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Posted by: postalinVT Oct 12 2003, 09:02 AM

Hi ya'll
After waiting 30 years I finally got my 1st. 914 ( YEA! ) It came with Riveara wheels. The trouble is, it also has very tall and skinny tires on it. 165 R15. I would go to shorter fatter tires but..... There is absolutely NO room to go wider. The previous owner even had to curl the inside lip of the wheel opening to get these on!

How do I measure these rims to determine their offset and what offset do I need in a rim to go with more acceptable, re: driveable, tire?

Thanks,
Bill

Posted by: rhodyguy Oct 12 2003, 09:21 AM

measure from the inside mating suface of the wheel to the inside lip. the bad news. you will prob find larger tires will rub the fender lip. you want numbers closer to fact fuchs. if you like that style, look for fomula vee rims. they were a dealer installed item i believe. you can run 195/60's with them. there are some at www.the samba.com, priced pretty resonably.

kevin

Posted by: ArtechnikA Oct 12 2003, 09:21 AM

congratulations, and welcome to the site.

i think most of us have had Rivieras at some point. interestingly, there are about 12 kinds of Riviera wheel, with differences that range from quite subtle to very pronounced. there actually is a version with proper offset for a 914, but it sounds like you have one of the many produced for VW Bug use.

how you measure what you've got isn't really important... what you need is wheel with the proper Porsche backspace. opinions on "the proper Porsche backspace" vary a little, but it's always somewhere in the 4-3/4" to 4-7/8" range.

there are lots of appropriate wheels out there. there's also a lot of junk; shop carefully, don't be afraid to ask here with questions.

Posted by: rhodyguy Oct 12 2003, 09:44 AM

here's a pict of some form vee's. backspacing is very close to the oem 4 lug fuchs.

kevin


Attached image(s)

Posted by: ! Oct 12 2003, 10:10 AM

Go get different wheels....PROPER 914 wheels....use the Rivs for door stops....they suck as boat anchors, tried that already.....

Posted by: tracks914 Oct 12 2003, 12:06 PM

I just picked up my new (to me) Mahle's. They have 165 sp 15's on them. What is the widest tread/ tire combo that I can run on them?

Posted by: ! Oct 12 2003, 01:49 PM

Depending on the car....I have been able to get at least 205/50s in there.....

BTW that dog looks as if it's about to dump on the wheels....

Posted by: Air_Cooled_Nut Oct 12 2003, 08:59 PM

That's what I had on my first 914. Ugly rims I still don't like the looks of them, very rough looking.

Posted by: Bruce Allert Oct 12 2003, 10:48 PM

Thanks to Craig I was able to get rid of my Rivs & put on Fuchs with 205/50/15's...... Mucho better-o
bruce