GaryK

OK, I know this has been discussed many times before, but anyway...
What offset/width wheels are people using to run 245 or 255 section tires in the front?
I'm really interested in those with stock suspensions, not 400lb front springs.

My fronts are currently 7.5" +60mm offset, which is too narrow to run anything wider than a 225. I tried my rears (9" +50mm with 245/45-17) on the front and the top of the tire rubbed on the fender when circling on a flat surface. I imagine a dip in a hard corner would really damage the fender. Also, there was only about 5mm clearance on the inside (tire-coil spring).

Since the wheels are 3-piece modular, the manufacturer says they can fit a 1" wider outer rim relatively inexpensively, which would change the front wheels from 7.5" +60mm to 8.5" +48mm. Should be enough clearance on the inside for a 255/40, but I think the top would still hit the fender. Maybe a shorter tire like a 235/40-17?

I also tried my stock 16x9" +60mm rears on the front and the rim rubbed against the spring perch.

btw, my car is a '89 if that makes any difference.
(Grant - yes, I saw your car with 255/40-17's on the front, but hasn't your front suspension been stiffened?)

Danno

"What offset/width wheels are people using to run 245 or 255 section tires in the front?"

Well, that's possible, but you're always going to be rubbing the tire on the fenders. Even the stock Turbo with 205mm tires can rub the fenders. And Porsche's change of offset to 65mm to move the rim inwards 1/2" to use 225mm tires still places the outside edge of the tire in the same place as before.

Let's look at the backspacing of those wheels:

As you've found out, the last combination is as much backspacing as you can use in the front without a 2.5" coilover kit. This would free up an additional 1" of clearance on the inside, thus allowing you to use the 16x9" 60mm offset wheel with no problems. In fact, I used a 16x10.25" wheel in front on the street and a 17x10.5" on my race wheels:
You can get more precise measurements in this <a href="http://members.rennlist.com/951_racerx/Wheels-FrontClearances.pdf" target="_blank">Front Wheel Clearances</a> document
from the 944 Wheels FAQ section of my <a href="http://members.rennlist.com/951_racerx[/url" target="_blank"> 951 RacerX website</a>.

Without going to custom wheels or a 2.5" coilover kit so you can use the stock 16x9" rear wheel, your best bet is the rear wheel from a non-S turbo in front:

This will allow you to use a 245mm tire and won't rub the fender as badly.

951carter

Someone on the list was running 275/315's on his stock bodied 951! In fact, he was selling the rims he used for it in the classifieds awhile back.

I know this is a bit off topic, but, i thought you guys would find it interesting.

GaryK

Thanks for the info, Danno. I hadn't thought about narrower coilovers. I guess the ideal answer is a narrower stiffer spring, which would allow both more clearance on the inside and less body roll/fender rubbing on the outside.

But in lieu of that, I'm goin to try a 17x8.5" 48mm offset with a 245/40 tire.
Another bonus of the lower offset is a wider front track, which should theoretically reduce understeer.