Wheel Question

I am in the process of converting my Spyder to wide 5 wheels. I have access to Porsche wide 5's in 4-1/2 and 5-1/2 inch widths.
My question is, with (long axles and) '67 brake drums on the back, can I use the 5-1/2" wheels as is. I intend on running 185/65/15's (yeah, I know they're narrow, I'm a retro-grouch).
Thanks for your time.
Cheers!

I had a Beck that I converted from a 4 bolt to a wide 5 and I used 4 1/2 x 15's on the front and 5 1/2 x 15's on the rear.

Beck cars come equipped with long axles so the centers on the rear wheels had to be cut and moved about an inch. I used Mangels chrome wheels. Sorry but I don't know their standard offset.

Greg at Vintage Spyders rounded up all of the parts and had the rears cut and re-welded as part of the package deal.

I ran 185/65 x 15 on the front and 205/60 x 15 on the rear

Larry: Thanks for the quick response. I'm confused about what you have said about cutting the centers and moving them. Could you please elaborate? Thanks for your time.
Cheers!

Mine were offset 1" from stock. It's tight on the disks I have in back and the shocks on my Beck but no major issues.

Steel Wheels are a two piece unit. The rim is one piece and the center section is the other (the center section contains the piece that has the lug nut holes). The machine shop either grinds down the welds holding the center section to the rim or plasma cuts them loose.

They then move the center of the wheel closer to the outside of the rim and thus change the offset to allow for the wide axles. By doing this procedure, the tire rides inside the wheel well rather than outside.

Have you ever seen a lowrider car with wheels that stick out of the wheel wells? If so, the centers of those wheels are moved towards the inside of the rim. (backward from what you want)

Obviously, this procedure needs to be accomplished by a machine shop that specializes in this activity to ensure that the center is welded straight. Otherwise, your wheel will wobble.

Wheel offses is measured as follows. Remove the wheel and lay it on the ground with the the inside of the wheel in the up position.

Place a straight edge across the diameter of the rim's edge. Using another ruler or tape, measure from the prolongation of the straight edge,,, straight down to the inside "flat" of the wheel center. (In other words, the area that lays flat against the drum or hub.)

Larry: Thank you for the clarification. If I use 4-1/2 inch wide rear wheels, will these need to be modified also?

No, they should work OK. I had a 4 1/2 as a spare and it fit OK

Larry: Thanks for your input. I should be able to post some pictures of the change over in the next week. Cheers!

Alex Bivens makes 15" diameter 356/550RS wide-five aluminum replica wheels that weigh 10 to 11 lbs. depending on rim width. Available widths are 5.5", 6", 7", and (I think) 8". Centers are CNC machined from billets then placed in a centering jig and TIG welded to aluminum rims. Any reasonable offset is avaialbe; all orders are custom one-off, must be prepaid, and need about 3 to 4 weeks lead time.

George: Thanks for the info. One question. Is anybody out there running 5-1/2" rims on the front of their Spyders? Is there adequate clearance? Most folks seem to mention running a 4-1/2" front/5-1/2" rear combo.

Larry,

Read this thread. I have the offset problem with my 356. I have 4 new rims - 4lug, 15x5 1\2. The fronts are Ok. The rear driver rubs. The old rears have an offset.

Saw your comments on 4 1/2 on the rear. Would this solve my problem in I went to 4 1/2 on the rear?