Custom front hubs
 

I have a set of Kerscher 3pc wheels I want to put on my 82SC but the front offset is way off since I need to run spacers. The clearance in the wheel well is fine have over 2inches but the outside lip pokes about 1in beyond the fender. I was looking at the hub (mounting surface and was wondering if it;s possible to get thinner hubs to reduce the poke.

Rotsa Ruck on that; can't you find different shells to make your wheels fit proper?

I could purchase different lips for the wheels. Has anyone ever done that with 3pc wheels. Currently the wheels have 3in lips , if I purchased 1.5in or even 2in they would fit perfect. Is there any downside of putting smaller lips on. Wheel balance, etc, etc.

I would not trim the hubs. You need new shells. Lots of us have done it and some here actually make wheels for part of their living. It's not so hard as long as you have 17" or bigger wheels. Finding shells for 16" wheels is a real pain and having them made is even more of a pain! Add some more negative camber in the front. Shells, used, run around $100 each. New ones are more depending on lip width and bolt pattern. I hope your pattern matches something common like BBS or you will have to have them custom made.

Contact Jeff Alton. He made my custom shells. Took a long time, but they are really nice.

You might be better off buying a new set of wheels, though...

-Michael

When you say shells do you mean the outer lip? I know a few places that offer smaller replacement lips that will bolt right up.

Yes; shells = lips. you'll need to replace or swap inners and outers to maintain wheel width, and make them fit without spacers

Ok that's good to know. When you say replace inners and outers to maintain wheel width. Can't I just replace the outer shells? if I go from a 3in lip outer shell to a 1.5 I've reduced the wheel width by 1.5inches.

http://gallery.9xx-parts.com/images/9P-911oh.jpg

I bought my custom hubs from this company:
9xx-parts

I have had them for 1 year now. About 5 000 miles and 10 trackdays. Has worked great this far.

Interesting. Can they do different lug bolt configurations? My problem would be solved if I could do 5X120 bolt pattern. How much did you pay if you don't mind me asking.

I know that they do all kind of bolt patterns. For the pricing is better to ask the company info@9xx-parts.com


If I recall right i paid about 300€ per hub

Here is a picture of what I'm up against, the wheels are 17X9.5 they have a 3in outer shell. IF I purchased 1.5in outer shell I'd be all set. The wheel in this pic is resting up against the studs, once I get proper mounting adapters the wheels will sit .5inches in from what you see in the pic.



http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1315943687.jpg

I think the offset is a little weird. Is there any material you can take off the inside surface of the wheel? In any event, you will need new shells because 9.5 is a bit wide for a front wheel.

So you're trying to put 17X8 on the front of an 82SC? Good luck . . .

You're making the right move by getting a narrower rim/shell for the front. No way a 9.5 width wheel will fit the front with "narrow" fenders. Only widebody/930 flares or greater (e.g. RSR) could handle a wide wheel like that.

"So you're trying to put 17X8 on the front of an 82SC? Good luck . . ."

Piece of cake. Offset of +30mm is just about right. I put 16x8 wheels with +28mm offset on my '87. All that was needed is max negative camber and shave the fender lips.

Yes - should be real close; baseball bat close. When you get new outer shells, see if you can find new bolts. They're cheap, and available in different lengths from BBS. I don't know how your wheels are sealed, but good non acid cure silicone can handle just about any wheel

Dude a 9" wheel is for a 930 flare...if you're trying for a 9.5" on an SC....not going to happen.

I know the 17X9.5 are to big, what I'm saying is I want to to change out the 3in shells for something like 1in or 1.5in Kerscher sells 1.25in shells. With a 1.25 shell I could get it down to roughly 17X7.75 or even 17X8. That would be plenty, what I'm worried about is the problems with wheel balance, etc. Is it ok to swap larger shells for smaller ones? These wheels have a crazy offset.

even if you managed to fit them, there will be a LOT of steering feedback with tires that wide. you'll be driving with both hands holding the steering wheel tight. it's gonna get old.

You have a lot of issues to deal with to make this work....

For starters you need to narrow the wheel down to 8.0 inches. Then you need to ensure that the 8.0 wheel has an offset of 23-31mm so that it will fit. The lower the number in that range, the more negative camber you are going to have to run to make it work.

So, now that we know what size and offset the wheel needs to be, we need to find some compatible parts to make it work. You say the wheel has a 3.0 inch outer shell. Do you know how to measure wheel parts? Not asking to be rude, but it is important as a lot of people don't understand, so please forgive me.

I am familiar with pretty much every quality three piece wheel out there, but not up to speed on these wheels. So, if you can get parts direct from Kerscher then you are good to go. But if not, you will need to ascertain the center bore diameter and the bolt circle diameter and number of bolts so you can have custom parts made.

Can you measure the total width of the wheel, lip to lip?
Can you also measure the distance from the hub pad (the parts that mates with the hub) and the inside lip?
Can you also measure the inner and outer rim shell from the seam in the wheel to the lip?

This will help us on the forum spec out the correct parts for you.

If the wheel is assemble with good condition, properly manufactured and true parts then you have nothing to worry about in terms of balance and run out. In fact, the narrower the wheel the less run out you will see with three piece wheels built with good parts.

.

Cheers

?????

Did you buy a set of BMW wheels for your 911? Porsche uses 5x130, BMW uses 5x120.

And if those are BMW wheels, you'll have more problems. The center bore of a BMW wheel is 72.56mm (except the E39 which is 74.1) and a Porsche is 71.6mm. So the hole in a BMW wheel will be too big to keep the wheel hub centric.

If these truly are 5x120, you're now looking at new rim shells and new centers. At that point you're better off just selling the wheels to a BMW racer and getting correct wheels for your SC