Replace Wide Fives With Fuchs Question

What is it going to take to replace wide 5s on a regular body Vintage with replica Fuchs? The current painted wheels appear to be about 6" wide and are 15s with 185 X 65 tires with very little tire to fender clearance at the moment. I know I will need adapters, but will the 5.5" replica Fuchs still clear with these tires or will I need to drop back to the 4.5 Fuchs or get less wide tires??? What is the correct combination?
Anybody have some nice replica Fuchs?
Troy

Troy, you need to talk to Gordon. He's got 'em, and they're killer on a flared body.

Troy, I have 4 real 15x6 Fuchs. Call me!

sweet shot cory!

Cory. This car is a regular body car that I just picked up yesterday, not a widebody.

I just took off a wheel and they are actually 7" not 6" as I thought.
Troy

CORRECTION! I just learned that the wheel measurements are from the inner bead, not the outer edge of the rim, so these are 6" wheels.

I still need to know if I can just bolt this wheel on with a 5 lug to Porsche adapter. http://www.vwparts.net/MB9680.html or is something going to rub on the inside or will the tire rub the fender on the outside?

Hey Troy,

Happy New Year...... I changed my 4 lugs steel wheels to the 5 lugs Fuchs replica. However, I got them from CIP1 and made by Flat 4, because they have a bit more backspace than the other brand that they have, and they fit perfectly at the back. The space between the tire to the wheel is the same as the steel wheel at the back. The front, we fitted the 4 lugs to 5 lugs adapters. It widened the front about 3-4 inches, reducing the understeer. I like it. The Flat 4 wheels might be bit more expensive but I really don't have any other choice.

Good luck

Eddy

Bolt on adapter will take up space - why not sell the popular wide 5 wheels and brake drums (discs) and replace with properly drilled replacements?

Short answer: it's way easier to get from 4 lug VW to 5 lug Porsche than to adapt either to or from wide 5. Wide 5 is it's own animal.

Troy,
Why change from wide five. I have always noticed that the wide five pattern was considered a big plus with the standard body cars. Lots of cool wheels available like the ones Kevin Zager has in the classifieds as well as the basic stock 10 slot wheels.

Troy, I agree with Tom...wide fives are da bomb.

I'm glad that a lot of people think they are the bomb, because I will probably be selling them soon. I guess I just don't get what it is that's makes them nicer than any other steel wheel.

When it comes to Porsche wheels, I have never seen a wheel that I liked better than a Fuch. I've seen some that I like, but not more than a Fuch.

Supposedly, wide 5's were a "stiffer" wheel, especially when the originals were 3.5" - 5" wide. You didn't have a lot of tire on the ground, and the wider hub interface made the wheels stiffer.

This has nothing to do with aesthetics between the utiliterion-looking wide 5's and a Fuchs wheel, just one of the reasons they were used in the first place. Oh.....and they were originally from Volkswagens and THEY had wide 5's.

The easiest way I've seen to replace one for the other is ditch the idea of wheel adapters and simply replace the hubs and/or drums and then bolt up whatever fits.

gn

Troy, I should have read more closely. I guess I assumed it was a widebody.

Why five bolts? Vanity, mostly. The key ingredient in a replica that passes the casual eyeball test is whether it's four- or five-bolt, and whether the chromies have eight or ten slots. Mickey was a great example of a guy who wanted badly for his car to look the part, and he did a fantastic job -- at GREAT personal toil and trouble -- getting it exactly "right."

As El Guapo says, that's why there are 31 flavors.

Personally, I think Wide Fives look better because almost all of them have a five-spoke pattern of some kind -- which has always taken me back to Hot Wheels cars.

Point of fact; my car's overall appearance was initially driven by my desire to put the CenterLines I had bought onto my car. Everything else came later. Had I known Fuchs would have worked on it, I'd have bought a set.

Pictures below: Mickey's Dink, left, and mine before the conversion. The third one is just a random shot for comparison.

You're exactly right Gordon. You just replace the hubs with the AC Industries Porsche pattern drilled hubs on the rear and you do the same on the front or you go with the AC Industries disk brake replacement kit. Then you use the Empi Fuchs replicas, which have almost the same dimensions as the wide 5s and it's all just bolt on. At least that is what Andy Shouse the owner of SoCal Imports said, but he did tell me to give him a few measurements just to be sure.
I'll do a follow-up post after I put it all together.

Troy,
Is this a car you are going to keep? Seems like a lot of effort and $$$s for a car you are going to turn over right away, and where the future owner may even prefer the wide five look.

No, I am not going to keep this car. What I am doing is mostly having fun doing something I enjoy doing and making a little bit of money while I am at it. If I wasn't doing this in my spare time, I would probably be watching TV or on this computer.

So, I really don't mind putting money into a car to make it what I feel is nicer and will make it sell quicker, as long as I can make a reasonable return on my investment.

I have a vision of what I want this car to look like and I think it will look good with wide 5s, but I think it will look stunning with Fuchs.

I guess I need to get some pictures posted of it don't I.

Troy,
Go with your gut. I've never seen a speedster with fuchs look any less than great. Enjoyed reading about your tour at Socal.

I am not a big fan of the third brake light. Maybe its the PVC. Just loose the hubcaps.

Marty. You just can't be too safe in these cars. I would suggest that you ask Henry to fab up a 3rd tail light for your new IM. Maybe paint the PVC to match the car.

That's noy a third brake light anyway, right Troy? It's your homebuilt tow lights.

IM cars have a third brake light built into and under the engine cover grill. Hard to see unless it's lit.

troy - i actually disagree with Marty. i am a huge fan of the third brake light setup. practical and economical

serioulsy - i've been thinking about this for a few days and have decided to throw my $.02 in.

it's already wide 5. most folks try to convert to wide 5 to achieve the vintage period correct look.

with that GT mirror, louvered decklid, racing stripe and silver base - that would make a wicked outlaw. Outlaws don't have Fuch's - they have wide 5's.

if it were me, i'd pull the hub caps (& sell em), install adjustable spring plate (probably offset the $ gained by hubcaps by ~50%).

lower the front more (may require drop spindles if they are not
already installed.

that car would be sweet. Net outlay: probably less than $300 and a weekend.

FWIW - I agree with mangodude. The current outlaw look would be accentuated by losing the hubcaps, adding drum skins and dropping that thing a couple more inches. that would be BAD-A$$!

I like the painted wheel & hubcap set-up for it's 'old school' look on a more traditional looking Speedster.

I'm sure that no matter what you decide, and based on your track record, it will be a very cool car for the next owner!

Peace - Out!

I hope you guys know that Marty and I are just jerking each other around!
Of course those are my tow lights not third brake lights!

Damn you guys! I had my heart set on Fuchs and now you are making me rethink that. These wide 5s are chromed under the paint. If I decide to keep them should I strip the paint?

Keep the paint and add drum skinz.

I love Fuchs but you're just a little shy of the ultimate outlaw - Scott Sloan's beauty.
Loose the caps, pull off those rediculous T-bar nerfs, install a couple Hellas and you're there!

Good looking car, Troy!

Beehives, wide-fives, stripes. I know I'm a lowly TD owner but . . . IF I was in the market for a Speedster, that car as it sits would rev my engine.

I think Fuchs look better on a 911. Or an old Beetle convertible. Just me though, and I ain't in a position to buy it, so take that into consideration.

Gotta vote with the wide 5 guys. Those Chinese Fuchs are super nice, but to a clown like me they would not return a dime over clean Wide 5s. If you "needed" new wheels they'd be in the running, but run what you brung if they are straight and the right color, or cheap enough to match up to the car.

WOW! You guys are really ganging up on me!!! OK OK.

It does have adjustable spring plates and the typical one adjuster on the upper beam, but I doubt that will lower it enough in the front.

This is a 1968 pan and it currently has drums on the front. I would like to go to disks on the front, but I'm not so sure I can get a wide 5 drop spindles disk kit. Everywhere I have looked disk brake kits say "not for drop spindles." Any ideas about that?

Would installing a 4 lug disk brake kit and then using a 5 lug adapter work? http://www.socalautoparts.com/product_info.php/disc-brake-kit-bugghia-with-droped-spindles-lug-pattern-4x130-p-15424

I have a good 2 inches of tire to fender clearence now, but would I have clearence issues on the inside??

Or, should I just stay with the drums and get drop spindles for drums?

And, where can I find drum skinz?

since you asked Troy :)

keep em painted.

CB performance has the cheapest (price) drum skins. they are the same as others (don't know who their source is). if you just need two rear - you can order them from fibresteel (i think that is the name). i banged up one of mine and had to order just one. it's quite a bit more than 1/4 the cost of a set. i believe it was closer to 1/2, so if you need two, you might as well get a set and use the other for your spare tire (like i did).

ball joint drop spindles for drums. make sure to get the ones that don't add offset.

if you need to pull the beam - i'll lop off an inch or two to make it drivable with that new 2.5" of drop. or since you'll be placing an order with CB - grab a 2" narrowed one

BTW - Jim is right. your other rides are tight, but this one is so close to wicked style, i/we had to chime in.

BTW - you can get wide5 drop spindles with discs. i have em. they are $$$ though. CB and EMPI make em.

Troy-

No adapters. Dont' do it. Nine adapter.

Adapters scream, "I'm lazy, and this car was done on the cheap". You aren't lazy, and I've never seen anything you've done that's been less than top-shelf.

You want disc brakes. If you call CB and tell 'em what you have, and what you want, Daniel should be able to hook you up.

OK, final answer! Like Terry N said, lose the T-bar nerfs and install Hella's then add a matching mirror on the passenger side, then finish off with a couple of appropriately positioned Pegasus stickers on the sides. That would scream old-school Outlaw!

Go totally rogue with some blue-dot lenses installed on your beehives (the ones used for brake lights, not running lights). On 2nd thought, those 'blue-dot' lens inserts might be illegal. Very cool though!

Troy.....Dude!

Wide five disk brakes are here:

http://www.cbperformance.com/catalog.asp?ProductID=1437

I know, because my donor had a pair of the spindles w/o the rest of the kit.

Anybody need some drop spindles for a CB Performance 4194 kit??

Real good price!

gn

AC Industries, Neal, and CSP all have wide-5 discs(as well as CB). Most will fit on ball joint/drum spindles. CSPs add less than 1/2" per side.

Russ at Fibersteel has as much class as the Hines of Beck and Henry of IM. And that's saying something! GOOD businessman! I ended up trimming off the "drum" part of the skins in the front, just the fake black grease cap and flat portion are left. Had to do it for caliper clearance on my CSPs. Your mileage may vary on that one.

My wide-5s are powdercoated over the chrome. Didn't know that until I had new tires put on.

Car looks great! Sell the nipples, I only like the flesh ones!! Wide5s are very light, especially if you get the original Porsche ones, which are 16s BTW, as they are half alloy, either the rim or the center, can't remember which part.

Can't you just weld on another adjuster and leave it at that?