OK so I have the 2.4 6 ready to go. Now I need to think about whether I go with 5 lug conversion. I know trekkor has done fine with 4 lug on his six. I will likely just use the car for AX and occasional TT event.

I like the idea of keeping my lightweight 4 lug setup which would include my 8" wheels. But should I just bite the bullet and go with 5 lug for better brakes etc?

better brakes,
lighter wheels,
larger choice of wheels,
axle and hub options in rear.....

bite the bullet. do it once, do it right.

John Rogers has a 200+ hp /6 running huge goodyear slicks and races on rough courses.....still has 4 lug setup...

the new Noble supercar with 400 hp uses 4 lug rims and instead of 14mm studs, I'm betting they are the more "norm" 12mm studs.

John is running the billet hubs which greatly increased his ability to dive into the corners according to him

You could stay 4 lug - since you already have big wheels. I think you might see a benefit from a vented rotor - which thanks to Mueller&Co is now possible with a 4 lug setup.

QUOTE

I will likely just use the car for AX and occasional TT event.

You can use the brakes more on a big track. On an AX course I'd think any benefit would be minimal. It would be a shame to have to get rid of the wheels you just bought. Also, a 5 lug setup with all wear parts refreshed (rotors, bearings, brakes hoses, etc.) will run you $1500 plus the cost of wheels and alignment.

The whole point of the billet hubs was to allow people who had $ invested in four lug wheels to run big brakes. Sounds like you.

I disagree with Aaron's "do it once, do it right." Five lug is not "right". Five lug is an option. Different cars have different needs.

I'd say it's up to:

A - How much HP you plan on squeezing out of the 2.4 (determines if you should look for a 3.5" spaced 911 strut with the larger brake selection) -and-

B - How much you want to spend. Either way, it's not real cheap but ClubHubs and M-Calipers would be the most cost effective...new wheels and tires can cost ya. I'd say that package would be good up to around 140hp before I would consider moving on (because of the brakes not the studs)

-and-

C - If you're happy with the current 4-lugs out there.

I agree... 5-lug isn't always 'right' but, in looking at brake options for our cars there comes a point in the evolution of the car where it might be 'right'. Only because of the 3.5" mounting available on various 911 struts (Billy's and Koni's).

It's 'my opinion' that a 200hp car with slicks oughta be using A or S-Calipers up front with an agreeable rear. Can you get by without? Obviously. Proper cooling would be helpful but, I tend to follow the engineering guidelines the 911 platform set forth.

So, again, IMHO, 4-lug can be just fine up to a point and depending on your driving habits/needs. If I had a car that was in the 140-240HP range, I'd be on A or S-Calipers which probably means 5-lug or some serious engineering (which would cost more than the 5-lug struts).

I had a spread sheet somewhere listing the parts & costs
of my original swap. I went whole hog with all the shittage front to rear.....Dirk Wright had nuthin on me
I quit adding up costs soon thereafter

As a data point:
I'm working off my shakey memory here, IIRC, the motor swap with goodies totaled about 6500. The rest of the stuff (a 2 page single spaced list) brought that total to nearly14000. (not including the cost of the car) So.... I dumped that into the car in the year that it took me to do the conversion. I sold 6k worth of parts to offset some of that.
I have no advice on this.

Grant

For Autox, your stock brakes are fine. But for the track, I'd want better brakes for that bigger motor. People convert to 5 lug for 3 reasons: wheels, rotors, and calipers. Since you've invested in wheels already, I'd just go with the machined hubs that will let you run vented rotors and 911 calipers.

Demick

Why stick with Porsche calipers? Adapters are really not that hard to make, so you could run damned near any caliper that would fit under your existing wheels. Fit ClubHubs (I like that) for easy-fit vented rotors, and start shopping for Outlaw, Wilwood, Brembo, etc calipers. You could get a pair of very nice, super light 4-pot Wilwoods that would shave off enough caliper weight that the extra mass of the vented rotors might be nullified.

IMHO, this is just as "right" as a 911 setup.

QUOTE

IMHO, this is just as "right" as a 911 setup.

Yup. It's all going to cost money though...

The reason I generally stick with 911 setups is they're fairly cost effective and pre-engineered.

I've seen others do all sorts of wild things with various calipers. Whatever floats your boat. James is right.