"16volt" (thecrashingdoor)
12/01/2014 at 11:38 • Filed to: Porsche, Porsche 911, Porsche Turbo, Ruf, 930
3
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"16volt" (thecrashingdoor)
12/01/2014 at 11:38 • Filed to: Porsche, Porsche 911, Porsche Turbo, Ruf, 930 | 3
| 1 |
I feel that I need to start with an apology. After re-reading allot of these posts owning a 930 seems a bit, boring. I promise you, it's anything but. Living with this car turns down the volume of the day to day grind. It will also begin to annoy the crap out of your friends. Just recently I was compared to a Jehovah's Witness, "Hello, my name is Shannon, do you have moment to talk about my Porsche 930?". I suppose I could probably talk about it a little less.
There are two distinct states which car people exist in, hunting and owning. Many hours are spent in front of Google image search, YouTube and forum trolling to find what we feel that we could love. The mind constantly turns over the driving scenarios, options and just what steering wheel you need to buy….before the car is even in the garage. You love what this guy did or OMG what was this person thinking. If I had to guess this is probably what women go through when the subject of weddings come up. I can't say that for sure though because when I hear the word wedding my brain goes fuzzy and I start thinking about wheels and intercoolers.
If/when you begin the owning phase all those eBay "Watched Items" transition to the "Bidding/Won Items" list. You'll "see what I did there" soon.
For our ilk wheels are often the cornerstone of ownership. This is the single most visible change one can make to really make a car "yours". Wheels in most cases are also one the biggest single financial commitments you will make to a car, they are a wedding dress you get to wear every day (last wedding reference, promise). Nothing else can take a zero car to hero car like a great set of wheels, conversely second to only paint color there is no quicker way to "ruin" a car. Wheel selection is hugely subjective, one needs only to spend some time on StanceWorks to see that there is a look for everyone. I am largely "stance agnostic" feeling that you should build what you like, you're the one who has to see it in the garage. Who am I to judge?
I started wheel shopping for this car about the same time I started looking for one to purchase. It really is a sickness. After much consternation I narrowed down the field to three top choices. I love the stock Turbo sized Fuchs, I am in no way to ashamed to say that in the case of the 930, stock wheels just work. As this is no secret, buying a set of used Fuchs is going to cost you. New old stock or trashed, it doesn't matter. When you see people selling Fuchs and listing the production date stamps you can be assured it's not going to be pleasant on the bank account. A company called Euromeister makes a great set reproductions for a great price so that's a viable option until you get to tires. Tall, wide performance tires in a 16" are tough to come by and there is no indication it's going to get any better. They also make the Fuch reps in a 17" which look nice as well. Though for me….the 16's would be where it's at.
Next up were Ruf's. Known as "Ruf Speedlines" if you buy a vintage set or "Ruf Classics" if you send a HUGE check to Ruf North America. I don't need to tell you these wheels work. You have seen the Ruf Yellowbird. Sizing wise the Yellowbird wore 17x8s and 17x9s, but you have to keep in mind that that car was a narrow body with custom rear flares (smaller than 930 flares). Ruf ended up producing a 17x10 for 930s/M491 cars. Enterprising people with Turbos ran 17x9s and 17x10s in most cases. There is allot conflicting info out there about fitment. Ruf produced some early offset wheels which are not bolt on affairs and there are also some Denloc sets out there as well. Finding a used set of non-early offset, non Denloc 17x9s and 17x10s in the factory finish is rare and priced accordingly.
The other option was 18" Turbo 3.6 Speedlines (think of the movie Bad Boys). True 3.6 Speedlines make Ruf's seem like a deal cost wise. RH makes a very nice repro though not much cheaper than Rufs. Along the same vein I considered Kinesis Supercups which are as hot as the sun. More than likely I would have play with backspacing/lips since the 930 is a funky fitment with a 28mm factory rear spacer. I actually found a fantastic "local" set off an E24. I was ready to pull the trigger on them then eBay struck.
A set of non-Denloc, late offset 9s and 10s Ruf Speedlines. In a moment of great weakness and immaturity I placed a bid for an amount just outside of my comfort zone and over twice what I have ever paid for a set of wheels. I bought my 77 Rabbit or my 88 Cabriolet for less money. Once I clicked "Confirm Bid" I set about wildly vacillating between hoping I won the auction and praying someone outbid me. This lasted FIVE DAYS. On the fifth day….hey, let's take a pause here to talk about relationships.
My girlfriend is wonderful. I can say honestly that I would not have bought this car if it were not for her. She embraces my car passion as it was her own. Shamefully I cannot say the same for her love of sewing and cooking but we bought a sailboat to have something that we can both feel like we are wasting money…err I mean enjoying together. With it being winter here in the PNW the boat has not much seen much use outside the occasional hotel room on the water while tied to the dock. That means the Porsche has maybe been taking up an unfair amount of my time. I am also in the process of changing careers/jobs so I am not home much. A "date night" was very much in order so as to not come home and find all my belongings in the yard.
Who wants to guess when the auction for the Rufs closed? Smack dab in the middle of date night. Dammit. It went a little like this.
I brought my tablet to dinner and before the GF showed up I put in yet another obscene bid higher than my last and got to the bid confirmation screen. I then queued up the auction on my phone to prepare for frantic refreshing (using an eBay sniping program is cheating imo, yeah, you're a cheater). Again, I cursed my timing.
18mins left Girlfriend arrives. I try to make small talk with my phone under the table on my knee.
15mins left I learn that the GFs sister is still pregnant. Bid count increases. I am still the high bidder. Open tablet under the table.
10mins left This waitress seriously has terrible timing. I no longer want these wheels, I need them. Yes, I will have another damn iced tea. The GF has had a long day, you're telling me sister, long day indeed.
6mins left Really, does it look like I am ready to order lady?! Jesus. Yes, I will have whatever. Come on people. Bid count increases, I am still the high bidder.
2mins left What? No I'm not distracted dear. I'm just texting….Jeff, yea Jeff. You know ol'Jeff, always interrupting date night. What an ass that Jeff guy is.
Auction Won I think I may have peed a little at this point. I then proceeded to have the most relaxing and best date night ever.
Till next time, thanks for tuning in. And if by chance you're reading this dear, don't look in the bathroom in the garage. There's a…..Christmas present for you in there, yeah for next year. Hate to ruin the surprise. And hey, let's take the boat out this weekend. I was just thinking about how I needed a little excitement in my life.
Funktheduck
> 16volt
12/01/2014 at 11:52 |
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So what you're saying is you're dating your sister?