vwrado

How can you tell by looking, if one is hollow and one is solid for the turbo twist rims?

CosmosC4S

HOLLOW:




SOLID:

Bos

There are also hollow spokes that look like pic two. You can tell by looking at two things. The valve stem on hollow spoke wheels are metal and the back side of the spoke is smooth on the edges. The back side of the spoke on a solid wheel is indented on the edges.

Paul 996

The way BOS describes is the only definitive way to tell. Reach around and feel the back of the spoke if it is flat with no indent it is hollow if it is concave then it is a solid spoke. BTW: hollow spokes for the narrow body cars are next to impossible to find, they do exist but almost everything you find is for the widebody cars.

arr0gant

I have the wheels in pic number 2. When you say "metal" do you mean stainless steel vs. copper? I felt the back, they seem kinda flat, but I'm not sure.

BruceP

I've got a narrow body 996, and I have the wheels in pic 1. Examining the backs of the spokes, they are neither flat nor concave on the back, but are conVEX, with a deep flange along the sides of the spokes. I have to conclude they are therefore hollow?

CosmosC4S

Well, he did say: "How can you tell by looking..." So my pics say it all.

Valve stems you can put in metal or rubber, your choice, so I don't see how you can tell from that?
As for some of the wheels in Pic2 being hollow, I am not aware of that.

And Yes, to confirm, the best way is to look behind the wheel to see if the back of the spokes are smooth or ridged/indented.

Phil G.

The solids were standard on the later 4S correct? I believe that's what I have.

Dale Gribble

does anyone kno what they weigh? hollow and solid?

Bos

While you can put a metal valve stem on any wheel, it's standard issue on the hollow spoke, so just another indicator. The valve stem on the hollow spoke is threaded all the way down and secured by a nut you can clearly see. I say this to clarify the difference from a metal sleeve over the valve stem, which Porsche also sells as a kit that comes with crested caps.

BruceP: If you can feel a distinct lip on the back side edge of the spoke then it's a solid spoke wheel.

I believe the weight on hollow spokes is in the ~22 - 25 range.

Bos

Here's some (camera phone) pics of a hollow spoke wheel:

The valve stem hole. It's a very small diameter, hollow from front to back, sharp edges. Thus the need metal valve stems:



The smooth backside of a spoke:



Wheel face:

pongobaz

gant,
I don't think that '01 TTs came standard with the hollow spokes; only from '02 on IIRC.

arr0gant

That sux! Does it really make a difference, real world? If so, where should I start lookin?

pongobaz

I found a set in the PCA mart section that someone was selling for $1300 CDN with tires (they were worn though), but the wheels were near perfect. I think that they are about 5 lbs lighter per wheel vs the solid spokes. As far as real world differences?...probably some at 10/10ths but I don't have the skills or the experience to tell the dif. I got these because I needed another set to use with my winter tires and I just lucked out in getting hollows. The solids are now my winter set-up and the hollows are used for summer.

gota911

Gant - I have the solod spoke Turbo Twinst wheels on my '04 C2 and I really like the looks of them. However, if I was going to change wheels, I would get some aftermarket wheels that I really wanted.

Why not check into some aftermarket wheels, or maybe some GT3 RS wheels (which have the Turbo "wide Body" offsets)? There is a guy (Atomic80) on the 997 Turbo Forum that put GT3 RS wheels on his Cobalt Blue 997TT and it looks AWESOME!!!

I'll see if I can find the posting of his pics! To be continued......

OK, I found a few threads with pics of his car. Here are the links. Note his comments in the second paragraph in post #1 in the first link.

https://rennlist.com/forums/997-turbo-forum/333074-new-gt3rs-wheels-installed.html

https://rennlist.com/forums/showthre...&highlight=GT3

https://rennlist.com/forums/997-turbo-forum/344971-night-time-shots-of-my-cobalt-blue-997tt.html

Now, just try to convince me that that those wheels don't look AWESOME on his car!