Wheels

Upgrading to 17"

Upgrading to 17"

My wheels/tires should be in on Wednesday...quite excited. I ordered 17" cup wheels and look forward to getting them on. I'm under the impression that I definetely have to remove the spacer which will leave the studs too long. Has anyone used open ended lug nuts on their cars instead of shortening the studs? Do they look cheezy?

Paul Esposito
85S 5-Speed, Meteormetallic


Be advised that Performance Products sells "deeper" lug nuts in a design similar to the originals. I emailed them and they confirmed that the lug nuts do seat deeper onto the wheel stud, and that the additional length is not merely cosmetic.

I haven't ordered a set yet, and I'm not sure what the specific dimensions are regarding the size of your wheel spacers and the depth of the taller nuts, but it might be worth a shot.

Steven Tucker


On my 86.5 928S, I use 9" X 17" Cup wheels in the rear for track and autocross with tire size at 255/40-17, and do not have to remove the spacers. I use the OEM lug nuts too. However, years earlier I had BBS wheels that were the wrong offset and would not fit even with the spacers off. I did "roll" the fender to get an additional 10mm clearance. Rolling the rear quarter (steel) fender is fairly easy, but be careful not to do it very hard or abruptly as the paint on the fender may crack. I used a baseball bat (handle end) to roll the fender. YMMV.

Merry motoring, Ed.


When I bought my Cup replicas, I elected to go with the open lugs rather than shave the studs, and quite frankly you wont notice much difference. The 17x9 rears are wide enough that the stud and lug do not protrude.

I would have much preferred the "wide stance" look by keeping the spacers, but it was quite clear on my car that fender clearance could be a problem. I wasn't taking any chances.

Mike S.
86.5 S (straight, no spacers)


I'll chime in here too, that I had to remove the spacers when I put the 17x9 cup rears on. I elected to go with shorter studs, but Mike is right that you won't notice the open lug nuts on the back wheels.

Dave O.
86.5 928S


Leave the spacers on .

It's a tight fit with the 255 40s 17, and you will need to shave exactly, .25 " off the spacer.
And roll the fender with a small broom handle, very easy . the room you have depends on the manufacturer of the rear tire. Yokos, dont need rolling, RE71s do.

If you remove the spacer, you will need open lug nuts. (don't go cutting the bolts)

Mark K.

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