Max width for a set of fuchs on a speedster

Can he recenter them as well? If you could.... wow- you could have some big tires in the back. That would be really sweet.

Yup, part of the process is to re-center them. I'm pretty happy with my 185's out back and don't really want to go wider than that anyway. 

I'm just wondering if there is any particular reason that guys don't do it for starters as wider 15" are cheaper than the narrow ones. 

Just got a call from my guy.............take them in, blast them, narrow them, keeping the same off set, machine them as well as refinishing them with new caps for $450.00.

10 days from start to finish. 

Holy Cow!!  That's a far better deal than I can get in the Boston area!

He did seem amused and asked me why I want to narrow them, when all the sets that he's done to date, involve making them wider. 

Locally I have to admit that our labour rates are a LOT cheaper than what you guys pay. We get screwed on parts prices though. 

OEM Fuchs are getting VERY expensive!  What offset and width did you settle on?

I think a 6.5" to 7" will work in the rear, but the offset would have to be at least 45mm.  I have repo (15 x 6) Fuchs, with a 37mm offset and the 185/65 tires sit very close to the fenders.  I would have much preferred a 45+ offset, as there is a decent amount of clearance on the inside part of the tire/wheel.

I don't have any clearance problems in the front, but I did have to adjust the bolt that determines how far I can turn the wheels, so the tires didn't rub on the suspension.

Are you using adapters?

What's nice is that width and offset don't really matter as the rim is going to be cut. I believe it's 40mm

No adapters on these. I have a hub disk that I'm building up and I'm using custom drilled hubs. 

What width did you settle on?  40mm offset, with anything wider that a six inch rim may not clear the fenders.  As I mentioned, my 6" wheels have a 37mm offset and they just clear the fenders.

Well as hard as it was...........I decided to pass.

To change them to an offset that would work for me would be $100 a wheel on top of the $450 to narrow and refurb them and then I still have the $650 to buy them. 

The sums didn't make sense.

I'd love to get a set of OEM Fuchs 5.5 x 15.  They're only 11 pounds, with a near perfect 42mm offset, but for the money they're asking I could order a new set of custom made minilites.

You know that the 5 1/2's and 6's have the same backsizing (112mm), and the extra 1/2" of the wider wheel is out to the front (outside), right? 

ALB, you are talking about early ones, right? Usually referred to as "deep sixes". They are kinda pricy too, now. 

All the info I have says that the backspacing and offset of the early and late 15x6" alloys is the same. The only difference is the trough that makes them "deep 6's". They're even forged from the same weight slug.

PS- And Danny; call me Al.. 

The 6.0" wide wheel has a 36mm offset, which would be okay for the front, but not so good for the rear.

Wouldn't the 5.5" wheel tuck in 0.3" (difference between 36 & 44mm) and 0.25" (difference between 5.5 and 6.0), for a 0.55" total, or am I reading this wrong?

The offset is how for the mounting surface is from the center of the wheel, and the backspacing is how far the mounting surface is from the back edge of the wheel. The 5 1/2, both early and late 6, the 7 and 8x15 factory Fuchs alloys all have 112mm backspacing; only so much of the wheel (and tire) can fit to the inside of the mounting surface without hitting the springplate (and probably the top of the shock mount as well). Because this distance is constant, as the wheel gets wider- where the mounting hub is in relation to the center of the wheel changes. The 5 1/2" wheel has 42mm offset (as you already know). The 6x15's offset changes 1/4" (6mm) to 36mm as the wheel is 1/2" (13mm) wider to the outside. Similarly, the 15x7's offset is 23.3mm as the mounting surface in getting that much closer to the center of the wheel, and the 15x8's offset is 10.6mm, again with the added width to the outside of the wheel, the mounting hub in that much closer to center.

The 4 1/2x15 is a little different as it has the same offset as the 5 1/2" wheel (42mm); the added width is 1/2" on the front and 1/2" on the backside, so the mounting surface's relation to the center of the wheel doesn't change. The 911R 7x15 is different as well, as it's the same as a 6" wheel on the front with the extra inch added to the inside; this was done to get 7" wheels on the back of the stock fendered 911's of the day for competition (and are now very rare/expensive). These would fit Great on the back of a Speedster... with some low clearance springplate bolts and a little trimming on the top shock mount....there are wheel shops that can cut apart a 6" alloy and add an inch to the inside of the wheel...a couple of places around here do it...I think it's about $200/wheel...

The 16" alloys follow the same pattern, with the 6, 7 and 8" wheels all having 112mm  backspacing and the same offset as the 15" wheels. There is a 16x8" alloy (951 part# instead of 911, off of the 944) with 125mm backspacing and 23.3mm offset instead of the 10.6mm of the 911 wheel, so if anyone is looking at used wheels it's something to know. 

Ron, I realize you get this, but I thought some of the other guys might get something out of this (it's late, but I have to wait for the Ibuprofen to kick in before I can sleep anyway, as my knee is aching like crap). And you're right, you'll gain some clearance- 1/2", as the backspacing of the wheel is the same as the 6".

Thanks Al for the explanation... This is save information! 

On my pan based IM I have a decent amount of clearance on the inside.  A couple of years ago Henry (Intermeccanica) and I test fit a Porsche Boxster wheel (16 x 6), with a 50 mm offset and 205/55 tire.  The tire rubbed on one of the spring plate bolts and cleared everything else.