Kyle’s Corner (FYI) Porsche Cup Wheels

November 3, 11:59 AMAutomotive ExaminerKyle Busch

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Porsche 993 with Turbo Twist Cup Wheels

The Truth About Cars.com

Porsche made Fuchs
Wheels famous as well
as an open view of its
brake components –
cross drilled and vented
discs and multi piston
calipers.

During the early years
of the 911, the Fuchs
have their place in the
automotive history books
assured. For the middle
year cars (964s and 993s),
the’ Cup Wheels’ were
the ones to be seen with!

Some people think that the wheels got the name from their doomed
appearance. However, their name is actually from the very successful
Porsche Carrera Cup Racing Series in which the wheels were first
used. The Cup Racing Series was held in conjunction with many
Formula 1 Grand Series in the mid-nineties.

The 964RS was the car that started it for the Cup Wheels. The
964 was unveiled in 1989 as a technological marvel as it had many
improvements under the traditional 911 body. The 964 came with
what was called as ‘Design 90’ wheels, and they were known for
their smooth and clean styling. This helped reduce the drag
coefficient from 0.395 on the Carrera 3.2 to the 964’s 0.32.

The Cup Wheels not only looked clean and pleasing to the eye
but the design made them relatively easy to maintain and thus keep
looking good. Additionally, they were a complement to the 993’s
exceptional body.

In some cases, the Cup Wheels were made of magnesium alloy.
However, for the rigors of the race track, which was a contact sport,
they were made out of a blend of aluminum, magnesium, and silicon.
Thus, Cup Wheels weighed a relatively light 16-18 lbs, they were strong,
and of course they looked great!

The Cup Wheel had a number of versions. The last version of the Cup 1
Wheels were equipped on the newly released 3.6-liter version of the turbo
in 1993. Some enthusiasts think that this is the most attractive Cup Wheel
of them all!

Porsche realized just how important an attractive set of wheels were to
the 911’s appearance. The Cup II Wheels came on the 993 in 1993. These
wheels were known for their slimmed down spokes which looked great and
also reduced the wheels’ weight by about five percent.

Next, came the Cup III Wheels which were introduced on the 1993 turbo
In 1995, these Cups were known as the ‘Turbo Twist.’ as their hub was
twisted in relation to the spokes. This gave the spokes a raised effect.
These Cups were novel and innovative as they used pressure-cast hollow
spokes (a process that was first used on the technologically advanced 959).
The casting process not only allowed the wheel’s spokes to be twisted but
such reduced the wheel’s weight by about four additional lbs.

Most all of the Cup Wheels are available as aftermarket pieces. However,
the real items are obviously worth the most money. So, how can you tell
the originals from the fakes?

The aftermarket Cups usually have lug nut bolt holes that virtually
‘touch’ the center cap. However, on the real deals, there is some space
between the lug holes and the cap. Another place to inspect involves the
area around the valve stem. On almost all of the real Cups, the wheel
width will be marked on one side of the valve and the offset will be
marked on the other side.

On the 964RS magnesium Cups, the word magnesium is marked on the
same surface as the valve stem markings (except at the opposite side of the
rim). An exception to this rule (there is always one, right!) is the 18 inch
Speedline Cups that had the numbers printed/etched on the wheel.

If these indicators are not present, the Cups are not original. If they are
not the real deal wheels, but they have the markings, someone has gone to
an awful lot of trouble indeed!

Kyle Busch is the author of “Drive the Best for the Price…” He
welcomes your comments or car questions at his auto web site:
www.DriveTheBestBook.com.