nickhance

I posted this before, but I'm planning a trip home in 2 weeks and I want to take out Das 951 for a bit of spirited driving. Now as you can read in my sig below, I've got some wicked cool wheels on my car. That makes me happy. However, I needed some spacers for the front wheels because the offset wasn't right or something. I have a set of totally custom aluminum wheel spacers made by a friend of mine with a machine shop.

But enough of that. My problem is that the front wheels now rub on the fender lips when I'm cornering. I'm planning on throwing in a set of longer studs up front (They say you don't need them but I'm gonna do it anyway) and figured if there's anything I can do while I'm in there to make the wheels stop rubbing then I would do it. I know I'm not the only one running 18"s with spacers up front, so what have you guys come up with to stop the rubbing while cornering? The suspension is original and the fenders have been rolled.

Thanks for the reply, I'm excited to drive her again soon!

nick

Luis de Prat

Your wheels look great. It's too bad they rub. I'm too chicken to fit anything bigger than 17", myself. Ask Sami951, he's got 18"ers, as well as most of the Finnish guys.

adrial

It has nothing to do with them being 18"...the offset combined with those spacers is off.

Stiffening up the suspension should help.

Sami951

Yep, and also more negative camber if you're comfortable with that. IIRC you had some spesific reason to use the spacers, like clearing the bearing dust cap or something..? If so, there's not much else you can do If not, every little bit you can get off from the spacers will help.

Luis de Prat

Huh? Ask Sami how badly his 19"ers rubbed. No doubt offset and suspension are important factors, but size definitely matters. BTW Nick, did you upgrade to 968 caster blocks and eccentric bolts? It's important to do so when you go with larger wheels.

Sami951

Luis, the 19's rubbed because of 1) I had too tall tires, ie. the overall diameter was way more than it should have been. Properly sized 18's have the same overall diameter as 17's or 16's, and 2) my rear spacers were too thick, I now have ones that are much better suited to the offset of my wheels. So, with proper tire and proper offset, the 18's are not a problem, and I'd guess it's possible to run 19's as well, it just wouldn't make much sense

Upgraded caster blocks are definately recommended, I just found out mine are busted (the rubber part has deteriorated on both sides) ... not going to do anything about it now (not many driving days left this year), but it's the first thing on my list of spring repairs. I believe the eccentric bolt used in 951's is actually the same item they list in the service bulletin, but I will have to check that...

nickhance

I needed the spacers to clear the dust cap, they're as thin as they can possibly be. :-/

I haven't upgraded to 968 caster blocks or eccentric bolts. How much are these items and would I be able to do these changes in a weekend?

Thanks,
Nick

Luis de Prat

Well, one of the joys of larger wheels like Sami found out is busted caster block bushings.

You need new blocks and eccentric bolts for the upgrade. At the price of the bolts, it's not worth reusing your 15+ year-old ones. I just had this done to my 951, and I only have 17 wheels. They were optional equipment on the 968. None of the cars in the 944/951/968 line had optional wheels in larger sizes. Parts for the upgrade are around $200. Check Tom Pultz's http://www.944S2.com site for the dealer part numbers. IIRC, I think the KLR industries guys also sell aftermarket 968 blocks that cost a bit less.

Nick, I think you could do it yourself, as I don't believe you need to pull the control arms, but at any rate, the car must have the front end aligned after the upgrade.

Mike Buck

I used a Dremel to remove material from both the dust cap and the backside of my Fikse centercaps. In total I removed roughly 3mm of material. This was enough to make everything fit.

Matt H

Cant you use a solid bushing where the caster block is? I suppose you are referring to the block at the back of the control arm where the large black bushing is?
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Luis de Prat

Probably can, but the idea with the 968 blocks is "more metal, less rubber." Not sure how much of an improvement the solid bushings would be. Check the pic on Tom Pultz's page to see what I mean.