I see a lot of references to Hollow Spoke OEM wheels. Therefore, I'm assuming there are some solid spoke wheels as well? Is that true? And if so, are those aftermarket replicas, or are those OEM ones from different years? If OEM, which years had Solid and which years had Hollow? I'm assuming Hollow are lighter and more desireable. What are the weight differences?

I'm buying a '04 996TT with OEM wheels that have been painted black. I prefer silver wheels, so I'd like to trade someone else for theirs, but I want to make sure I'd get equivalent wheels - only the color being different.

Thanks,
Mark

 

IIRC 2001 TT's are solid. and GT2's in 12" rears (so wider), are solid.

 

If I remember right, all of the NB 996 came with solid wheels and the TT's/GT2's came with hollow

 

They can also be "replicas"....usually described as "turbo style" wheels. Spokes are solid so heavier. Also the offsets can be different...may require spacers or just not fit.

 

Ok, so there's already some conflicting replies Is there anyway to tell from the wheels - are there different part numbers and do we know which is which?

 

Again, if I recall, hollows have a 'rib' down the back center which the solids do not have. But it might be the other way around.

 

No, hollows look like they are hollow on the inside and have a smooth surface on the back of the wheel. Solids have the ribbed effect on the back of the spokes.

 

Searching the for sale posts for photos turns up the following pics. I'm not sure if there's anything distinctive in these telling one way or the other?...

This one claimed to be hollow spoke from an '02 996TT:


Here was from a different post, but hard to see detail:

 

Mine are oem, they have the width left of the valve stem and offset right; raised on the front of the wheel.

 

Other info I found while searching:

 

Also found this:

 

Thanks!

 

ya. the ribbed ones are solid spoke. smooth is hollow spoke. unless they're reps...in which case they're probably all just heavy solid spokes.

 

Bit more info to contribute. I was just swapping wheels and decided to weigh the stockers.
Rear hollow spoke w/ Sumitomo HTR ZIII's in 295 = ~58lbs
Front hollow spoke w/ Sumis in 225 = ~48lbs.

18" champion RG5 monos w/ Michellin Pilot Sports came in at 48lbs rear and 41 front.
I just shaved 35 lbs of unsprung weight in 20 minutes.

 

great info in this thread!

+1 rep to alan.

Mark, do you have any pics of your black wheels? I have two sets of silver one here (one of which I was planning on painting black to see how they look ont he car). I might be interested on trading if I could see what yours look like.