Wheels/whell-wells: How do you get that FILLED OUT look?

when attending the L.A. rally on 2/07, i noticed that some cars had (more noticeably the rear) that "filled-out" look in their wheel-wells. i'm NOT speaking about "lowered" cars, I'm speaking about the wheels/tires that fill-out the space all the way OUT (lateral, not vertical) to the edge of the fender. -is it because they were sporting 11" rear wheels? -is it because they were using "spacers" (which i know nothing about) on stock 10" rears? can you achieve that look with stock wheel/spacers? i have stock 18x7.5fr, 18x10 rear on TURBO LOOK I. i just finished purchasing new rubber (225/40/18, 285/30/18) and i'm not going to entertain 19" wheels. can i achieve that look using spacers? recommended? not recommended? any thoughts are welcomed...thanks in advance Oalvarez or YOU GO OUT AND BUY YOURSELF NEW WHEELS!!

as you mentioned, you can use wheel spacers to achieve this look. i believe the sport technos use spacers. they are 1" wider than stock and most of it added to the inside so they use a spacer to "bump" it out a bit (anyone feel free to correct me if i am wrong ). if porsche uses spacers on their stock wheels why can't you? you can specify the amount of offset spacing to achieve the filled out look. often those "custom" wheels have non stock offsets 18x8,10" turbo twists stock 50mm front 65mm rear 17x7,9" carrera stock 55mm and 55mm my wheels have 45mm and 50mm offset (i think), effectively filling out the wheel wells by 5mm and 15mm. when you are ready for new wheels, be sure to tell the "wheel expert" what you are trying to achieve. don't go too crazy or you'll have to roll your fenders. you can go aggressive but you may have too run with more camber to clear the fenders. c

As Karlooz Said: If you would like to run your stock wheels, the best way to accomplish this look is to use wheel spacers. They go between the brake hub and the inside of the wheel and bump the wheel out an amount which you can specify. Just to give you an idea, this is what a spacer looks like: . Our price runs anywhere between $46-$94 each for a 996. If you go the other route, you just order the aftermarket wheels to the offset you desire (find a picture you like and ask the owner what their offset is...thats the easiest way). Here is a picture of my 996TT with aftermarket wheels that I had a custom offset done to give me a 4" lip. This did require some extra camber and rolling my fenders but the wheels comes out and fills the fender exactly how I wanted it: Let me know if you have anymore questions

Evan/Karlooz, thanks. so less offset means the wheel "sticks out" more, holding wheel diameter constant? so if you have a 18" wheel with 50mm offset it sticks out more than an 18" with 55mm offset? sounds like all i want is 5mm - 10mm for fr and rear ...seem sensible? do i need to order special bolts for my car?

No problem. I will check when I get in on Monday what we normally do on 996's, I believe its 15MM in the rear but not sure about the front (7mm maybe). You will need longer bolts. Our kits (the ones I listed above) come with 5 longer bolts with each spacer. I will let you know tomorrow what you need exactly.

also, do you have to have the car re-aligned? i hope not, just had it done with the RoW M030 install.

offset is the distance from the centerline of the wheel to the wheel's mating surface. holding wheel WIDTH (not diameter) constant, less offset brings the wheel out. i think some of the wheels spacer kits include new bolts, but that may only hold true with the thicker spacers. you may be able to get away with the stock bolts but don't hold me to it. carlos

i stand corrected no realignment necessary

porsches wheel spacer adapters are 5mm and come with the hardware, but it seems 5mm would not move them out very much at all, that's less than 1/2" overall

Hello, Wanted to follow up with you. I was correct in my thinking, we reccomend a 7MM spacer up front and a 15mm spacer in the rear. This should give it the "filled out" look you are searching for. Our prices on this kit are: 7MM Spacer-$46each 15mm Spacer-$81each These include all hardware necesarry for install including longer bolts. Let me know if I can be of any more assistance!!

what about if i put that on my current 996 and then later i get the Pss9 suspension kit, will there be any problems with the wheel wells once it is lowered?

I am not sure how the 996 stock wheels look lowered with PSS-9's as I have never seen them. Worst case senario you would just take the spacers out if they stuck out too much. Evan

or YOU GO OUT AND BUY YOURSELF NEW WHEELS!!

agreed! if u have the right tool & the right tech, the process will not take longer than 5 mins each corner. the result should be perfect as well.

What does having your fenders rolled entail?