Edgy01

I hope to be able to have some real photos on my car next week. Concur, that PhotoShopped images don't really show them off as they should.

pissedpuppy

whoa...

SARGEPUG

Ive been on the fence lately about getting Fuchs. People comment how well the stock wheels go w/ my side decals. Great mix of old and new. However, if I do go w/ them, I think I will change to a color that will match the decals as opposed to black. I believe that is how it was back in the day and I like that look.

stevepow

I think your car loks great as it is - one of my favs.

Edgy01

Something for your consideration--from one of their catalogs (Fuchs Racing-USA)

1BlinkGone

thasss niiiiiiice! On a Croc, too. Very cool. They may not be 100% accurate to the original design, but they look great. Is that the Fuchs in SoCa? I couldn't find that particular pic at their website, and the Crocs they had there in their gallery (3 pix only) had a more shallow-looking front wheel than the pic you posted. For the sake of clarity, could you throw up a link to that particular website of the firm that made those wheels?

SARGEPUG

Danke!

SARGEPUG

Tough to tell the finish in the pic, but looks polished. If I go Fuchs, I will go w/ the same painted color/ finish as my stock wheels.

Edgy01

These are from Fuchs Racing USA. Not on their website. From one of their internal catalogs.

1BlinkGone

OK. Thank you anyway, sir.

Edgy01

What do you guys think? A friend of mine with Fuchs Racing sent this to me. It should be their 12 inch by 19 inch wheel. One piece, drop forged. 23.6 lbs. Offsets for wide body and narrow body 997s. I think they got it precisely right. It's like a flashback to the 1970s.

Jastx

Very nice, great proportions. I wish they offered a step-up rim design like the original.

I requested a quote from their website a few weeks ago but haven't received a response. Your rim looks just like what I requested...satin silver paddles and rims with matte black center.

Edgy01

The true original Fuchs didn't have a step up design--it came much later on the 16 inch rims when they started going to wider widths. These are much more like the original 15s that were seen on the RSRs, etc.

Mspeedster

Dan - So when do we get to see your car with an actual set of these?

It seems like eons since you first introduced the US company making these, tempting us with photo shop pictures, and now a great looking photo of one rim. Are they truly for sale to the public yet?

Edgy01

Believe me, I'm as frustrated as all of you!

Here's the deal. They have been working on this design for several years--well before there was any inkling of a resurrection of the "Fuchs" look on the 997 Sport Classic and now on the 997 Speedsters. The design aspects of this effort are far more complex than many would have you believe. it's not a simple scaling up of dimensions from 15/16 inch rims to 19 and 20s. It's my belief that they have stuck to their guns while losing some early market share to the cast wheels on the Sport Classic cars and the Speedsters--and to other drop forged wheels from Otto Fuchs, who also reentered the market for the modern cars. I think that the Fuchs Racing guys have gotten the design spot on, despite the challenges of massive modern brakes and changed offsets.

I have a set of Bridgestone RE050As along with TPMS sensors, etc., standing by for the day when they call me to say they are ready to pick up. I was expecting them last week, but feel that sometime within the next couple weeks is a more reasonable expectation.

Another area that gets glossed over in modern production is the painting aspect. Years ago Otto Fuchs merely dipped their forged rims to get that distinctive look. However, that sort of manufacturing method is frowned upon these days due to hazards, etc. so Fuchs Racing had to come up with a special way to mask off the wheels as they paint them, and to get consistent results. I'm hoping that it's a no-brainer--just bolt them on, but you never know until you do your final fit check. I will probably fit the wheels to my car before I even go to the trouble of mounting the tires--just to check critical clearance, e.g., with the PCCBs, etc. I assume that the TPMS senders will simply fit as they should, too. As i'm discovering, it's not a done deal until you are about 10 miles down the road with them torqued on, and everything is working.

They are ramping up to a full rate production schedule but the challenge is with the wheels, themselves. With a drop forged wheel the investment is substantial. The simpler 3-piece wheels are a relative breeze to customize--you swap out various part to get your desired offset. With these, it's not that simple.

Will keep everyone posted.