dgwinup

Okay, it's not like I just jumped on this bandwagon. I've spent countless hours reading forum posts and searching other fora ("forums" for the language challenged). I've even contributed a thought or two here and there.

The are a couple of terms I'm confused about. I keep running into designations such as "944/1" and "944/2". I've seen "944 NA". From what I've been able to glean from my readings, "944 NA" refers to a 944 that was built for the North American market. I presume that "944/1" refers to early model production cars prior to 1985.5 and "944/2" refers to cars post 1985.5.

Let me know if I've figured this out. Since I have a 1984 944, I imagine it can be referred to as a 944/1 or 944 NA interchangeably. I hope someone can correct any misinformation for me.

Next question: I've read a lot about wheel spacers. I figure their main purpose is to bring the wheels further out from the mid-line of the car and more in line with the outer edge of the fenders. Not only is this more visually pleasing, it also adds stability to the car in turns. Does moving the wheels further out add additional loading to the suspension? Does this accelerate wear in the suspension?

As to spacers themselves, is there any difference in spacers, aside from thickness? Are they made by Porsche or are there after-market suppliers? Does it matter? Do all spacers require that you install longer lug bolts? I've seen some spacer that had lug bolts already installed on them.

My nephew and I bought this car over the summer as a project car. We are still working on getting everything to work properly (LOTS of electrical problems - most caused by previous owners' attempts to fix things by adding more non-standard wires!)

Appreciate any direction anyone can offer.

Darrell

Hollywood D

NA means naturally aspirated. Non-turbo.

They changed some things in 1985.5. So anything pre 1985.5 is considered an early car. After that is considered a late car.

Wherever you get spacers from, you should not need longer lug bolts. Any spacer will work if it's the correct size and bolt patter., doesn't need to be porsche

racer

944NA - 944 Naturally Aspirated- often refers to the base 8-V, 150hp 2.5l motor.

944/1 - 1982-1985.5
944/2 - 1985.5-1989

Spacers - need to make sure you have long enough studs to engage the threads. Most factory studs can only safely accomodate say, a 5mm (1/4") spacer. beyond that, you will need longer studs.

Many prefer NOT to run spacers if TOO wide, do to a potential for failure under high stress conditions like track driving. For street, they are likely ok.

Adaptors - another way to move the wheel "out". Come with their own lug bolts. Need to make sure they are "hubcentric" and of good quality.

Show some pics.. let see the new project!

dgwinup

Naturally aspirated! I knew that! Seen it before but forgot. That's what comes with old age!

Believe it or not, we haven't taken any pictures yet! I will correct that deficiency ASAP and post some here. Do you post pics here like on other forums? They have to be in an album or stored on-line like at Photobucket? Then paste in the url?

Thanks for the quick answers. Not too sure if we want to put spacers on. I just get a warm fuzzy feeling every time I look at the fenders on this car! Way too cool! Wider stance on the tires would look even better!

Will try to post some pics tomorrow.

Darrell

mytrplseven

My 2 cents worth: Roger that on the studs. If you can't get proper grip length after a spacer is put on, get longer studs. I put 1/4" on my '87 with 2006 Cayman 17" wheels. It didn't need them for spreading out the stance, it was because the hub is rounded and the wheel wouldn't sit flat, it rocked. The spacer eliminated that problem. If you're planning on changing wheels, do your homework to make sure you can put wheels on that will fit the offset of your year car without causing interference with either the struts or the bodywork. There's a few links out there on google that will help you make the right decision. Addtionally, I tried the tires that came on the Cayman wheels just for clearance check and the width of the rear tire was just enough to rub the outer fender lip when accelerating in a left turn. I used Tire Rack research tools to find a tire that was the stock diameter for my year and a width that was 1/8th inch narrower than the Cayman tire and now it's perfect.

dgwinup

Haven't decided on spacers yet. Still considering it, but I appreciate all the info!

Let's see if I can post some pictures:

This is the one that gets me all warm and fuzzy: (LOVE those fender swells!)



Passenger side view:



Rear view: (or the view I'd like MOST people to see while I'm driving! LOL)



The obligatory engine shot:



It ain't the prettiest, but I like it!

Darrell

ltdan12a

Good lookin' car!!!

CVDH

Hey, that's a nice looking car you have there! Black looks really good on these cars. Love those flares.

dgwinup

Thanks for the compliments. We like the car a lot. More than we thought we would. We bought it because the price was right and it needed work; a perfect "project car"! We still discuss whether we are 'repairing' it or 'restoring' it. Only in some areas do I agree with restoration. Mostly I just want to repair the stuff that needs repair. Some of the restoration is really just using original Porsche parts, even if they are used parts.

I appreciate all the comments and suggestions we've received. I've used this forum for a lot of research and aid in solving some of the problems we've run into. It's a GREAT forum full of helpful knowledgeable enthusiasts!

I hope to be able to return the favor sometime in the future.

Darrell

jacobs41

Yes, very nice car, "dgwinup"! One question about the spacers that wasn't addressed that I am curious about was, "Does moving the wheels further out add additional loading to the suspension? Does this accelerate wear in the suspension?" From what "racer" said, no more than 5mm on stock studs. However, getting 1.25" or 2" spacers with separate lug nuts also do harm these components? Also, is hubcentric a brand or type of spacer?

bonus12

Lookin good! Just needs some air in that RR tire!

FrenchToast

Yes you obviously need to make sure you have proper, full, thread engagement.

Porsche did make spacers, they came stock on 930s, some 928s, and surely others. I would recommend only hubcentric spacers. Strongly recommend against 'universal' five lug spacers that have ovalized holes.

As for the wear, well yes. It's basic physics. The slightest spacer, or tire with wider center of gravity, would lengthen the lever arm and enable the road to more easily enact a greater force on the suspension. It's all relative. Those strange people that bolt up four adapters in a row to get their wheels out the better part of a foot? Yea, they're nuts. I don't want to know what the force multiplier on their suspension is.

Hubcentric is not a brand, but a type of spacer (also wheel, and well, anything that goes on a hub). Doing my best to explain it: This merely means it self-centers on the hub (within its engineered tolerances). The hub bore (center hole) in the spacer, or wheel, is made to fit closely around the car's exposed hub. I would imagine hubcentricity was started because the tolerances of the holes that the lug studs go through couldn't be practically tight enough to keep it centered.

I frequently get flamed for this, but I've never been a fan of adapters (spacers with separate set of lugs). I would think it puts added load on the suspension that it may not have been designed for.

About the jargon - a 944/1 is a 944 NA, but a 944 NA isn't necessarily a 944/1. The whole 'NA' term isn't really used consistently - The 'S' and 'S2' models are technically normally aspirated but rarely-to-never referred to as a 944 NA model. As far as I can gather NA is mainly used to distinguish from a 944 Turbo, S2, or S. I believe the RoW folks call what we call a 944 NA, a 944 Lux. Don't know why. Just what I've gathered from reading UK posts.

The most important thing I can tell you about the forums? Well, it's NOT a panel of experts. There are some experts on here, yes. But not everyone is. If it has to do with the car's structural integrity I don't trust what's said on these forums. I'll be the first to admit that I am not an expert.

Long-winded, I know. Hope it helps though.

Well, back to earth. Nice lookin car!

masterdave

Forget spacers, get wider tires. I have 2 sets my original PD's (phone dials) and 17's off a 98 boxster that are much wider than the PD's. There is a very noticeable difference with the 17's in terms of stability. You may need a bit of an alignment after you install spacers but I have never used them so I dont know. In some cases they are also used to make early tires fit on later cars. If im not mistaken the earlier cars had a different offset than the latter cars and thus using early tires on a later car will make them sit very strange.

Regards
Dave

Dino V

Looks great!

Van

Remember, "wheel offset" is the measurement from the center-line of the rim to the mounting surface. Early offset cars (944/1 and the first two years of 944/2 - e.g. '86 and prior) have a smaller offset than the later cars - the later cars have a larger distance because the addition of the ABS required more "stuff" to be put in the wheel hub. (In '87 ABS became an option and became standard a few years later; 911s from the same time period have early and late offset cars.)

Anyhow, back to the point. With appropriate wheel studs and appropriate spacers, that extra offset amount can be made up so late wheels can be put on early cars. But if you try it the other way around - early wheels on a late offset car - you can have issues with the tire rubbing the fender.

Some people will put small spacers on to "fill out the fender wells more" - and, yes, this does put more load (leverage) on the suspension (typically wheel bearings).