1985 Hayashi Racing "Palace" wheels — a couple questions

Hello there, friends! New-ish member... thanks for the welcome!

'85 Euro-spec GTS QV here... and I'm hoping someone here can help me with a question about the wheels.

My car has a set of Hayashi Racing wheels (dated 1985), the "Palace" model, I believe. 288 GTO-look... true 3-piece... they look fantastic. I'm also told they're tremendously rare and extremely valuable.

Just wondered if someone could tell me more about these wheels, their rarity, their value, etc. as there is precious little about them on the web, save this short blurb: https://kyushashoes.com/product/hayashi-racing-palace/

As of this moment, I have no intention of changing them for something else, but would love to know more. Help?

 

Yes, those are the HRE 505 wheels and are really getting hard to come by weather it’s 16” or 17”. Those were very famous back in the 80’s. I would keep them if you plan to keep the car or you can sell them for good $. What size are those?

 

These are 15" versions, date stamped 1985. Definitely planning to keep them on the car.... they look FANTASTIC.

 

They're worth whatever someone else is willing to pay for them. That said, most would prefer 16" or 17" aftermarket wheels so, they may be rare but "extremely valuable" may be a bit of an overstatement.

If you're happy with them and you think they look FANTASTIC then why do you care what they're worth if you're never going to sell them?

 

Hmm... I've struggled with your response a bit.

Meaning no disrespect at all, and with absolute appreciation for you taking the time to write at all—I'd nevertheless posit that I shouldn't need to explain to anyone here how stories and history (and yes, that includes value) are the very foundation of our interest in vintage cars. Where there are interesting stories about cars and components, there is often more enjoyment. And knowing the answers enables me to speak accurately about the nuances of my car.

That's the very reason I personally attend car shows: to see amazing vehicles AND hear about the owners' passion for whatever fires them up about their cars. Learning all the interesting details and stories about why they're excited about it gets me stoked for them, too, and it increases my knowledge of the car world.

To put it another way... If you owned, say, something that looked like an authentic set of vintage coffin spoke wheels but weren't totally sure what you had, wouldn't you be curious to find out their real history, their value, their level of appreciation (or lack thereof) amongst car nerds, their importance (or lack thereof) in wheel development... even if you had no plans to sell them?

So to answer your question:

• History.
• Curiosity.
• Storytelling.
• Sharing.
• Not having to answer "I don't know" when someone asks "What are they?" at car shows.
• Understanding their importance, appreciation, or lack thereof in the history of wheel development.

With gratitude and kindness...

-Bryan

 

Greetings: Those wheels are not original to the car and [in my humble opinion] do not compliment the 308's design. you could try to get the period correct wheels and store of sell the HRE wheels. Beautiful car

 

Thanks for the response! I believe cast alloy 16" Campys were the original, correct?

 

I know they were 16' wheels, but not sure about the model / fabricator.

 

I have a set of HRE 16" on my 85 QV. I also have a set of the originals 16". The HREs wheels are nice but IMO they are not that rare & expensive. Just picked these up earlier this year for less than 3K comparing to the originals that have asking price from $4000 to 8000 some where on Fchat and Ebay. The nice set of originals are more rare and tough to come by now day.
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Thing is, tho... Mine are not HRE.

HRE themselves confirmed this a couple days ago. Mine are original Hayashi Racing wheels from "85.

Hence the post.

 

HRE = Hayashi Racing Equipment

 

Nope. HRE was born from Hayashi Racing, but they are two different, very distinct entities.

HRE themselves looked at my wheels two days ago and said they're Hayashi Racing wheels, not HRE,and that I should talk to them.

http://hrewheels.com
http://www.hayashiracing.com/

 

So if HRE is Not Hayashi Racing Equipment, then what does it stand for?

 

The term "HRE" may well have once been car-people shorthand for Hayashi Racing Equipment, in reference to the Japanese company's products, and may have been taken on to imply association when designer Gene Howald left Hayashi to form San Diego-based HRE. Maybe not. Seems like today it doesn't stand for anything. At least not that HRE themselves are talking about.

I just meant they're two different companies, and as companies, HRE ≠ Hayashi Racing.

 

Also... Early models of the Hayashi 505 were identical to the Hayashi Palace except for center covers which showed the HRE logo rather than the word "Palace", or "Hayashi Racing" that was seen on wheels branded by the Japanese company.

The 505 would later be produced uniquely by HRE, and had neither Hayashi or JWL/VIA markings.

 

Factory originals get my vote but the world would be a very boring place if we all thought alike. Your car looks terrific!

 

Started a recent thread on buying repro wheels as my HRE wheels are difficult to keep nice. That description caused someone to ID these wheels which are apparently the wheels featured in this thread! Interesting information, the wheels are quite nice when at their best. A poster said he sent his Palace wheels to HRE who polished and clear coated them and now they are very nice to live with.
View attachment 4029856

 

https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/stock-ish-wheel-options-input.612336/page-2#post-146908493

 

I like the originals and the Hayashi. I sent mine to HRE years ago to have them refreshed. And old pic.
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Hmm... your wheels do not appear to be Hayashi Racing. If you've read this whole thread, you may remember...

I've learned from the founder of HRE himself that Hayashi Racing Equipment is not the same company as HRE (which stands for Howald Racing Enterprises, after its founder).

I do not know my old HRE wheels very well, but one thing I'm certain of is that the centers seem to be incorrect on yours for Hayashi Racing Palace. Have you checked the stamps on the interior barrels?

I'd be grateful to learn more about yours, as Hayashis are a bit of an enigma these days.

Not quite following. Are your wheels Hayashi Racing, or HRE? (See bold above)

 

Nope. HRE = Howald Racing Enterprises.

 

HRE = Howald Racing Enterprises.

 

The centers on mine are clearly changed, with the Ferrari center emblems added. I don’t know if they are HRE 505s or Hayashi, but they are one or the other.

When my new wheels get in, I will swap them out this winter along with the other work being done to the car, so I will be able to eyeball the entire wheels and report back on castings. I’ll be preparing to sell them at that time. I will report back in this thread on the result.

Thanks for your input.

 

Excellent! Curious to see any castings on the insides. What diameters and widths are yours?

 

I found this online. I live not far from HRE and been to their open house a couple of times.

https://kyushashoes.com/product/hayashi-racing-palace/

A now timeless 5-spoke with a design that was echoed by Ferrari on the F40’s wheels. This wheel was originally sold by Hayashi Racing as the Palace, but would later be utilized by HRE as the 505 when designer Gene Howald left Hayashi to form HRE. Early models of the 505 were identical to the Palace except for centre covers which showed the HRE rather than the word Palace, or Hayashi Racing that was seen on wheels branded by the Japanese company.

The 505 would later be produced uniquely by HRE, in which case it did not have either Hayashi or JWL/VIA markings. Even today a version of the wheel is still in production, albeit in some very large modern sizes.

Today, all versions of the wheel command extremely high prices, and are popular wheels over the globe, being fit to cars off all ages and origins.