InThePocket

Alright, I'll expose my ignorance for all to see, 'cause I need some guidance. I'm looking at a 944 Turbo S for sale. I spoke with the mechanic that services the car and he tells me don't waste my money on a PPI because it's perfect, except: The wheels that are currently on the car are such that if I track the car the tires will likely contact the fenders as the suspension sits down in the corners. He knows this because after doing some suspension work he test drove the car and did an "autocross-like turn" and heard and felt the tires rub. When he got back to the shop he noticed the marks on the inside of the fender. I don't have all the details yet, however, it seems the wheels are the 996 "sport design" type, I'm not clear on the size, but I'm guessing 18s. I do plan to DE with this car if purchased and so this needs to be made right. The current owner has the "original wheels" also which I'm guessing are the phone dials.? I realize at some point I may get involved enough in tracking that I'll have dedicated wheels/tires for street and DEs. However, I'm not there yet, and I don't really want or need the hassle of changing back and forth at this point. I just want to drive the street car onto the track and back home again for awhile. I understand that I can have the fenders "rolled", which I don't want to do to this car. I called the wheel ehancement people and was basically made to feel like an idiot without getting much in the way of useful information for my cross-country phone call. So, I turn to the wisdom of Rennlist. What are my options? I figure I'm spending at least a couple grand in new wheels to make it right, unless I want to use the old phone dials.? What is it that's caused this problem specifically, and how should I go about correcting it? Thanks.

Roger

MitchB

I'll try... Couple of things -

Get the PPI from someone other than the guy who says it doesn't need it - he might be in on the deal. I would think if he had maintained the car so well he'd be happy to have someone else see his work - if not - hmmmm?

951's are great cars, but you can get one that drives OK, but might need belts done, clutch, CV joints, water pump, or all the above - adding thousands. If it's already been done, a PPI and a check of the "perfect" car's receipts will show all. It does have all the records, right?

Which fenders are rubbing? It is not unheard of for the rears to rub when larger wheel/tires are installed (mine did). Bending the inner fender lip or grinding a little off can help. If the tires stick out beyond the rear fenders or the fronts rub - you've got the wrong wheels.

"...sits down in the corners..." can only be one of two things - it's been lowered or the suspension is messed up. If it's been lowered find out how they did it. There's a right way and a not as good way...
Ask the guy who does the PPI.

Hopefully the issues are minor and the car is good. The S's are the cars to get ...

InThePocket

Mitch, Thanks for the reply. The cricket sounds were starting to get to me
I appreciate your advice. It turns out the mechanic that has serviced the vehicle is actually the guy recommended to me by a couple folks, so I feel pretty good about that. I'm glad you mentioned records. I've looked at so many cars over the past few days that I frankly can't remember asking that question, but I certainly will. However, the mechanic claims the car needs nothing but to be driven, for what it's worth. It's my impression that only the rears rub, and only when pushed really hard. I probably inappropriately used the term "sit's down in the corners". The suspension is the Bilstein coil overs, and is said to be dialed in nicely. If it turns out that I buy this car, I may have some perfect-appearing 996 sport design wheels with Pirelli Corsas for sale Thanks Mitch.

Roger

DER951

The original wheels on a Turbo S were not Phone Dials, but ClubSports. These are 7x16 front, 9x16 rear. There were made by Fuchs, are forged, not cast, so are among the lightest and strongest OEM wheels for the 944 family. Whether you like the looks or not is subjective, but if they have decent tires on them, you will have good, proper fitting wheels to use while you shop for something else, and a baseline for comparison fit. They also have very good resale value.

InThePocket

DER951, Excellent. I'm glad to learn that. I'll likely use the clubsports for the track then. Thanks for the info.

Roger

944Fest (aka Dan P)

Worth mentioning, the Turbo S's already have the fenders rolled. If your club sports are in extremely nice shape, please talk to me before tracking them. I have a set more track worthy and would like to trade up to a cleaner set. Brake dust can do a lot of damage to nice club sports.

InThePocket

You bet Dan. As you know I've sinced purchased the car, so once it arrives and I'm able to sort things through I'll let you know on the wheels.

Roger

Danno

"He knows this because after doing some suspension work he test drove the car and did an "autocross-like turn" and heard and felt the tires rub."

The car does that with stock wheels too, a couple of magazine reviews mentioned it. What happens is ifyou can compress the suspension enough and turn the wheel to a large angle, like a slow-speed autocross-type turn, you can get the tyres to rub the fenders with no problems.

Here's the catch, the TurboS uses some of the most deeply inset wheels of any Porsche, 65mm offset in front and 60mm offset in the rear. The 996 uses 55mm offsets front & rear, which means if you have same-width wheels as stock 7" front and 9" rear, then they'll stick out about 10mm more than stock. Even more if they're wider than stock.

So the trick is whatever wheels you get, you need to keep the offsets at stock amounts, or even add more offset to push the wheels inwards. That will give you space to run wider wheels and tyres.

InThePocket

Danno, You da man. That's the little bit-0-knowledge I was looking for to make sense of this. I'm waiting to take delivery of the car, so we'll see.

Roger

2zeroes

Congrats on your purchase! I have an 89 944t that I've taken to the track several times, mostly VIR and Limerock. While the clubsports are light, I think their sizes are a bit of a handicap for track use. The first time I took my car to the track was with the clubsports on. My previous car was a 96 M3 that I also took to Limerock, and compared to my 944t with the clubsports, the 944 turbo was a disappointment handling wise.

After doing much research and trying different rims in assorted sizes, I found the ideal sizes to be 17x8 for the front and 17x9.5 rear for track duty. The wheels I got were the Kinesis Supercup rims. They are light and so far have not had any problems with them and they are my street and track rims.

For show, I've got a set of 18" Cargraphic rims.

Have fun at the track, and maybe I'll see ya there...


Jay

InThePocket

Jay, Thanks! I wondered if the 16s might not track as well I'd like, having some limited DE experience in the 996 on the stock wheels. You've answered that one for me. I appreciate you sharing the results of your research on it. It sounds to me as if 17s with the proper offset is the answer. I really like the looks the Kinesis wheels too. I'll likely go the same or similar route as you. I can't wait to get this car. I've not driven or even had a ride in a 951
See you at the track sometime.

Roger