Bluemach1

I have got to say that I am kind of diggin' the claws...

I check out the set that were for sell by me. Rims are in great shape. The tires were in cood condition but the front and back tires were two different brands. I didnt like that so I passed on them for now. Going to check out the twists today..

DANNiE

Dude do you know what "Wheelbase" even is..?

All 944's - wheelbase is 94.5inch -BIGGER CAR-
2007 911 - Wheelbase is 92.5inch -Smaller Car-

Since it seems that you DONT know what wheelbase is; it is the distance from the center of the front wheel to the center of the rear wheel and the distance between the 2 wheels from driver to passenger side is called the track distance which no one really references is specs...

Just because the "Body" of a car is Longer or wider dosent mean the car frame is... Wheelbase & Track width is the real size of a car under its shell...

As for Rim size you are right they used 15"s & 16"s on the 944... But do you know why..? Its simple NO ONE MADE 17"s or 18"s or 19"s in the 80's or early 90's... I remember when 17"s first came out my buddy had a set of 3 bar Anteras on his Caddy with vogues and that was as big as you could get in 96... only until the later part of the 90's and Y2K did larger than 17"s come available...

So in all respects lets not say they designed a car around a set of wheels because we all know thats just not true at all
if it was true putting a rim of 19"s on it wouldnt fit and would rub etc. and they dont the car can handle larger rims now that they are available... If anything the 944 was a car far ahead of its time...

Chris White

As for knowing about things...did you know there is a Porsche technical service bulletin warning against the use of even 17” wheels on a 944?

The newer 911's have more 'mass' both in actual weight and visually.

It’s a matter of taste…but those 19” on a nonlowered car look pimptastic to me…how about some spinners..?

jc in rb

I agree with cris ,that looks ghetto. Like what they call a donk....might look better if you lowered it??

67King

Okay, so now you are saying that a car that weights 200 lbs more than another, is 7" longer, and 3" wider is smaller than another because it has a shorter wheelbase.

Guess what, Albert.....the Boxster has a 95.1" wheelbase. Find me one person who claims it is a bigger car than the 911. Just one.

I would venture to guess you don't even know enough to know why the wheelbase on the 911 is so short. Even shorter than the Boxster. Dude, I have FORGOTTEN more about cars that you will ever know.

Sheesh, man, you don't even know what you write. One paragraph you say the 944 wasn't designed around 19's because no one made them, next one you say they don't design cars around available wheels. So which is it, Albert? I know because I was in the industry when the first 20's came out. I just want to know what you believe.

Corvettes had 17" wheels in 1987 (88 model), so your timeline is off.

As for why what size wheels do or don't rub. Do a search on something called "rolling diameter." And see what "sidewall" and "aspect ratio" all mean.

Good news, though. You are apparently pretty young (I don't know anyone old enough to drink who thinks 19's look good on little cars). Even though you've got a lot to learn, you've got a lot of time.

DANNiE

Wheelbase is what the Federal government bases the different size classes of automobiles in...

all the Porsche models maybe except for the SUV Cayanne are "subcompact" class cars...so if wheelbase didnt determine the "size" of a car then you need to take all them years of failed politics you have earned yourself by being so much older and take them back to D.C. and have your legislation help change the way america size classes automobiles... Respectively...

Wheelbase distance is changed for (in these cases by several inches +/-) for weight balance distribution; during acceleration, braking, and turning... the affect of wheelbase gives cars with certain designs different amounts of control/balance ie oversteer or understeer... none the less in counting numbers the higher number is greater/bigger than the smaller/lessor number; remember alligators eating left and right..?

Are you Taking notes yet..?

The Brake system is more than capable of 15inch - 19inch wheels; the car is designed fine to use any size of them... as for the tech bulletin it'd be nice if you would post it so we can see what the flaw -if any- really is with rims larger than 17"s... Its most likely a part which we all know is already prone to failure like the ball joint which we all know is a weak point of the control arm or the cup bracket that holds the bushing hence why most upgrade to the 968 unit...

Im not sure how many dealerships you have worked at; but ive worked side by side with many of Porsche techs from my days working with Audi under the Champion roof... There is a reason why you have car owners with shade tree lessons and real technicians... No offense... Dont take it personal as you said facts are facts let people learn and make their own logical choices...

And again no they dont design cars around wheel size if that was even true they would change parts on cars all day to suit different size wheels (we arent talking 24's on your wifes kia) thats why when you buy a car new its called an "option" :srugs:

so if you want to believe that cars are built around rims that are "options" then please by all means bask in your pool of beliefs...

just my two cents...

oh and honestly 951Saga makes the best point/argument with the statement:

"The two dimensions you’re missing are vehicle and wheel arch height. Adding these in to the equation either makes the proportions right or wrong."

So im still not sure what you mean about certain cars being bigger or smaller than the 944... (not to push buttons) But Numbers are numbers and im sorry man but neither you nor i can change them you think pa-ta-to and i think pa-tat-o

Dont feel bad its OK to be a hater...

About the ride height I simply havent gotten around to messing with the suspension on the car yet... so calm down it will get its fair treatment and ride height adjustments soon; i need to order some adjustable camber bolts...

BlueMach, I like the Lobster Claws too but i think if they were Chrome or polished they would look better... Its a good wheel too I believe they are made by BBS...

wi54545

Wow.

ritzblitz

ArthurPE

large heavy wheels impact performance, generally in a negative way for our use...
the further the Cg is moved out, the more rotational inertia, a bad thing when accel/decel, a good thing when going for efficiency (flywheel effect)...

imho (personal) opinion 17's look good, 18's if high quality, low weight are nice, but 19's are overkill and are generally for appearence only (optik) which is cool too, to each their own...

phone dial 16's on a slightly (<1") lowered car look better than 19's on an unlowered car, again imo

lart951

Is that a 4x4 S2?

67King

Oh, I'm not offended. I'm amused! I think most people have made their logical choice here. Maybe one day when you get a little older, you'll realize that you don't know everything. And sheesh, man, I had repeatedly said that the only thing you should care about is that you are happy with your car. Yet you still have to go on. And on. And on. If you think you are leading, but no one is following, you are merely wandering.

But to answer your question, I didn't work at a dealer. I was an engineer at an OEM. How much time have you spent as an engineer at an OEM? And how many vehicle designers at an OEM have you worked with? I'll give you a hint, they don't look at wheelbase as the measure of how big a car is. Funny, wheel sizing is one of the things I often managed to be involved with, despite being an engine guy.

For that matter, how much design work have you done? How many of your designs have you put through durability and/or performance testing? How many at an OEM, how many for an owner of a mulitple car race team? I've done both.

How many models have you written to help you with your design work? How many of those models have been cascaded throughout your organization so other people could use them in their design work? Better yet, for how many different organizations have you written models?

For how many 944 race cars have you crewed? And how many of them run 19's? Peculiar thing, most of the NA 944 guys run 15's, despite not being limited to that by the rules. Something about inertia may come into play. I'm guessing you don't know what factors into rotational intertia. Which may have something to do wtih the recommendation about 944 wheel sizes. Shoot, even the AIX guy I crewed for didn't run 19's.

Not that it really matters, as we are talking about aesthetics.

You may note that dispite this, I'm not calling Porsche engineers incompetant, as you seem so quick to do. I'm curious. Have you ever worked with German engineers? I have. Interesting bunch. They may not be so open about what they do. Sheesh, it is like pulling teeth. But I'm not going to be quick to call them incompetant.

And FWIW, there are three agencies that determine the "size" of a car. The EPA uses interior volume, NHTSA uses vehicle weight. Yes, CAFE uses wheelbase, which is a recent change brought on by the new CAFE requirements. Wasn't that way when any of the cars in question were designed. And like I said, none of them matter to the guys designing a car.

Since you didn't address the question, the 911's wheelbase is so short because of its rear engine layout. The Boxster, a smaller car by all accounts but yours, has a longer one because it has a mid engine layout. A Lambo is downright huge by comparison, looking merely at wheelbase.

And yet again, if you are happy with 19's, good for you. If you are happy using wheelbase as the single metric for determining a car's size, glory in your spot. I just hope to high heavens that no one takes your "advice," or they'll be awfully disappointed in the appearance, handling, acceleration, and fuel economy of their car.

bearone

"measuring weenies"

JohnKoaWood

My wheels are better fitted to my car than your wheels...

Bunch of friggin teen age girls is all this board seems to be filling up with anymore..

If they aren't busy picking on someone, they are complaining to the mods that they are being picked on.....

I think a temp timeout is in order...

AND

could a mod please stop the madness and close this thread, it has gone from a question about two wheel choices he was considering to a dissertation on automotive size classification... can't get much more off topic than if the debate was about beer vs hookers...

NOW back to topic, buy the best looking set of wheels you can.. if you like the claws, and the seller is being gracious with the pricing (I have seen wheels that need to be trashed being listed for insane price, and beautiful wheel sets for cheap) then buy them...

My personal choice would be the twists over the claws... but I am partial to the twists...

And have been on the lookout for a set of carrera MY02 wheels like lart posted a pic of... but again it is a personal choice...

DANNiE

I like the 17 & 18 inch Cup wheels you got; but they are so hard to find...

Well said to each Their own...

These are Nice too..!

http://miami.craigslist.org/mdc/pts/1379917823.html

Its like taking over the world; who has weapons of mass destruction..?

Bluemach1

Alright - I got the twists.

Not really my fave but the tires have lots of rubber left and the rims are in good condition. Some little scuffs but no rash. I paid $600 for the set.

So now I need a set of hubcentric spacers. Who wants to hook me up?

the back spacing is front et 55 and rear et 50. I believe that means I will need 33mm front and 43mm rear spacers to bring these to the correct position on my 1986 Turbo.