Wider 15 inch wheels

[pdy]

Looking for ideas on where to find 15x10
(or maybe 15x9) wheels to fit 911. I know
there are some expensive options, but I
would like to know what choices there are
for the racer on a budget.

Post or PM ideas, thoughts, resources, etc.

TIA,

Paul.

[JamesWilson]

Brian Harnish has a set of Mahle/BBS wheels that are 15x8 and 15x9, I had gotten them from Sean at AutoBahn....maybe he knows where more can be found?

That Hoosier 275/30-15 is looking better, eh? hehe

[Greg Phillips]

Any reason not to expand your search for 16 inch wheels in the wider sizes?
It seems to more common to see the wider 16 inch wheels, BBS among others on E-Bay. You should be able to get lower profile tires to keep the same rolling radius.

Greg

[ttweed]

Paul-

The only really inexpensive option is Diamond Racing steel wheels. Their Avenger series is available in 5 x 130mm lug circle in 15" x 10" for $105 (plus ups and extras). http://www.diamondracingwheels.com/AvengerSeries.htm

The only problems are that they are slightly heavier than alloy wheels (but very light for steel) and are lug-centric rather than hub-centric (making spin-balancing more difficult). They also require 45-degree taper lugnuts, which may be hard to find in the Porsche stud dimensions (M14 x 1.5 mm). I see 12mm x 1.5 nuts on their website, but not 14mm. I used them on my Lotus 7 clone successfully, but it had different wheel studs.

HTH,
TT

[PShipman]

Cool ... the Avenger wheels are a very nice alternative ...

Tom, do you or does anyone else know what is the weight difference is between these steel type rims and a comparable forged aluminum wheel???

[pdy]

Cool ... the Avenger wheels are a very nice alternative ...

Tom, do you or does anyone else know what is the weight difference is between these steel type rims and a comparable forged aluminum wheel???

I know that the Porsche Fuchs forged wheels are
lighter. The 15x7 is 5½kg (12lb), and the 8x15
is about 6½ kg (14lb). Most other alloy wheels
weigh more, so the Avenger is not too bad, but
is definitely heavier.

Also, tires can vary too. The Toyo RA-1 in size
225/45-15 weight 23lb, the same size Hoosier R-6
is only 19lb.

Paul.

[pdy]

Paul-

....http://www.diamondracingwheels.com/AvengerSeries.htm


HTH,
TT

Thanks, Tom!

Paul

[ttweed]

Cool ... the Avenger wheels are a very nice alternative ...

Yah, if you are willing to overcome the caveats I stated. For spin balancing, you actually need someone who has a hub adapter (or you need to purchase or fabricate one) to mount the wheel and tire to the balancing machine. This is an added expense. It also requires the balancing shop to mount the adapter on and off each wheel while balancing, so they will charge more each time you balance a set of tires, as this takes more time, adding additional expense over the life of the wheels. If you are just autocrossing, you may be able to get by with static balancing, or even no balancing at all, but if you intend to use them for high-speed track work, spin balancing is a requirement you need to consider.

Tom, do you or does anyone else know what is the weight difference is between these steel type rims and a comparable forged aluminum wheel???

If you follow the web link I referenced above, you will see that the 10x15" Avenger weighs about 18 lbs., depending on the finish. The $105 price quoted from the website is for the chrome version, which may be slightly heavier. The plain, painted version is only $85.

They never made a Fuchs alloy wheel in that size, but they did make a 9x15" and a 11x15" for the RSR, although they are nearly unobtanium and I have never seen published weight data for them. I have seen sets advertised for $10,000 lately, though.

The published weight for a 7x16" Fuchs is 18 lbs, and an 8x16" is 19 lbs., so these are not out of the ballpark, considering they are steel and not aluminum. A very light Bogart or Kodiak alloy wheel in that size may weigh around 15-16 lbs., so you may be giving up 3 lbs. a corner or so, but as Paul pointed out, there can be more of a difference than that in tire weight, and it is distributed further out from the hub, increasing the rotational inertia.

TT

[PShipman]

Of course the C2 wheel that I am currently running (or is it a Cup 1??) weighs in at 25 lbs so these would save quite a bit