rsabeebe

i seem to be in the minority in needing longer studs on the front of my '86 951 to mount a set of rims. not knowing early-offset Turbo cars very well has clearly contributed to this issue and i'm now in a position to need 15mm spacers, longer studs and open nuts to properly mount these wheels - all items have already been purchased. the wheels are 18x9 ET52 and i was initially told that this was a perfect set up for an '86 951, although now i see what look to be 7mm spacers in his pics. my car runs Koni struts and Weltmeister springs and this could potentially be exacerbating the problem, as i need a good 15mm to clear the springs sufficiently.

From original sale posting:
Wheels are perfect setup for 1986 951 as seen in the pictures below. Also spoke to fikse and they said they will fit:
Widebody 911, 993, 996, 997

(widths and offsets were listed in the posting, to the seller's credit)

i'm just curious if i'm one of the few people to wind up in this position and have to go through the annoyance of replacing studs on an early-offset car? many searches have come back with little to no info on listers having to swap studs and several posts have actually stated that it's rarely necessary on an '86. clearly i misjudged the offset (and trusted the seller a bit too much - possibly), but am i really one of the few who has needed to install longer studs on an '86?

931guru

The 52 mm offset is not correct for the 86 951, contrary to what the original sale posting stated.

If you add spacers to mimic the original offset, you're looking at 30 mm spacers on each corner, and definitely will need longer studs. You would be better off using the bolt on spacers by H&R (for example).

When you start mixing offsets, all kinds of unexpected consequences occur.

rsabeebe

here's the weird thing, the pic below is the front rim in question with two 7mm spacers to determine what i was going to need. it clears the spring with a 15mm spacer and sits nice and flush to the body. maybe the offset was quoted wrong.

wildcat077

Not a big deal to replace with longer studs,i had to do so on my early offset race car because of the wheels i'm using,it's always better to be on the safe side ...

Cheers
Phil

rsabeebe

below are pics for the original sale thread. i blew the exposure out a bit to get a clearer view inside the wheel. you can see what appears to be a 7-8mm spacer and that his studs don't even come flush on the open nuts (wish i would have noticed all this a bit better earlier). not exactly what i would call a "perfect setup for an '86 951", but still it worked on his car (apparently) with a 7-8mm spacer. my struts are requiring a 15mm, which is clearly pushing me to longer studs.

i am correct that i have to remove the hubs, to separate the disc, to gain access to the back to install the studs, right?

931guru

delete

teamking

Are you planning on taking the car to the track?

If so, you should consider replacing the spindles/hubs/rotors. The '86 951 hubs are a weak spot and should be replaced on a track car with those from a later turbo or S2.

Obviously, this might render your work on spacers moot.

odurandina

stating the obvious: spacers over 7 mm need longer studs.

rsabeebe

i would love to get back out on the track again, but life is definitely getting in the way of that at the moment. is the '86 set up considered strong enough for infrequent track days? if i made it out, i'd likely swap back to the phones with an R compound - which i know will put more stress on all mentioned components. it is possible that i'd opt for just streets.

konakat

Either the seller had an 87 instead of an 86, or their suspension had been swapped to the later offset.

rsabeebe

pictures of the seller's car showed a non-airbag 951, so one would assume an '86. i also felt like i could see part of the hub in the pics above with the blown out exposure. this how thing is so confusing at this point. way too many variables, especially with 3 piece rims that could be inaccurately quoted (as per offset).

Arominus

My s2 got longer studs up front to go with the 5 or 7mm (can't remember which) spacers it got to run 996 wheels, also switched to steel lug nuts for extra safety margin and so we wouldn't have to worry about bottoming out the aluminum nuts on the longer studs.

Cole

I've got longer studs on all 4 corners of mine.


Since its kind of a "do it once" type of thing it's probably not talked about much. Some cars are already done, some don't need it with their wheel choice, and some (like me) just do it and don't find it worth mentioning.

MAGK944

That's good advise, but if it's a street car you could just bolt up some late offset arms and they would fit perfectly without spacers. You would need camber plates to dial back the camber as the early spindles are angled differently and the camber eccentric might not be enough to overcome that.