Allen

I got a '97 993 coupe and am considering trading my 17" Cup wheels for 18" turbo twist wheels (8" & 10"). Comparing the hollow and non-hollow wheels...would there be any noticable performance diferences? I know the hollows are a few pounds lighter, but would you really be able to tell?

Dbltime

I cannot speak for that specific wheel swap. What I did is go from 18" turb hollow spoke to much lighter Fiske wheels. HUGE differance. I would recommend going with aftermarket race wheels. Very light. Must be 30% lighter than my turbo 18's. But if you must have factory wheels you can have my wheels and I will get another set of race wheels for my rain tires. My 18" hollow turbo spokes have new Toyo Proxes T1-S on them with about 120 miles of street use and "0" track.

Jeff 993TT

bill, how much do you want for your hollow 18" wheels?

Jeff

NRK

Couple of follow-up questions on hollow spokes (nope, not in the archives) .....

Anyone know how much they weigh?
Are true hollow spokes available for narrow body cars?

TIA

Robin 993DX

No idea how much they weight. But the answer to the second question is yes, Porsche do make hollow spoke wheels for narrow body cars.

The less of the unsprung weight the faster the suspension pieces move, which in turn provide better handling of the car.

Viken

Hollow spoke "Technology" wheels:

993.362.136.00 - ET52 - 19.95 lb (front)
993.362.140.01 - ET65 - 23.36 lb (narrow body rear)
993.362.140.00 - ET40 - 25.13 lb (wide body rear)

George Helser

How does a lighter wheel improve performance?
The advantage of lighter wheels (less unsprung mass) is that when you drive over an
uneven surface there is less mass for the springs/shocks to damp so the tires can grip
better on bumpy roads. This is especially important when breaking or cornering.

Good luck!

Regards,
George
In sunny Arizona
(In the market for a 993 C2 coupe with LSD)

NRK

Allen's question is a good one, esp. for folks who have not had the opportunity to try different 18" wheels on the street. Of course lighter is better as far as unsprung weight is concerned. His question I think was, how (and how much) is this weight difference felt -- smoother ride over sharp bumps or uneven surfaces? More responsive to steering inputs? Something else?

Allen

You are correct...also, Viken, do you have the weight for the solids spoke wheels?

Viken

Turbolook wheels:

8 x 18 - 993.362.136.01 - ET52 - 25.57 lb
10 x 18 - 993.362.140.04 - ET65 - 29.32 lb
10 x 18 - 993.362.140.03 - ET40 - 31.08 lb

Bill - Chicago

The fikse fm-10 18" wheel I have are around 21 pounds front and 22 pounds rear, so they are actually heavier in the front and a little lighter in the rear compared to the hollow spokes. Bill W did you swap tires also when you switched to the fikses? Maybe that would explain the performance difference?

SundayDriver

Another significant advantage to lighter wheels is that they also have a lower rotational mass. This means it takes less energy to get them spinning. Just like changing to a light flywheel.

DJ

Does that work in opposite direction too, as in "it takes less energy to get them to stop spinning"? Do the brakes work better too?

George Helser

Lighter wheel spokes (less mass close to the hub) is not going to make a big difference
in acceleration or braking.
The major benefit of lighter wheels is when braking or cornering on irregular surfaces.
Do you know the feeling of hard cornering and when you hit a bump the car lurches
sideways? Lighter wheels (less unsprung mass) will lessen the sideways lurch a little.

Regards,
George
In sunny Arizona
(In the market for a 993 C2 coupe with LSD)

TB993tt

Viken
May I ask where you got the weights of the hollow spoke and non hollow spoke wheels from ?
In Paul Frere's book "Porsche 911 Story" he states on page 196 "The hollow spokes reduced the wheel's weight by 30% to 3.2kg (7lb) in the case of the 8J 18 wheel" this is considerably less than your figure - which is correct ?