944S2 rear arms

[aircool]

Hi

I have 944S2 ally rear arms/disks and callipers on my 1200 beetle which I belive are the same as the Turbo, I'm putting 9X18" rear wheels on with an et55. The problem is that the wheels stick out of my arches by about an inch! The fenders are over size (2"/ 6cm I think)

Has anyone got any ideas on how I can narrow the rear track? I have thought about using the earlier 944 hubs but I can imagine that would cause problems with the disk and the CV/drive shaft.

Any help would be great.

[yetibone]

Really not much you can do to narrow what you have there. The extra width comes from the construction of the arms themselves. They have a longer stub-axle than the early alloy arms, and thus a longer accomadating casting to support the rear wheel bearings. The wheel hub (flange), and CV axle is the same as the early arms, AFAIK.

If you could source some early alloy arms, or some 3" wider fenders you'd be good to go.

[The Pirate]

For 944 turbo alloy arms by early you mean ( insert year range or part #s here)?

[wrenchnride247]

aircool, can you find the same wheel with a 70ET? I have 993 9X16 ET70 wheels, with '87 ali arms, and 2" wider fenders, and have almost an inch before the wheel hits the fender lip.

[yetibone]

Originally Posted by The Pirate

For 944 turbo alloy arms by early you mean ( insert year range or part #s here)?

'86 only for the 944 turbo. The 924 S, and 924 Turbo also had these arms up till the end of their production run.

[The Pirate]

After much reading here I seem to see that if your 994 aluminum arms have the bump stop molded in they are the narrower ones? Can this general rule of thumb be used? Also did later non turbo 944s ever have aluminum arms?

[aircool]

Thanks for the help. Unfortunately these wheels only come in ET55 & ET40 ET45 so as far as I understand it 40's would stick out more!

I have considered machining some material off of the inside of the arm where the bush fits (so everything would move inboard more), also taking a few mill off of the disk face. I'm not sure how viable an option this is!

I will be asking a lot of people before I start cutting

[wrenchnride247]

aircool, if you take material off the pivot bushing end, you will have to shim where the arm bolts to the springplate. If you machine the other end, then you will have problems with the e-brake shoes on the inside of the rotor . I think some one on here recently used earlier turbo stub, and rotors (in brake sec. or suspension sec.)do a search. Three inch Wider fenders, or different wheels would be easier IMO.

Pirate, '87 and later 944's had the same arms. Mine came with the non turbo rotor's and calipers, and now have turbo .

[The Pirate]

Sweet!! So much of the VW and Porsche stuff is interchangeable it is like Legos.

[wrenchnride247]

VW, Porsche, and Audi share alot of parts.

[The Pirate]

yeah I think they share a third party design firm or some crap.

So after going through the entire suspension thread one of the most frequently asked about rear suspension mods is the 944 Aluminum arms. I am thinking that a Sticky topic or a complete and total tech article would be great. I will start next week with mine. I will have a step by step and but load of pictures.