I was looking at my GRM that covered the recent nats, and would note that most of the hot CSP cars (those pesky miatas and the occasional MR2) are running 13" wheels. Anyone ever run some 13's on our 914's, and if so, wadda ya think?

The gearing in my 914 is pretty short running 205x50x15's as is sooo 13's would really be interesting......

Geoff

Will a 13" wheel clear the brake calipers?
CCLINMIDAS

QUOTE (ottox914 @ Dec 28 2004, 07:53 PM)

Anyone ever run some 13's on our 914's, and if so, wadda ya think?

no-go for most classes ... 14s would work tho ...

i don't think you would gain much, 914s rule on very tight tracks alreay, but they usually loose on the straights.
smaller wheels would help you much there ...

Andy

Wow Dave,
I just saw this post after checking my email. Maybe these folks can answer your questions. I thought i remember an old post or rennlist that went through the necessary modifications to mount a 13" wheel on a 914. I remember something about offsetting the caliper mount on the front strut and using a different caliper. I'll see if i saved it. Hopefully someone here will chime in with the real facts.

David

If I were to do this, it would be with a custom made wheel. The street prep rules allow any wheel size, so some silly offset to clear the brakes would be O.K., as the rules also allow wheel/tire to extend beyond the body work, and with a 13 I wouldn't be likely to need to mess with the fenders to clear, and the car would instantly have a lower center of gravity. Just some thoughts and the reasons behind the thoughts.

yup, there's a reason all the CSP guys are doing it. i think that even lower gearing than a 914 with 205/50/15's would be awesome at an autocross. main problem i can see would be the need to shift a lot more -- quick shifting not exactly being the forte of most 914's...

Back in the day when the AVS intermediate was the tire to have, I got a set of 195 50's for the 914, and the car seemed to come alive out of the corners. When I went to the 205 50 Azenis, I thought someone threw out the anchor, the car seemed dead on its feet. I can only wonder what some 13's would be like... As far as shifting, if second became first, and third became second, our "1-2" shift would actually be a "2-3" shift, one more easily made quickly than the current "1-2" with the 205 50's. My "3-4" is pretty smooth now, so for a longer track the lower gearing may be a good thing...

Anyone know anyone who has actually run this size?

I saved for a LONG time for a set of 13x7" panasports to autocross on in college (1980's). Everyone was using them with the hoosier autocrossers in either a 205 or 215/60/13. The car handled really good - actually better that the huge for the time 195/50/15 that were my street wheels and tires.
All the Honda, MR2, watercooled vw, miata guys were using them.

Hey Scott, great looking '14. Please elaborate on your experience with the 13's. Do you recall the part # for the wheels, or the offset/backspacing? Any problems w/brake clearance, and how about shift points? Any advice you have would be welcomed.

thanks-
David

For a 914 in SCCA autocross, CSP and the Full Modified classes (D-Modified and E-Modified) are the only ones where you could get away with 13" wheels that I am sure of. It's possible the new Street Modified classes may allow it.

The real reason you may want to go with 13" wheels is not to get a shorter tire but that there are more choices of tire sizes and compounds if you are running slicks. The very softest rubber compounds are simply not available in the 15" sizes in as many widths and diameters as the 13" sizes.

Also the 13" wheel concentrates the rotational weight closer to the hub and as a result accelerates up quicker due to a shorter rotational moment. The wheel/tire combo is potentially lighter than a 15" or 16" as well.

Check online for the 2005 SCCA solo II rule book.

http://www.scca.com/_filelibrary/File/2005...05SoloRules.pdf

Mike T