Machine Shop in SoCal
04-27-2015, 04:12 PM
#3
You REALLY have to be careful in doing that kind of machining. Not all wheels have enough "meat" in them, to start milling off the mounting pad, without sacrificing strength.
FWIW, back in the late 70s, I had a Firebird T/A, that I was trying to fit a set of 15x8.5" American Racing wheels on. The wheels were fairly "deep" but had a center pad that was probably close to 2" thick. The place where I worked, had a very large lathe, one that could easily hold a wheel, and I was thinking about milling about 1/4-5/16" off this pad, to bring the wheels in a little.
I contacted one of AR's tech reps, and he about fainted, when I told him what I wanted to do. He claimed that they carefully calculate what the thickness of the center pad has to be, in order for the wheel to deal with cornering loads, SO DON'T MESS WITH IT.
Just thought I'd pass that along....
FWIW, back in the late 70s, I had a Firebird T/A, that I was trying to fit a set of 15x8.5" American Racing wheels on. The wheels were fairly "deep" but had a center pad that was probably close to 2" thick. The place where I worked, had a very large lathe, one that could easily hold a wheel, and I was thinking about milling about 1/4-5/16" off this pad, to bring the wheels in a little.
I contacted one of AR's tech reps, and he about fainted, when I told him what I wanted to do. He claimed that they carefully calculate what the thickness of the center pad has to be, in order for the wheel to deal with cornering loads, SO DON'T MESS WITH IT.
Just thought I'd pass that along....
