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[stpangia]

apologies in advance if this has been discussed elsewhere. i've googled the forums quite a bit and haven't been able to find the advice i'm looking for.

i'm building out a '77 for the 24 hours of LeMons endurance race. my team and i are considering running with stock 4-bolt 14" rims and also considering an upgrade to 16" 4-bolt rims and a low profile tire. we are not concerned about performance in rain (or snow, for that matter).

So, 2 questions:

question 1):
any advice on what to use on the stock rims? these Toyos are on the top of our list of choices right now:

http://www.1010tires.com/tire.asp?tiremodel=Proxes+T1R&tirebrand=Toyo

(the 195/45R14 size specifically)

question 2):
any thoughts on upgrading to these Fox Body Mustang 4-bolt wheels?

http://www.americanmuscle.com/16x8-4lug-cobra-r-silver.html

with these tires:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Yokohama&tireModel=AVS+ES100&partnum=245WR6ES100

or maybe these:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Yokohama&tireModel=S.drive&partnum=235YR7SXL

also, i read somewhere that the 924 suspension can be fragile. does anyone's experience lend credence to this claim? would wider tires and bigger rims put undue stress on stock suspension?

[Rasta Monsta]

[fiat22turbo]

LOL, Rasta, you're showing the wrong side....

oh and no, the suspension isn't weak. The later cast aluminum arms do tend to crack at times.
_________________
Stefan
1979 924 Carrera GTS (clone-ish)
1988 944 Turbo S (Silver Rose)

[ideola]

Rasta, I love the checklist
_________________
erstwhile owner of just about every 924 variant ever made

[stpangia]

Thanks guys.

Any thoughts on on the wheels/ tires question?

[Paul]

Rasta I can't believe you made your better half wear double zeros!!!

Stpangia, the 14" setup should work and save you a few bucks. What do the rules have to say about tires?

I'd be more worried about the brakes, those non vented front rotors and rear drums are not going to like a 24 hour race.
_________________
White 87 924S "Ghost"
Silver 98 986 3.6l 320 HP "Frank N Stein"
White 01 986 "Christine"
Polar Silver 02 996TT. "Turbo"
Owned and repaired 924s since 1977
Porsche: It's not driving, it's therapy.

[Rocco R16V]

A bigger wheel is going to weigh more, that will hurt performance.
if there was a bigger difference in width or sidewall height that would help cornering speed to offset the weight difference then it might be worth while. but on the 924 you dont need wider for accel performance and there wont be enough cornering performance difference to make it worth it. imo

if you could find some light 15" wheels there are a lot more tire options.
on our lemons VW we used 205/50/15 Falken Azenis RT-615 these had very good grip and are resonably priced link

also there is a big differnce in overall size between 195/45/14 (~21") and 225/45/16 (~24") tire size calc link

the falken in 195/60/14 is only $90, that would be closer to stock size than the 195/45/14s
_________________
"Government exists to protect us from each other. Where government has gone beyond its limits is in deciding to protect us from ourselves. "
Ronald Reagan

[924guy]

for lemons i would retain the stock set up, and run cooling ducts. heres why:

1. as said above the 14" wheels are lighter,
2. the stock brakes are more than adequate, but you DO want to keep the fronts cool with $5 worth of duct to limit heat fade.
3. swapping over to five lugs isnt too bad, but 4 lugs parts are so easy and cheap. ive got over 100 pounds of spare 4 lug parts + five wheels just sitting in my garage, and so do allot of others here whove done the upgrade already. there is little to no market for those parts, so stocking a complete set of replacements including wheels should be cheap and easy.
4. lots of hondas running local circuits that use 14" tires, finding cheap track tires should also be fairly easy.

edit, my brain read the post as a upgrade to five lugs at first, but ill leave the above anyhow.
_________________
Eric
78 924
82 931 SE "smokey"
99' VehiCross
Y2K Honda Insight
http://www.cardomain.com/id/924Guy
Performance by Pasha

[Vince Ponz]

Leave the brakes stock. Check for wear on the front and back and tighten up the rears. With these cars being momentum cars stay off the brakes and try being smooth.
At Bridgehamton which closed I would get to 118 on the straight to a deep deep downhill and I never had brake problems. Just stay off them.
_________________
"Never let them see you sweat"
77.5 924 modified track car
79 931 Euro stock
88 924S SE
87 911 Targa stock

[Paul]

Yeah that's the ticket, don't use the brakes so they won't overheat.

I guess it depends on the track, but I've managed to melt the plastic hub covers and lug bolt covers on a 77 924 on the street.
_________________
White 87 924S "Ghost"
Silver 98 986 3.6l 320 HP "Frank N Stein"
White 01 986 "Christine"
Polar Silver 02 996TT. "Turbo"
Owned and repaired 924s since 1977
Porsche: It's not driving, it's therapy.

[flosho]

[Paul]

[Grenadiers]

Gee, I barely remember going to high school back then! But I guess smoking your brakes like that is memorable!
_________________
'83 944 Track car.
'88 924S Track car.
'89 944 Turbo
2004 Winnebago Vectra monster RV
2012 Jeep Wrangler
2014 Kia Soul
2001 Ford F350 powerstroke

[Paul]

By 77 I had been out of high school for 8 years.....
_________________
White 87 924S "Ghost"
Silver 98 986 3.6l 320 HP "Frank N Stein"
White 01 986 "Christine"
Polar Silver 02 996TT. "Turbo"
Owned and repaired 924s since 1977
Porsche: It's not driving, it's therapy.

[924guy]