8.5" wide Porsche wheels in back

[Brad]

I'm lookin at some 2000 Porsche Boxster wheels they are 17 inch 7JX17 and 8.5JX17 they are 50 and 55 offsets. The tires are Kumho Ecsta 712's. The sizes are 205/50 ZR17. The rears are 255/40 ZR17. I have a 73 super beetle with CCC 2.5" fatter up front fenders and 3" fatter in the back. My question is what all I'll need to do to fit em' on there, other then 5 x 130 bolt pattern,? I want them to be tucked up under the fender though for sure. I'd also like to just use adjust a struts and save some cash w/o using MaXx's. If I need spacers, lemme know what size I need and about how much to expect in price. Thanks-a-million for any info.

[Brad]

Also, on the bolt pattern...should I get my drums re-drilled, buy 4 new drums, or (most expensivly) 2 new drums in the back and discs up front?

[NYBugman1972]

Since you have such wide fenders, you're going to figure out how much you're going to space out the wheels. I have an 1 1/4" wider fenders with the same wheels and a 245-45-17 tire (99.9% the same at your 255-40's) and I use an 1" spacer at each wheel. So, you're going to need a 2" spacer at each wheel in the rear to get them pushed out enough to fill in the fender and still tuck.

In the front, I would suspect that you can fit the 205-50-17's because of your wider fenders. I'm not sure how far out you're going to need to space the front, but it will be more than an inch just to clear the adjust-a-struts and springs.

Spacers are expensive. Long studs are expensive. A pair of H&R spacers in 50mm is $225.95. Than, you have to buy front spacers, say...43mm (just as an example), which is $206.95. That's already more than MaXX struts cost plus shipping. Then you have to add on adjust-a-struts. Not to mention the cost of the wheels, which is not cheap.

I'm not trying to convince you to do one thing or another. I'm just telling you my opinion on the subject and trying to help you reach a final outcome.

As far as braking goes, disks are worth it, but if you're looking to save money, find a good machine shop and have your drums drilled for 5x130. I have a Topline disk and drum combo and it stops me just fine. My drums are new CSP drums, not re-drills FYI.

I hope i've helped you out.

[Brad]

I found some Porsche spacers...a pair of 1" =$169 w/ hardware. or 2" for $200. What's the average machine shop price for re-drill? One dude on here said 50 bucks, and that sounds pretty nice.

[NYBugman1972]

Don't know. Ask your local machine shop for a quote.

[scottystraub]

i have 7's and 8 1/2's on my 79, i used vw 4 lug to porsche 5 adapters, much cheaper than porsche wheel spacers (adapters are $40 a pair) your rim will hit the front strut without using adapters or spacers, if you get drilled rotors you will have to use the new max strut to keep it from hitting . in the rear you need a spacer or adapter also or it will hit. i have 8 1/2's in the rear and my adapter is 3/4 of a inch and i have 1/8 inch clearance . scary close but ohhhh it looks soo nice

[zen]

i have the same setup brad. or close. i have 2"/3" wider fenders with 17x7ET55 and 17x8.5ET48 2001 boxster rims. i had to use 2" spacers in the rear and 1.5" in the front. both could use to come out just a little more too. i am not happy with considering the use of spacers this large, but without abuse they should be fine. since i have upgraded my engine to 175HP and will be giving the car some abuse now, i am swapping the rear end to a 951 suspension which widens the track 1.75" and will drop to a 3/8" spacer.

so i will have 2" spacers for sale soon. i can beat the $200 price, but not by much. i bought mine off ebay and found that they used bolts instead of studs so i paid a machine shop to put nice hefty studs in them for me. oh, i also went with CSP drums drilled from blank to the 5x130. those will be for sale by the end of the year as well. you can always contact CSP and order some. they were around $150 shipped. go with discs in the front. i went with ghia discs (which will come off soon since i am going 951 all the way around). they are very affordable.