Zuffenhausener

It's my understanding that a popular 17" wheel upgrade for 944s is to go with Boxster wheels. So if anyone out there has gone this route how are you dealing with the difference in the wheel depth around the hub? The original D90 wheels have about a 1.5" of wheel that fits onto the the hub. This 2004 Boxster wheel only has maybe .5" of material and and doesn't really begin to slide onto the hub to take hold. If I'm not explaining this well I'll try and add some photos to illustrate. Any advice on how to make these wheels work on my S2 would be much appreciated.

Zuffenhausener

The first image is the OEM D90 wheel. The next image is the 2004 Boxster wheel and the third is the hub on the 944S2. If it's not clear the original D90 wheel is deeper by about an inch than the Boxster wheel so the Boxster wheel doesn't really gain a good purchase onto the hub on the 944S2. What are my options to make these wheels work? Thanks much.

J Berk

Interesting.
I am by no means an expert... But was always under the impression that all oem late offset wheels for boxster and 993/6/7 and even cayenne would fit a late 944

dont recall ever seeing this issue raised here

Arominus

I'm pretty sure you have to remove some material in that area on the wheel then your in biz.

Zuffenhausener

Thanks guys. But would you be comfortable with removing material on the wheel in order to make them fit? It seems that would be significantly altering (weakening) the structure of the wheel. I hope there is another option. Haven't others been using these wheels on their late 944s quite a lot?

Tom R.

i had two different sets of boxster wheels on my 944s. i had crabs on my S2, and regular twists on an NA. the twists needed a thin spacer. longer studs or a conversion to lug bolts would have worked. i think i got three threads on the lug nut instead of the recommended seven minimum. i sold those wheels.

the crabs bolted right on, but the 255 pilot sports rubbed the left rear wheel well, and the front hub stuck out a little too far so i had to shave the teats on the center cap to make them fit.

also, while i originally thought the understeer was cool, it got old. the width of the front boxster wheels at 7 is too narrow to get a 245 on, and a 225/255 combo was understeer city. i would have preferred a 225/245 combo, but a 245 on a 8.5 is a bit narrow.

hope this helps.

hacker-pschorr

I had the same issue with a replica wheel for the 928 on my 944S.
I'm using a 1/2" spacer on the front to clear.

Makis

Pictures do not reveal any problem. You should check the marking on the wheels.
In particula look for the ET number. They should be close.

BobSantos

When you get all the data off your wheel, punch it in to this fitment calculator to compare to your OEMs...

http://www.rimsntires.com/specs.jsp

hacker-pschorr

Has nothing to do with offset. The inside of the wheel does not fit over the wheel bearing dust cap.

Zuffenhausener

It may not be apparent in the photos but there is a significant difference in the two wheels.
So if the issue is clearing the dust cap, is it possible that swapping in Boxster dust caps is possible? (not at all familiar with Boxster hub setup)
What do you guys say I do? Do I find someone that'll know how to make this work with some kind of spacer?

Thanks again everyone.

Makis

Well the wheel should fit if you remove the dust caps as the hub should be the same diamerter. If you need to use the caps you will need spacers. To fit suitable spacers you still need to know the offset of the wheels.

BobSantos

I'm going to agree with Makis; you need a spacer guessing based on what you've said. You need the wheel's "mounting pad" to touch the rotor cap face. The S2 hub is stopping it from sitting flush and tight. This is what a spacer is for. The hub/lip on the spacer is a lot shorter than the regular hub and should work with your wheels.

I've also read that M030 spec cars have a longer hub to accomodate bigger brake rotors. If your S2 is M030 is it currently equipped with these thicker rotors? Are the hubs original?

Zuffenhausener

The hubs are original but they're not M030. The offset is ET55 front, ET48 rear. I suppose I need to source some spacers.

Makis

My S2 original have ET55 (16x7) front and ET52 (16x8) rear, So I assume this are boxter wheels. Based on that ET value any spacers will make your wheel stick out, so I would go for the smallest possible spacer that you can get.