Lightweight wheel options for Euro Look

[Jadewombat]

You said you have Porsche pattern, what brakes do you have though? Are these stock beetle drums or actual 944 brakes?

The smallest rim you can fit over Porsche disk brakes is 15".

[buildabiggerboxer]

Hi Dan, ^^^^^^ this, jadewombat nails it for you with 13" wheels, I have to say 15s would be preferable for a daily where some rev reduction would save fuel and reduce NVH, it's harder work track daying a road car compared to a racer!! less compromises required, I'm using ford pcd, and given the money comes in, there are some delightful featherweight hot rod spun alloys in the right PCD, I WOULD SOURCE secondhand, failing that, I would go Revolution 4 spoke which were deleted for years, but are back in production, no "looker" other than the 70's retro look most folk will avoid, but I ran them in the day and never bent them, that's all that maters to me apart from them being light. Yes, Apex is for me this year, I will be doing the SEMSEC races, I'm the same as you with dosh and will have to look after my tyres during the rest of the festival, so can't go hooning about unfortunately, hopefully we get time to chew the fat over the weekend, best regards, J.

[Dan Dryden]

You said you have Porsche pattern, what brakes do you have though? Are these stock beetle drums or actual 944 brakes?

The smallest rim you can fit over Porsche disk brakes is 15".

I'm running stock beetle disc & calipers up front (redrilled hubs to 5x130) and empi rear disc conversion with standard 4x130 hubs using adapters to get to 5x130.
I'm willing to change my pcd if absolutely necessary though.

Look forward to catching up with you at Apex Johnny!

[Jadewombat]

Hi Dan, ^^^^^^ this, jadewombat nails it for you with 13" wheels, I have to say 15s would be preferable for a daily where some rev reduction would save fuel and reduce NVH, it's harder work track daying a road car compared to a racer!! less compromises required, I'm using ford pcd, and given the money comes in, there are some delightful featherweight hot rod spun alloys in the right PCD, I WOULD SOURCE secondhand, failing that, I would go Revolution 4 spoke which were deleted for years, but are back in production, no "looker" other than the 70's retro look most folk will avoid, but I ran them in the day and never bent them, that's all that maters to me apart from them being light. Yes, Apex is for me this year, I will be doing the SEMSEC races, I'm the same as you with dosh and will have to look after my tyres during the rest of the festival, so can't go hooning about unfortunately, hopefully we get time to chew the fat over the weekend, best regards, J.

Agreed, rims that spin up a lot quicker for short course are great, but I'd also do a OD calculation with a 13" tire selection vs. RPMs. You don't want to run out of steam on the straightaways. I'm guessing your 1776 probably goes to 5500-6000 RPMs depending on the crank you have and R+P in the trans.

[Dan Dryden]

Agreed, rims that spin up a lot quicker for short course are great, but I'd also do a OD calculation with a 13" tire selection vs. RPMs. You don't want to run out of steam on the straightaways. I'm guessing your 1776 probably goes to 5500-6000 RPMs depending on the crank you have and R+P in the trans.

Yes, it goes to 6000rpm and I'm running a 3.88 r+p. The rolling circumference of my current rear tyres means I can cruise along the highway at 70mph with around 3000rpms.

I think a 15" lightweight rim with taller tyres will still be a good compromise for a street car. I don't mind losing some of my gearing (reducing rolling circumference) to gain acceleration and handling, but think switching to a very small rolling circumference would be fun to start with (thinking great acceleration!), but would become annoying on any long highway journies, screaming its balls off to do 65mph.... Not to mention the poor fuel economy! Lol

[buildabiggerboxer]

I run a set of Image wheels that i had made for the car in the UK, they are a three piece billet wheel, i had Fuchs wheels running Falkin semi slick, i fitted the image wheels with Continental tyres and there was a 3 KG per wheel reduction in weight, the difference in the ride and handling is dramatic, billet 91 are the wheels that i run.
http://www.imagewheels.co.uk/pages/wheels_billet.html

Stunning wheels, There's something for me there, thanks for the link.

[Dan Dryden]

My car has been off the road for the last year, which has given me plenty of time to think about its next developments.

I keep re-visiting this subject and seriously considering a set of 13" trackday wheels.

A quick question: Will 13" wheels fit over my standard front disc brakes?

[buildabiggerboxer]

Hi Dan, good to slap hands With you at Lydden, short answer to your question is yes, they will go over the stock calipers but sometimes a little work is required, depends on wheel type and wether or not the calipers are German or Brazilian, some combinations require spacer adjustment and some caliper clearancing, ie, grinder work, Varga calipers need the front face dressing back to run without any spacers on some wheel types, another problem area can be the lower ball joint getting mighty close to the inner wheel rim, but 13"s were the thing for racing VWs, front and rear, 1302/3 or ball joint cars were all using them back in time, they ARE beginning to find favour again, together with banded steels making a come back, but folk I've spoken to with them look blankly back when I question if they were performance motivated, so I quess it's a ' looker' fad thing, they are gaining to find favour with the water cooled golfs and Polo etc, as I'm sure you've Noticed too, I'm pretty sure aich's hill climb 1303 is on 13"s too, it sure should be lol ,, good luck with yours, Regards, Johnny.

[buildabiggerboxer]

This one..
http://www.shoptalkforums.com/viewtopic ... 1&t=101402

[Dan Dryden]

Hi Johnny, watching Aich's car is what re-juvenated my thoughts on changing wheels.
I've got my eyes on a staggered set of ats classics (13x7 / 13x8) for sale on eBay atm in 4x100 pcd.
I would need redrilled hubs or adapters, but willing to do this as long as I know they'll fit. (Don't wanna invest in new hubs etc. Just to find they won't fit over brakes).
I'd be doing it purely for fun as I imagine my rate of acceleration would be fantastic with such a small rolling circumference and handling much improved compared to the 18" stilts my car currently sits on.
Understand my top speed will be reduced, but I'm willing to sacrifice that.
If it turns into a "look", all the better. I can claim that I pioneered it! Lol!