550 Spyder good times heading my way

Are you sticking with staggered tire widths?

adapters will push the wheels out too far, so either run 5x130 or change the brakes to 5x205 discs.

@Jon T I am sure we will be cruising together soon. I just want to see How it looks when i get it.

@chines1 Thank you the input.  I will probably run the 5x130 just to keep my life simple.

@ford356outlaw congrats on scoring on a 550 Spyder. Hopefully when you get that bad-boy we can scare up a few local SOCers for a cruise through Mulholland (or wherever).

Would also like to follow the progress on your 78SC Targa. I had a  78 Targa years ago and had blast with it. Broken head studs was one of the common problems for these particular 911s. A few of the upgrades on ours was an airbox with pop-off valve (cracked one when backfire on a cold start), significantly improved shifting with WEVO parts and upgraded to hydraulic cam chain tensioners. Logged 200K fun-filled miles on that car before selling.

Road trip ...PCA autocross...

Anyway, hope our paths cross at one of our local SOC cruises.  

@MusbJim posted:

@ford356outlaw congrats on scoring on a 550 Spyder. Hopefully when you get that bad-boy we can scare up a few local SOCers for a cruise through Mulholland (or wherever).

Would also like to follow the progress on your 78SC Targa. I had a  78 Targa years ago and had blast with it. Broken head studs was one of the common problems for these particular 911s. A few of the upgrades on ours was an airbox with pop-off valve (cracked one when backfire on a cold start), significantly improved shifting with WEVO parts and upgraded to hydraulic cam chain tensioners. Logged 200K fun-filled miles on that car before selling.

Road trip ...PCA autocross...

Anyway, hope our paths cross at one of our local SOC cruises.  

@MusbJim love the pictures and crazy curls 🏄‍♂️👍😎

@MusbJim Very nice targa.  Great pics and wow you put some miles on it.  I bet it was a blast to drive.  We will definitely need to go cruising we are relatively close to each other and i am sure we can get a few more guys to join in on the fun.  

Here is the targa progression. And a few Manx's and my 67 mustang.  

Love the wheels on the Targa!

@DannyP posted:

Love the wheels on the Targa!

I do too, but I REALLY love the wheels on the 'stang.

@Stan Galat posted:

I do too, but I REALLY love the wheels on the 'stang.

Redneck hick.

Just kidding, I really like those too.

@DannyP posted:

Redneck hick.

Busted.

Maybe i will just put the targa wheels on the spyder.

@ford356outlaw

Dude, I like the way you roll!

I really like those ATS wheels on the Targa.  6X15" might fit if you run a narrowed beam.  Also, the 'Stang wheels are hot. American Racing Mags have been the beans since the 60's. Nothing looks better on a muscle car.

for the targa and the Mustang.

A man of your taste will want wide-5s on his Spyder, as they are correct.*

That said, one of the most photographed and coveted 550s—chassis 0090—wore 5 x130 wheels for a significant part of its life in the 1960s and early '70s (per Road & Track's 1971 feature on it).

In the early days of Porsche disc brakes they were considered a major upgrade to the older cars, back when guys were still club racing them. And they don't look bad at all, imho.

*You may or may not want to spring for the unobtanium 16-inch versions.

FYI, @ford356outlaw Replica Spyders usually have staggered wheels. 4.5" wide in the front and 5.5" out back. You will not be able to fit 5.5s in the front, so if you choose to run 4.5s all around, you might use some spacers in the rear.

The offset on the fronts on the steel wheels are not deep enough and you could get some fender rub in hard corners. Especially the front right. I don't know about the 130 spaced wheels.

The Vintage 190 aluminum 4.5s have a little deeper offset that helps with this, and they look pretty good, and are about 12lbs lighter per wheel than the steel wheels. A lot of us Spyder owners have gone to them. I still do get a rub here and there, but I'm a little more aggressive in the turns though, and I live in the mountains with very tight, twisty, and not so smooth roads.

Tire selection is very limited to none in our size. At least for anything that might be considered performance tires. A few of us were lucky enough to get hold of the last Vredestein Sportracs in the country. They are sticky, cheap, and fantastic. Vredestein does make a tire that might be worthy if you were running 4.5s all around, but that tire doesn't come in staggered sizes.

I used to get an occasional rub with spirited driving and the factory(skinny) front anti-sway.

I don't get any rub now either solo or with my wife as passenger. I've got a custom 16mm bar that I made. But in NC, I did get a couple rubs(on the right front, sorry, but that's the truth) with Stan riding shotgun.

You can run 4.5" Vintage 190 all around, but you'd really need a LONG swing axle for the back. It's much more common to have a short swing axle and 5.5" wheel in the back.

Usual tires are 185/65R15 or 165/80R15 F and 195 or 205/60R15 in the back. I run 22F/25R pressure.

Thank you all for the great info.  @edsnova you could be right i do really think the wide 5's are the best way to do it.

@Carlos G I think the vintage 190's are probably going to be the best wheel for the car.

@DannyP Thanks for what tire size to run.

Its always better to do it right the first time.  Any info on how easy or hard it is to swap the system to a wide 5 around all corners?

@DannyP The Vintage 190 alloys are wider than the steels (+10mm per wheel IIRC).  Greg once told me he runs  narrowed front beam to offset this, although that fact is not advertised anywhere that I've seen.  Is your front beam narrowed?

@chines1 posted:

@DannyP The Vintage 190 alloys are wider than the steels (+10mm per wheel IIRC).  Greg once told me he runs  narrowed front beam to offset this, although that fact is not advertised anywhere that I've seen.  Is your front beam narrowed?

That makes, sense, as the aluminum needs to be a little thicker than steel.

Yes, my beam is 2" narrowed. Mine was the first car to have this, but it's MOSTLY due to the Airkewld brakes which add about 3/4" per side.

I would think Greg only does 1" narrowed for most guys for the aluminum wheels, I am pretty sure that the usual cast-iron EMPI barbell brakes don't add any(maybe 3/8"?) width. This would set the track very nicely I'd think.

If my brakes were narrower(like stock) my wheels would be set too far in for my liking.

I'm very pleased with my setup, it really works well.