Bob Prosser

Hey all. As many of you know, street tires for 7" & 9"X16" OE Fuchs are basically no longer available ... and I mean anything that is close to the 205/50/16 and 245/45/16 combo I run on the car. (I spent hours yesterday calling around the US.) The only option now seems to be running track tires. So, it looks like it's time to upgrade from 16" to 17" rims for my daily driver, which you see here.



I'd like to keep the classic look, and from what I can tell, there are only two options for this:

1.) Lindsey Racing:
17 INCH P2 WHEEL PAINTED CENTER at LINDSEY RACING - Your Porsche Performance Parts Center

2.) Zuffenhaus:
https://www.zuffenhaus.us/cgi-bin/co...ion&key=ST-601

Any other options, or anecdotal info on these two wheels would be much appreciated, e.g., are either of these wheels superior? Are they as strong as the legendary Fuchs?

Best to all.

whalebird

I think the Lindsey and Zuff. wheels are the same wheels. Jeff Alton makes the quality reproductions you may be looking for, but I don't know how these relate to the zuff wheels.
FYI...stock front tires on your car should be 205/55/16 and are much easier to find. As for the 245s on the back - I don't remember what people are running, but 225/50s are stock and easy to find as well.

Bob Prosser

Thanks for the reply. Now, do you think, or do you actually know that the two are the same? With all due respect my friend, I need information, not supposition.

And FYI, I prefer the 50-series front over the 55s because the look has a closer tire thickness relationship to the 45s on the rear, but that is no big deal ... the problem is the rears are rare now, and from what I have been told, 225s are not recommended for 9" wide rims, which I have ... 8" would be okay maybe. Here is a helpful link: http://instant-g.com/Products/Wheels/WheelFit.htm

Take care.
-Bob

bobaines

Lindsey and Zuffenhaus are NOT the same. Jeff Alton was part of the development of the Zuffenhaus wheel, so the Alton and Zuffenhaus wheel are the same.

Bob Prosser

Thanks buddy. That's useful to know ... so regardless of cost, I am asking whose aftermarket wheel is arguably as close to the original OE Porsche Fuchs? That's the $64,000 question I am asking.

whalebird

Yes, I see you have 9s in the rear. Maybe put the 8s up front and find the right tires. Wouldn't want it to look wrong, would you? Lindsey is selling zuff wheels which is also Alton. This relationship has been in flux and I haven't kept up with it; there are only so many people making 17" fuchs. HRE was the last set of custom Fuchs I am familiar with.
You may want to try the search function and see what others have found.

Bob Prosser

No, I don't want it to look oddball ... "period correct" is the only way to go with an old classic. FYI, I am only a few miles from HRE ... last time I was in the facility, I don't recall anything there about this ... but given what you say, I guess I will ask them. Thanks bro.

whalebird

If I remember, HRE number was 504. Take $10K with you when you visit.

bobaines

Bob, HRE made a Fuchs style wheel years ago, I think they stopped making that wheel at least 7 years ago.

Lindsey does not now, nor in the past sell the Zuffenhaus wheel. Their 17" Fuchs is made using the wheel center from a 16 x 6 Fuchs and a 17" barrel.

The Zuffenhaus wheel is made with a new forged center and cold spun barrels. The center has been scaled to be a "true" 17" canter. If you look at the original Fuchs you will see that the diameter and paddle size on the 15" and 16" are the same, when used on a 17" wheel they start to look out of proportion. This is why the Zuffenhaus wheel development scaled the center to have the same center to total wheel perspective. These wheels are both light and strong.

Bob Prosser

Whalebird: My research does not seem to come up with an HRE 504 ... at least any longer. Perhaps you are referring to HRE's new "vintage series"?
http://www.hrewheels.com/category/st...intage-series/
Obviously I am in need of the five-spoke Fuchs look, not the old BBS style. But thanks anyway. : )

Bobaines: thanks for the input. Nothing like making a well-informed decision.

Shannon123

Bird dog for 245/45/zr16's

rusnak

Ed Hughes is the guy to ask here.

BTW, I'm running Fuzion ZR1 on my 16"s. The are pretty good. I see some guys run Pilot Sports, and others run Kumhos. Falken used to make the 245/45-16 for the older Camaros.

Ed Hughes

I've got the Alton/Zuff wheels, in the pic to the left. IMO, they are the only way to go. 15.2 and 15.8lbs respectively. The key here is these are NEW forged centers. Nothing against Lindsey, but they use donor centers from old Fuchs. At this point, the newest of these donors will be over 20 years old. Even Fuchs wheels can age, and perhaps fail.

I had a set of the HRE wheels a few years ago, they aren't made anymore. They were also pretty heavy.

Bob Prosser

Runsak, here's my (our) problem: I already have Fuzions on it. (Crappy tires in my opinion, but that was all I could find 6 months ago.) But now, it's not happening at all -- remember we need front/back sets ... not just rears or fronts. But please prove me wrong. Show me a staggered series left in the US that fit 7 and 9X16 Fuchs. I will buy them tomorrow ... but then again, what about next year?

Ed: thanks for the input. Fuchs are incredibly strong ... but I realize that even magnaflux may not show the stress of a wheel that had taken a hit.

g-50cab

I have a set of the zuffenhaus and a set of True Design 17" fuchs that use donor centers. I found a set of 951 7's and 8's that I cut up to make the 17" fuchs.

Mainly because the fuchs I found had been sitting in a garage for a long time. And because I needed the greater clearance for brakes - AND I believe that the 951 wheels are a little stronger because the have deeper lug recesses.

Mine are 17" x 9 and 17 x 11

Zuffenhaus


True Design