HRE 505s in 17" dia.

Well, I might have screwed up?
I recently aquired 4 HRE 505s in 17" diameter. I wanted to install them on my 328. The problem is the clearance of the rear wheels. They're too deep on the inside. I would need a large spacer to get them on and that would push them too far to the outside.

Does anyone know where I might get a smaller rear barrel, or if the barrels can be narrowed by cutting and rewelding them. I really like the look of the wheel and need some help in getting them to fit.
Thanks,
Will

Sorry for the blurry pic.
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Ruffis, Do you know the offset of the rear wheel and what you suppose to have?

 

Those are sooo sweeet! When you figure it please post a few pics!

 

Thanks.
I have 16" HRE 505s on my 308..but I wanted a deeper wheel and more choices in tires.
I really would like to figure out how to get these to fit.

 

Mike,
The wheels were set up for a BMW E34 believe it or not. The rears were welded and re-drilled to a 5 x 120mm BP. An extra set of centers drilled in the proper 5 x 108mm were included in the deal.

To use the rear wheels I'll have to do 2 things.

I need to change the centers to the 5 x 108mm (not a big problem) and get narrower rear barrels ( the real challenge). I don't think HRE has them anymore, so my options are limited. I was thinking I could have the inner barrels cut and rewelded by a wheel shop?

I have never seen HRE 505s in 17" before these and I would so like to get them on the car. I think it would be unique.

I have a set of 16", 505s on my 308. HRE doesn't have anything stamped on the back, so I don't know what the offsets are.

 

What width are your current barrels? I have a set of 6" HRE from the 525 series but judging by your pic, think the 505's have fewer bolt holes for assembly of the rims......

Brock

 

I think your best bet is to contact HRE. I think they are in San Diego area.

I've got a staggered set of the 16" 505s. I think the 17's would look great. The width of the rears (and maybe the fronts) is your first issue. I think the widest you can go without modifications are 8" in front and 9-9.5 in the rear (10's might work, not sure). The inner and outer barrels will affect the offset. I think the best thing would be to see if inner and outer are available, then see what width you want to go with and then determine your offset.

Good luck.

BTW, if you need # for HRE I might be able to dig it up, I had them paint the centers and refurbish (polish & reseal) my rims years ago.

Henry

 

The widths of the 17" are as follows.
Fronts are 8", rears are 10 1/2"". I haven't pulled them apart to confirm that yet. The PO did sell me the set without the tires. I need to get them dismounted and returned to him. I'll have a better idea of what the actual measurements are then.

I've been in contact with Vince at HRE and they do have a limited stock of 16" barrels in the 20 hole configuration I need " on a pallet somewhere". I think he said they would cost about $ 250.00 for either the inner or outter barrel. I have a set of them on my 308 in 16"..staggared 7" front, 8" rear. Initially, I contacted him regarding getting 1" wider outer barrels for the 16" wheels as they were a surprise gift from my wife and children many years ago ('93??) and they relied on the wheel shop to spec them. I would/could have ordered them 1" wider at that time, had I known about it.

From my last email with him, he told me that I couldn't use 17" barrels on the 505 centers??? Go figure?
He also indicated that I should send them ( the 16" set) to him for refurbishment as the bolts, being 20 years old, could pose a problem??? When I asked about their lifetime warranty, he said that " whatever warranty I had , had long expired"?

If I can get 2 inner, 20 hole, 17" barrels about 1 1/2" narrower, I'd be in good shape. That would make the rears about 9" with the clearance I need at the coils.


The worst case, I can use them on my BMW M5 as that's what they're made to fit but I really want to get them on my 328 if it's possible.

 

Thanks for the offer, but mine are the 20 hole variety.

 

Thanks Henry...see post above.
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Regarding the disassembly of these wheels. Does anyone have experience with the process? It doesn't look to difficult now that the tires are off.
Thanks,
Will

 

It is pretty simple....unbolt all of the fasteners, pop out the center hub then use a box cutter to cut deeply through the silicon sealant around the entire wheel at the joint. The outer lip and inner barrel should then separate easily.

Brock

 

Thanks Brock..Kinda what I thought. Do you know if I could have the rear barrels cut and rewelded?

 

No reason to cut and re-weld. Just call HRE and buy new rear barrels in the needed size.

 

Thanks for the response Doug...I've contacted them and they indicated the 20 bolt style is NLA...except for some old parts on a pallet somewhere. I'm waiting for Vince (HRE) to get back to me with what he has in inventory. Keeping my fingers crossed.

 

Also check with these guys for custom halves http://www.kodiakracingwheels.com/ordering.html

You may also want to go to pelicanparts.com , a Porsche website. There are always guys selling rim halves from BBS, Speedline, Kinesis etc.... I think as long as it is a 20 bolt wheel, they should be the same.

 

Doug,
You are the man! Thanks for the link.
That's exactly what I was looking for!
I love this board!

 

Ok,
HRE does still have the 16/17 combo barrels in 17" . 20 bolt pattern. I'm ordering a set of 5.5" rear inner barrels to give me a total of approx. 9" rear wheels.
I also orderd an additional set of 5.5" for the fronts to give me a little more clearance there, too.
I'm looking forward to getting them and mounting them up as soon as I can.
here are some pics of the disassembled wheels.
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Vincent from HRE has been very helpful in getting the necessary barrels to correct the rear offset so I can fit the wheels to my 328. In addition to the barrels he sent, at no charge, a full set of wheel bolts...quite unexpected.
Here are some pics of the rear wheel with the new barrels installed. There's quite a bit of clearance between the spring and the rim now.
I still need to bore out the center for the 328 hub. The 505 centers have a bore diameter of 64.5 mm and the hub on the 328 is 67.5mm, so I'm taking them to my buddy's machine shop to have them rebored to 68 mm to ensure a proper fitment.
Now I'll need to figure out which 17" tire will fit. Does anyone have any experience with this?
Thanks,
Will
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So, what kind of widths are you going to have with your new barrels?

 

I'm working with 8" in front and 9" in rear. As I stated earlier, I need to get the hub bored out to check the actual clearances. The 505 centers are at the machine shop now.
I'm still trying to figure out which size 17" tires I need to get.
The cool thing is that the barrels are still available. HRE still has them in a number of widths, so if things don't work out with what I have, there are more options.

 

255/40/17 rears and 225/45/17 front would probably be the best choice. The are .4" smaller overall diameter but probably the closest to the original you will get in 17" There are also lots of tires to choose in that configuration.

 

Thanks Doug,
That's one of the reasons this whole thing started. I was looking for a set of 16" tires to replace the old Goodyear gatorbacks on my 308 and found that there weren't a whole lot of options in a staggared 16" fitment.
I was considering another wheel design in 17", but couldn't get close to any of the available designs. I was surprised to find the 505s in 17".
Thanks again for all of your help. I should be getting these mounted up before Christmas if all goes well.

 

+1

Actually, I think these sizes are near identical to the overall dia of stock. Stock is 25" dia.

 

Ok, First ..Thanks to all of you for the information you shared.
This is why I love this board so much, everyone is so willing to help each other out.

I went with the recommendations for the tire sizes 225/45/17 front and 255/40/17 rear.
The wheels ended up as 8" front and 9" rear. I could have gone 10" in the rear if I had opted to buy deeper front barrels from HRE.

I decided to use Dunlop Direzza DZ101, after hearing the instructors at the BMW M School talking about them while I was there.
I also have to give kudos to Vincent at HRE for coaching me through the re-assembly process.

Here are some pics of the final product.
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