Modified Rims [Wheels] - Good Idea?

[Guest]

Hello again - Apine & Tiger fans!

I have the opportunity to acquire some nice rims for my '67 Alpine. They are aluminum wheels, 13" X 5.5" wide with a bolt pattern of 4x4.5". Backspacing is 3.75

I understand the Alpine is 4x4.25?

What is the practicality of elongating the
holes to make them fit?

I like the look of the wheels, and have been hardpressed to find anything worthwhile that is also affordable. ( < $1,000US)

Does anyone have a comment on this process, I would be most appreciative to hear opinions.

Thanks.....james

 

[thegoodbeamer]

I would be hesitant to elongate the mounting holes.Depending on how much metal you have you may want to try someting like using the wheel nuts from Mags.You would need to be very precise to open up enough to do so.An accident could be in waiting if not precise.Go to a good speed shop and see what they can do for you.we have one here and they do try harder.

 

[adam90009]

I've seen something a while back that bolts onto the hub and changes the bolt spacing. I have no idea where you could find anything like this but it was on the TNN show trucks I belive I'll try to look into it for you.

 

[Cizu]

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr> What is the practicality of elongating the
holes to make them fit? <hr></blockquote>

if i well understood you're going to use larger weels with normal tyres, isn't it?

if it's so, it means that the tyres will be more spreaded on the wheels, so when you'll go along a bend, the tyres will have more difficult to buckle, to lose their shape.

these are advantages for safety and for a fun drive.

the disadvantag is that in this way, the non-suspended wheight(??) are increased

[ 06-30-2003: Message edited by: Cizu ]</p>

 

[PC]

Hi James,

To me, being the really conservative sort, I’d say elongating the holes sounds like a really, really bad idea. I don’t think the lugnuts would ever seat correctly and the wheels would probably be constantly loosening.

I have seen wheels re-machined from one bolt circle to another. They make the holes larger and centered on the new dimension. Works well when going from a 4x100mm to 4x4”. That’s only a change of 0.063” (1.6mm). I think 0.25” (6.4mm) is too far to go and still work with normal lugnuts.

You might be able to get steel inserts that would press into enlarged (and re-centered) holes. That would give you both the new bolt circle and a stronger mounting interface.

If you’re still considering new rims you might look into Superlite Wheels. I got a set of 13x6” Superlites for my Jensen Healey brand new, made to order from England, for less than US$800. I’m very happy with them. They’re an 8-spoke “mini” style wheel, very British.

www.superlite-wheels.com

(obtw- the Jensen Healey on their website is mine.)

their US importer is a nice guy named Phil at Open Mind:
www.opmd.com/

PC.

 

[Guest]

At the superlite web site right now!

Looks like a good tip, I'd rather go new!

Thanks.....james

 

[adam90009]

here this is what i'm talking about https://www.superlite-wheels.com/pages/P1010012.html

 

[BEEJAY7]

Nice Wheels...Nice Company to deal with.


I'm afraid don't like the conversion plate, especially if you are going to wider than standard wheels and tyres, too much additional strain on the front end.

We have had these wheels on a Racing Sprite for some time. Really good quality and look like "real" Minilites. (Who said that!).

Cheers

 

[BEEJAY7]

Oops...Forgot to add...

A friend of mine has them on his Series 5 Alpine(Is that the one without the rear fins?), and it looks really neat....Very Tigerish!.

Cheers

 

[sunbeammadd]

Both my Sunbeams ride on Superlites. See the green Alpine and blue Imp under Members' Rides if you want to see how they look.