels had big dents in them when I bought the car. If you want bigger wheels, i'd go with some other brand. Just my opinion, but I don't think they are very good wheels. You didn't say if the wheels you're talking about are the factory Porsche wheels or replicas, so i'm making the assumption they're fakes. I guess they might be factory if they're 7 instead of 7.5 fronts.

Anyway, it's been said that Fuchs can't be beat in the strength/cost ratio. I think the Kinesis folks said that the cost of making a wheel as strong as a Fuchs wheel nowadays is just not cost effective (for the aftermarket, I assume).

I believe the fronts on my car were 7.5 in. width with 205-50 tires. The tires rubbed the fender lip badly and cut the tires. Solution? Previous owner flipped the cut side of the tire to the inside and then had the tire shop crank the height adjusting screws on the t-bar all the way up to max. height. Looked like the 959 rally car!!! Rolling the fender lip would have been a better solution. Sold them and put the factory 16's on the car that came with the sale (thank god).

Sorry for the ramble, but that's my limited experience with the Cup wheels from my car.

J-RAD

I agree that the Fuchs are quite strong and certainly a 15/16 inch Fuch wheel (and most 15/16" wheels in general) will be lighter than most 17" wheels (except for a few pure race wheels). However, the quality of the Mille Miglia's is not bad. Mille Miglia wheels are a decent "mid range" manufacturer and for the price they provide a good value. The size you are looking at should fit just fine although I am not sure about the offset for the Carrera (I actually have them on my SC with no problem but I believe the offset is different...I could be wrong on this so you'll want to verify the offset for the Carrera). As far as handling is concerned, the wheels themself definately won't "mess-up" your handling. However, the bigger wheel set-up will be a little different, generally speaking in a good way, although that depends on what you like. This is because you are going to have a much wider footprint than with the narrower Fuchs. Generally speaking again, this will provide better grip/traction in the corners and such (usually considered a positive). Due to the larger diameter of the Cup wheel, you will have a lower profile tire than with the Fuchs. This will generally give you a stiffer sidewall which is often more responsive but a little rougher ride.
Is the quality of MM as good as a Kinesis wheel? Of course not but Kinesis is a very high quality, forged, lightweight wheel...and you pay considerably for them (4 times that of MM). Other pure racing wheels will also be lighter and stronger. So when you say the Mille Miglia's are "not very strong", I guess I somewhat disagree. The MM Cup wheels are cast (as are the O.E.M. Cup wheels) vs. the Fuchs forged...but many of Porsche's newer O.E.M. wheels are cast as well. Like most things in life, there are trade offs and what is correct for you depends on what you are looking to do. FWIW, I am quite happy with my MM.
As far as wheel weights are concerned, check out this site: <a href="http://www.wheelweights.net" target="_blank">wheelweights.net</a>
The Mille Miglia wheels seem to be about in the middle range when compared with other similar 17" wheels. The 7.5 width weighs 24.0 lbs and the 9.0 width weighs 26.0 lbs.

KLehmann

Just to clarify, I wasn't comparing MM wheels to Kinesis- that would be silly. I was simply saying that the reference made by Kinesis regarding Fuchs wheels is pretty impressive. Meaning, a company that makes some of the highest quality wheels available considers the Fuchs wheels to be very strong even by today's standards. Considering how widely available the Fuchs are around these forums, they're hard to pass up when it comes to bang for the buck. Maybe kinda dated looking (subject to opinion), but can't beat 'em otherwise!!! Sometimes people are not aware of the value of Fuchs wheels until it's too late. Ask Leland Pate!!!

Never said the MM's were bad, just not very good. IMO, I think for the same price you could get something better. That's all.

As far as cast wheels are concerned, cast is a general term. There's gravity cast, high/low pressure cast, squeeze cast..... all different types of cast. Let's not make the mistake of thinking cast wheels are all a lesser wheel. There is a newer casting process (the technical name alludes me at the moment) that is supposedly near the strength of forging. Anyway, i'd have a hard time believing that MM wheels are of the same casting process as OEM Porsche wheels. I know Porsche started cutting some costs in the early 90's and switched to cast wheels, but i'd have to think the OEM wheels are still a cut above the MM wheels. Obvious speculation on my part. Sorry, sue me.

I guess I should have been more specific about my MM wheels. They were only a few years old on a car that was driven seasonally. 3 dented wheels (one of which had two dents) in a couple years is a little excessive IMO. Who knows, maybe my previous owner was a complete fool (actually quite likely) who could give a crap about Metro-Chicago potholes?

No hard feelings, just clarifying.

BTW PZabo,

If the wheels you have are OEM Porsche wheels, they won't fit your 87 without spacers. Based on the offset you mentioned (55), I have to think they're OEM Porsche wheels, not MM.

Carrera51

I have to agree with jrad. I have two sets of the MM cup 2 wheels for my Carrera. 17s were necessary because I put big reds on the car a few years ago. Mine have been pretty durable considering the car is used primarily as a club race/DE car. I would love to get a set of Forgelines, Fikses, Kinesis, but $3K pays for several race weekends.

PZabo

Kevin,

Yes these are OEM Porsche Cups, not replicas. Thanks for helping me clarify. Do the same concerns over the MMs apply to a Porsche factory 17 inch Cup wheel? And do I need spacers front and back? Also, if I lower the car a little, will I have to roll the lip on the fender?

I would run 205s on the front and 255s on the rear.

Thanks.

KLehmann

PZabo,

I don't know the exact size of the spacers, but you will need them front and rear. I'd try asking the folks at Wheel Enhancement (www.wheelenhancement.com) as they specialize in Porsche wheels. They can tell you the exact size spacers you need. Others have done this swap as well, so maybe try posting a new topic about spacers? Maybe you can do a search on here and see what you come up with as well.

The MM wheels have the spacers "built-in" to the wheel hub. That is, the wheel hub is much deeper than the OEM Porsche wheels to account for the offset change. MM wheels have really deep lug holes because of this deeper hub as well.

I don't know if the Porsche wheels are any stronger than the MM wheels, but I have noticed the finish on the Porsche wheels is better. You're in good shape there. With the correct size spacer, you shouldn't have to roll the fender lip. Your current rear 16x7 fits quite well on the front with a 205 tire. If the 17x7 with the proper spacer mimics the 16x7 wheel offset, you should be fine there. I think you'll be quite happy with the rear setup. The 17x9 with the proper spacer and a 255 tire is going to fill out the rear really good. Looks much more stout than the current 16x7 with a 225 tire.

JG26

Kevin,

Thanks alot for the good advice. I'll look into the spacers and if the price is right, I'm going after those Cup wheels.

Pete

Flyin Elvis

I have an 83 911SC that I bought last year, and it came with the 17" wheels I think you are referring to. The offset is too much for this car and as a result the wheel bearings are starting to howl. They don't have spacers, just the deep hub and lugs. They have Dunlop tires with about 70% tread and are in great shape, save for a nick on one. I have a rear deck lid I want to put on it and bring it back to a more original 83 look. The spoiler wouldn't look right with these wheels so I'm looking to swap or purchase 16 Fuchs. If interested let me know and I'll shoot you a
picture. (I almost bought the C2 bumper kit from Performance and went for the newer look but have decided to get into DE etc. I've never been on a track and I'm getting psyched to try it!)