As always, super helpful. So that little “ridge” missing detail is 3 or 4 x the cost, for a new wheel vs a 40 year old used one? Hmm. I’m guessing my used HREs have no value as well, lol.
My opinion, which is worth exactly how much you paid for it... Wheels are swapped as easily as movie stars change BFs/GFs. You can be stock one day and wild the next, it isn't a permanent or semi permanent change. I don't give a rats ass what the "consensus is' vs original looking, period looking wheels vs out of era wheels. They are easily changed. As soon as you go to 16", you are "out of era" on a '79 car. Even tire choices for 16" are becoming less and less choice and more $$. I paid $90 each for 17" after market wheels (with some Ferrari caps) that sort of look like they may go on a 360, and $100 each for V rated tires , for total of about $800 vs bunches of money for correc-tish looking wheels and expensive tires. And I can change them to original chromadoros in 30 minutes,m if I feel the need. Yeah, I have had the occasional a**hole come up at shows and demand to know what kind of wheels those are that aren't Ferrari wheels, but have Ferrari caps on them, and tell me it's not correct and those aren't Ferrari wheels, but i have no desire to be around someone like that, anyway. I went with 17" wheels because of tire choice and 17" tire price, more than anything. I never cared for the concave Chromadora look anyway. Too blah. Doug Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Completely agree, Alberto -- they never lose their value. I paid $3500 for a set of 5 back in ~1990 when carb 308s were only worth $25K~$30K.
Nice wheels Doug, what are they? They are similar to the forged SSR 17” wheels I got for spare track day wheels
I actually like the HREs I have on the car, but when you get up close to them it’s hard to tell if they were chromed or polished. They take a ton of effort to look all polished (looks good when I do) and also the little screws in the wheels are polished in the front and black in the back. Little things but I’m kinda over them. I do like that they have a real Ferrari star design look to them. You might know Doug that I have a triple black ‘69 Corvette roadster with original Rallys and redline tires (that most people prefer) but also a set of chrome Cragar SS that I just like because they are fun, so yeah, I’m also of a mind to swap wheels when I’m in the mood. In the case of my 308 though, I’d like an alternate something that looks stock, but not a 14 or 15 inch. While those are on I can see what the custom wheels might need to up their game a bit, whether I can make the screws match and/ or get the polish right. I think in my case, as a second set of wheels that are obviously not stock in 16”, the repros are a better choice for me than 40 year old pricey originals. Here’s the current wheels, plus the aforementioned Corvettes multiple personalities... Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
I had a similar dilemma as the OP when I was thinking of changing wheels on my 308. I really liked my HAYASHI 16” palace wheels but it was a chore to keep them shiny. In the end I could not find anything that looked “right” so I sent my wheels to HRE to have them refurbished. They not only refurbished the wheels but sealed the newly polished chrome with a light clear coat. This is what they do on their modern wheels. Now all I have to do is rinse them with soap and water and wipe with a soft cloth and I am done. The brake dust comes right off and they shine every time. Worth the $200 per wheel when you look at the result. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Great post Tustin. Your wheels look near identical to mine, with a different center cap. Might be a better ID than just HRE, lol. Not sure why the screws on my rears are black, though.
As I research this a bit (there’s a thread here about these wheels) it seems they are the same wheels. Interesting that my description of problems in keeping shiny caused you to ID them!
Yes, I did see that thread. The HRE 505s are nearly identical to the Hayashi Palace wheels however they come with the same issues of keeping them at their best, “clean.” I was just making a suggestion if you wanted less maintenance on your HRE 505s. That is strange that your rear hardware is colored black and not chrome. You could have the wheel hardware changed out when refurbishing the wheels. That was an option when I had my wheels refurbished.
I don't know how you guys put up with all those little bolt heads to clean around -- after having some 3-piece BBS wheels (with the same type of thing) I've sworn them off FOREVER!
OK, I’ve picked up a ton of info here, as usual. -clarified the correct design of 328 v 308 after being misled by the eBay ad; ruled out 328s -determined my current wheels, ID either HRE 505 or Hayashi Palace, have a consistent polish issue as well as a need to replace the rear hardware that I don’t want to keep clean. Also found out that there was a real option in having them resurfaced and sealed, but decided I’m not into them enough any more to have them done. -found out that the likely best choice is a set of original 16” wheels, but at the prices quoted here, it doesn’t seem worth it when those wheels are still obviously not stock at 16”. -and found that the 16” repros are likely the right choice, and they appear to be decent wheels and are the same ones sold by everyone. And, while the shipping from the UK at Superperformance is high, the total price is far better than the eBay wheels I’d seen for sale. So: - what have I missed? - where is the location of the “cast in” marking vs the cheapie decal that was discussed? Does the decal just fall off or something? Do owners remove it? - anyone have an actual picture of the 16” repros on a 308, preferably a red one? Will order wheels sooner rather than later, unless I wait until after the Christmas mailing season.
.. or the forged wheels in 17” or 18”. These are Mark’s 18” which I find a bit to big but 17” is also available and they would only be a little more expensive than the cast 16”
Yeah, that’s an option, but I’m looking for 16s in a close to stock configuration at this point. Thanks, though!
The PO of my car installed Compomotive TS wheels which are a pain to keep clean with all the little bolts. I found that blowing the brake dust off with compressed air after each ride goes a long way towards keeping them clean.
OK, while I’m still waiting for responses to the above questions, let me add.. what about bolts? Seems the SP bolts are more expensive than those in US? Caps come with wheel sets of course? Should I order aluminum stems?
Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login I can answer a few of those, the stickers don’t come applied to the wheels (they didn’t with mine) so you can chose whether or not to put them on I bought new valve stems at the same time - new wheels - new valves Here is my red 308 with superformance repro’s sorry not the best to show the wheels , I can take more if you would like 1 was in the paint shop just after respray, the other two were prior to the repaint I’ve been very happy with the superformance wheels and shipping to Australia wasn’t too bad from the UK. I’m always on the look out for originals , and will grab some if and when they come up at the right price Sent from my iPhone using FerrariChat
Thanks very much, the last picture is a good one. Did you order the chrome wheel bolts for SP as well?
Fixed the brake dust cleaning issue by changing to EBC redstuff pads. Helps with the marginal e-brake also. Used them on my Alfas for years with good results.
Mine: Image Unavailable, Please Login Detail picture: Image Unavailable, Please Login Any questions, holler.
