I used a tire comparator and figure you can put 235 30 19 tires on a 914.

I'm looking to get away from the usual Pukes, Riverass and Pudrinis and other dated wheel styles.

Who is running modern large wheel systems? Did you feel a difference in handling? Post some pics of you bad boys.

I'm thinking of putting these 19'ers on..........

QUOTE

I used a tire comparator and figure you can put 235 30 19 tires on a 914.

Good Luck. Post pics afterwards.

Did the tire comparator also tell you exactly which manufacturer's rims (with proper offset and backspacing) you'll be able to use/fit into your 914's stock wheel wells (assuming you're not running flares)?

Be prepared to deal with a bone-jarring, filling-loosening ride, and a 914 that will locate each-and-every expansion joint, road imperfection, and pebble out there. You might want to limit your size to 16" max, but what do I know.

There might be a reason most of us run those 'dated' rims (it's Fuchs, not Pukes) you so affectionately despise; it's a 30-YEAR-OLD CAR. We like to treat 'em as a classic, not a ricer wanna-be.

I'm not sure you would gain any performance perhaps you would lose some to heavier wheels. And 30 series sure would be comfy on the streets. One pot hole and 19" with 30 series would likely be toast.

I think 16 or 17 inch wheels would be a better setup for a four cylinder car like yours.

How much do those wheels you posted weigh?

I have a big wheel~!



It won't fit a teener, prolly!


M

QUOTE (Rouser @ Mar 24 2005, 05:11 PM)

QUOTE I used a tire comparator and figure you can put 235 30 19 tires on a 914. Good Luck. Post pics afterwards. Did the tire comparator also tell you exactly which manufacturer's rims (with proper offset and backspacing) you'll be able to use/fit into your 914's stock wheel wells (assuming you're not running flares)? Be prepared to deal with a bone-jarring, filling-loosening ride, and a 914 that will locate each-and-every expansion joint, road imperfection, and pebble out there. You might want to limit your size to 16" max, but what do I know. There might be a reason most of us run those 'dated' rims (it's Fuchs, not Pukes) you so affectionately despise; it's a 30-YEAR-OLD CAR. We like to treat 'em as a classic, not a ricer wanna-be.

It amazes me to say the least, that someone is an afficianto on a subject he has never even endeavored to try. Lots of good answers from a narrow view. I just need info from people who have tried larger wheels not guessing cynics KMA

Not much guessing to it, those rims are almost as big as the original tires.


M

QUOTE (redshift @ Mar 24 2005, 05:43 PM)

Not much guessing to it, those rims are almost as big as the original tires. M

More wrong information. Try a tire comparator

I don't need to.. I know how big a 19 inch rim is, and the tire heighth of a stock rim.

You end up with almost.. 1.53 inches of sidewall for stock rolling diameter...



M

QUOTE

KMA

Ouch ... golly gee, that hurt.

Like I said, good luck with your "Tire Comparator," your 19 inchers, and your future electric windows and door pops.

Moron ...

Taco chip wheels....ask me how I know....

With a 235 30 19, you'll get 2.77 inches of sidewall and a 24.55 inch outside diameter.

I have 205/40/17's, I wouldn't feel comfortable with a tire having even less sidewall than I have now.....no run ins with potholes, but I do get nervous once in a while when I know I've hit something in the road.

Rubber is normally lighter than metal, so expect those to weigh quite a bit unless you go with a true racing built rim, those look like a standard cast wheel made for a family car/truck

QUOTE

those look like a standard cast wheel made for a family car/truck

Yeah, I think an Abrams uses 14 of them ...

Not much guessing at all on my part. I have experemented with wheels on a car that is about the same weight, size and power as the 914. Wheels generally get pretty darn heavy when you get up into 18 and 19 inch sizes. I have felt the difference between 35 series and 50 series tires on a light stiffly sprung car with Koni's. I prefer lighter set up with a tire that falls between 40 to 50 series. Those tire sizes would equate to 15 to 17 inch wheels.

The purpose of the ricer wheels is to reduce the height of the sidewall of the tire. In theory, this will give you better cornering ability as there is minimal sidewall flex so you get a greater contact patch on the ground.

The drawbacks are as stated....very harsh ride and much more road noise transmission. Ballon (or penumatic) were invented for just that reason...to cushion the ride and lessen road noise.

If you want the ultimate, just go solid rubber tires.

White rice cooking on an open fire,
Fart can exhaust in your ears,
Vin Diesel dancing before your eyes,
Rap songs playing on the radio,

Folks dressed up and nowhere to go,

Everybody recognizes a turkey and some
don't even like rice.

Dimunitive beings with their eyes all aglow,
Watching blue undercarraige lights at night.

They know that "Pimp My Ride" is on the telly,
They've installed all the useless crap they can find
on the chassis,

And every muthers child is gonna spy,
to see the turbo blow sky high,

And so I'm offering this
Simple phrase to kids from
One to Ninety Two,
Altho' it's been said many times
Many ways, Buy a Honda and Sushi too!

And not unless you wash it first!

QUOTE

Altho' it's been said many times Many ways, Buy a Honda and Sushi too!

When I was selling wheels no manufacturer was making a bolt pattern for the 4 bolt so you would at least have to convert to a five lug that is predominately available in the aftermarket. then get the proper offset for them to fit. I wouldn't go to all that trouble.

BTW the biggest wheel recommended for most ricers is an 18 going from a 15.

Would you have to put bigger brakes on there too?

In theory yes you should. Does it happen? not always.

Alright guys tell us how you really feel!

As far as your reference to Fuchs, they are some of the best looking wheels to ever adorn a sports car. IMHO of course.

2.77 inches all around?

Hold on, let me pull out my calculator.... hmm..

heh... ok, well, Kumho said the WRONG series would give you a 23.3 dia.

Oops..

M

QUOTE

Rhodes71/914   Posted on Mar 24 2005, 04:26 PM Alright guys tell us how you really feel! As far as your reference to Fuchs, they are some of the best looking wheels to ever adorn a sports car. IMHO of course

I've seen them copied for use on other cars too.

I spent a lot of time looking into different wheel combo's for my teener and there are a couple of irrefutable facts you have to consider, but for every problem there is a solution.
If you're going to use your stock fenders, you have to consider width and offset. The widest tires that are commonly accepted to fit under most 914 fenders without rubbing are 205's. I've heard of some people getting lucky and were able to get away with 235's, but they probably also did something to their wheel wells or offset to accomplish this. The offset on 914 rims is 47mm and this is a very rare offset, and to my knowledge, no current production vehicles run this offset. The most common offsets in custom wheels run from 30-35mm. This moves the wheels a little more inboard, which can cause rubbing. One way to counter this is with spacers, which move the wheels back towards the outside. Some people have issues with spacers for safety reasons.
Another thing you have to face is bolt spacing. Four lug 914's have a 4X130mm bolt pattern, and this was only common to 914's and early Beetles (there might be a few other vehicles, but I'm not sure what they are). This why most people go with the tried and true rims - because there are not many aftermarket rims that fit teeners. Solutions to the bolt spacing problem are to re-drill your hubs, use spacers with a different bolt pattern, or machine the rims to fit your hubs. All of them have drawbacks, most importantly safety. You can also go to a 5-lug set-up, and this opens up the options dramatically because there are all kinds of after-market rims that fit the Porsche 5-lug hubs. The only drawback to doing this is the cost and availability of parts. There has been talk on this forum lately of 5-lug rotors, but as of now there is no such animal.
Once you have circumvented these issues, you're still left with the question of ride quality. I've only read opinions of those that have gone to 17' 45's and 50's, and some complain of a really harsh ride. It probably depends alot on what type of suspension you are running and what type of driving you are doing. I can only imagine that the ride on 19" 30's would be harsh no matter what type of suspension you where running. If you were driving on a race track it would probably be bearable but certainly not comfortable. The other thing to consider is the possible damage to the rims caused by hitting things like potholes. It doesn't take too much compression on a 30 series tire before you ding the bead.
All this being said, I bought some 17" rims that I'm going to run with 50 series tires. I haven't tried them yet, so I have no comment on ride or performance but here is pic of what they'll look like on a teener.

hey Doug....

those are the same rims I have installed on my car...I like the wheels, what I don't like is the look of the wheel and fender on the back of the car, the fender of the car should never cover up the rim...the only 2 "fixes" would be to raise the car (too high) or to modify the rear fender to look more like the front...in other words, the rear fender opening needs to be more round.....

anyone want to photoshop the front wheels/fender opening to the rear of this car???

Those look good. I wouldn't go over 17s.

and about the Fooks... FUCH OFF!


M

Hey Miles.....have they gone away from wooden wheels with steel band tread in GA?

Steel what?


M

QUOTE (grantsfo @ Mar 24 2005, 04:03 PM)

I have experemented with wheels on a car that is about the same weight, size and power as the 914.

Oh yeah right. I call BS. We all know that there is no other car on the planet with... so little power.

JK

-Ben M.

QUOTE (Teknon @ Mar 24 2005, 03:46 PM)

QUOTE (redshift @ Mar 24 2005, 05:43 PM) Not much guessing to it, those rims are almost as big as the original tires. M More wrong information. Try a tire comparator

235/30/19 tires. Lots of them right? ...reality?

QUOTE (ws91420 @ Mar 24 2005, 06:20 PM)

When I was selling wheels no manufacturer was making a bolt pattern for the 4 bolt so you would at least have to convert to a five lug that is predominately available in the aftermarket. then get the proper offset for them to fit. I wouldn't go to all that trouble. BTW the biggest wheel recommended for most ricers is an 18 going from a 15.

Thank you. Info is what I need not opinion. That is helpful. Now I need to find WHY.

Riverman, Those are gorgeous and what I'm looking for. What width are those. And who made them. Nice looking wheels. And highly informative. Thanks

QUOTE (Teknon @ Mar 25 2005, 08:17 AM)

Riverman, Those are gorgeous and what I'm looking for. What width are those. And who made them. Nice looking wheels. And highly informative. Thanks

Those are Revolution RZX 17X7's. Here's a link to their site. You can order them with the correct offset and bolt spacing for 914's. Good people to deal with.

A couple of other members run this wheel already (Meuller for one) and they could probably tell you a little more about ride and such.

They have black ones! Oooh baby. Desent price too.


You would think after all these years I would be use to wading through small minds. No wonder its so hard to bring new things to market. Ask me, I did solar energy in the 70's.

just another option if you want to go bigger... get studs pressed into your hubs with a 4x100 pattern(same as honda, goes well with the rice )... then you can choose a LOT of different rims... I wouldn't go over 17" though... even on my bigger, cushier, daily driver, 17's are pretty harsh! I can't imagine 19s...

to quote what a wise man told me on this board when I got a teener...

"it's your car, if you like it, that's all that matters..."

my spin: "...fuck everyone elses opinion!"

How much does a 19incher wiegh? Those things must be wicked heavy. They'd make your car so frigin slow because of the wieght.

17 inch sellout!

Damn the torpedoes! Get the 19 inchers under the car and show all the narrow minded, opinionated blabbermouths what a modern, forward-thinking person can do!

And be prepared to cuss swear and bitch whenm ya hit a pothole and jar yer kidneys....then do it again when ya get out and see the crunch in the wheels....

Anything less than a 45 series tire should not be used on the road....ask me how I know....unless you are going low and slow and doan wanna spill yer tequilla...

I love that wheel style. But 19" reduces the sidewall too much. Can you get them in 17"? That would be a better choice. BTW alot of the aftermarket wheels are very heavy. When making a wheel selection lighter is better.

QUOTE (Teknon @ Mar 25 2005, 06:20 AM)

They have black ones! Oooh baby. Desent price too. You would think after all these years I would be use to wading through small minds. No wonder its so hard to bring new things to market. Ask me, I did solar energy in the 70's.

As mentioned the 17 would be a perfect size, 40 series sidewall will be a little rough on some surfaces. They do make a 15" wheel for our car too.

...I had solar heating in the 70's too. Had a 914 back then as well.

Joe, Just MY opinion, but with the little power these cars have (even with your 2270) I would think that the 19s would just be too big. The bigger your wheel is the farther away the mass is from the center and the harder the engine is having to work to turn those bad boys. Our engines have to work hard enough as it is.

Oh yea...I like my 'dated wheels'

Ben, I'm not sure how larger wheels can effect anyhing. The over all height is exactly the same and the width can be the same. The weight and sidewall can play a large part though. Anything happening this weekend? The board is dead.

Joe,

revolution makes a nice product.
they make a killer (used to make) 15inch x 7 for the track too. you can't go wrong there.

ben/joe you guys getting together this weekend?
I need to hook up with Rex to pick something up.


all: cut Joe some slack fellas.
he is a good guy!!!

Brant, When are you going to Rexs? I haven't seen the "short store" yet. Maybe bring some subs. "sandwiches" If it was today we would have to skate there. Also has anyone heard if the FI books got in?

QUOTE (Rhodes71/914 @ Mar 24 2005, 04:26 PM)

As far as your reference to Fuchs, they are some of the best looking wheels to ever adorn a sports car. IMHO of course.

Fuchs are my favorite wheels of all time. Especially the 16x7's, I think they look great under the fenders of a teener. If I had the $$ they'd be under my car right now.

Joe, how many companies out there make 19 inch tiars. Using wheels that big is a kinda new concept? IMHO 17's are as big as you can go on a teener without totally convering the rims in the back.

QUOTE (Teknon @ Mar 24 2005, 02:16 PM)

I'm looking to get away from the usual Pukes, Riverass and Pudrinis and other dated wheel styles.

wow....

nice.

QUOTE (Teknon @ Mar 24 2005, 04:46 PM)

QUOTE (redshift @ Mar 24 2005, 05:43 PM) Not much guessing to it, those rims are almost as big as the original tires. M More wrong information. Try a tire comparator

try finding 235/ 30 /19's

I couldn't find them in that size.....only found them in 35 series which gives you a 25.5 OD tire...better sidewall protection, but slower acceleration due to the gear ratio change....

How much do those BA wheels weigh anyway ? Mueller ? At the local tire store they seem Heavy,
Might need more power too.

QUOTE (Teknon @ Mar 24 2005, 05:16 PM)

I used a tire comparator and figure you can put 235 30 19 tires on a 914. I'm looking to get away from the usual Pukes, Riverass and Pudrinis and other dated wheel styles. Who is running modern large wheel systems? Did you feel a difference in handling? Post some pics of you bad boys. I'm thinking of putting these 19'ers on..........

Could that wheel be any more rice?

-Rusty