Date: Mon, 3 Apr 2000 13:10:02 EDT
Reply-To: FrankGRUN@AOL.COM
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Frank Grunthaner <FrankGRUN@AOL.COM>
Subject: Re: wheel pattern, offset, sizes?(realism)
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After years of following this thread, I finally admitted to myself in a
private internal therapy that I really liked the look of the Ronal R8
multispoke alloys (Audi 5000 turbo) . I also internally admitted that the
various 5 spoke, 6 spoke, Vanagon alloys and the SA alloys had a more
negative appearance that a hubcap.
Tongue in cheek, I embarked on the Audi alloy search, acquire and machine
expedition.
First issue, procurement. The local yards wanted $30 to $35 per wheel. This
includes the core (!) charge but not tax. Grumble. All such wheels need
stripping, polishing and repainting.
Second issue (and the point of this note): Machining. LA is a big place and
machine shops abound. After calls to an interminable number ranging from the
San Gabriel and San Fernando Valleys through to Long Beach and Santa Ana,
(includes shops that speak English and Spanish as well as Spanish only) I
developed a list of prices for the center hole machining which ranged from a
high of $65 per wheel through an average of $35 per wheel to a low of $15 per
wheel. When I would routinely announce that I understood the price should be
around $10 per wheel I was greeted with guffaws, scatological humor or a
sudden disconnect.
So: $10 per wheel ... Ha! Let the uninitiated prepare for a minimum of $15.
Or maybe $10 per wheel somewhere in the USA plus $10 per wheel shipping each
way (total of $30 per wheel - as explained to me by one of my
less-than-amused vendors).
How much to machine the center out? The OD of the grease cap is 2.620 +/-
0.010 inches on my '82 2WD. This corresponds to 66.675 mm. I requested 2 -
11/16 inch diameter or 68 mm. bore.
Then there is the issue of the center caps. The grease cap is unappealing as
is the rear axle nut. I have designed a set of cap adapters to mount the Audi
caps. More on that if anyone is interested later.
Spacers: I am using commercial stamped 5 lug spacers that are 8 mm in
thickness. Using them on all 4 wheels. Clearance on the 6Jx15 ET45 wheels
seems fine thus far. Cost $6.99 per wheel at Pep Boys.
Front hub bolts: Got the Audi turbo bolts with the wheels.
Rear lugs: Bought two rear axle hubs ($21.60 with tax at local yard). Pressed
out the lugs and pressed in replacements about 15 mm longer. Did this so I
can always return to the stock configuration if disaster strikes.
Tires: My subliminal justification for this effort is that I really like the
27-8.50x14 BFG's I'm currently running. Unfortunately at the current
pressures (46 rear, 40 front) there is a significant bow to the tread. Tire
tread temperature measurements also show high temps in the center of the
tread and much lower at the sides. I appear to be running with max loading on
the center 65% of the tire. Wear pattern is consistent. Remember, the BFG
specs say not to mount this tire on rims smaller that 6 inches. The spec
makes a significant distinction between 5.5 and 6 inch rims. So I am
considering two options: 1) a 15 inch tire with the same revs/mile rating as
the BFGs (782 at 50 psi at 60 mph), or the 235/75x15 tires (rated at 745 revs
per mile) to reduce the overall gearing. Note that the stock reinforced
185R14D tire is rated at 811 revs/mile. Haven't come to a conclusion yet.
Hope this helps someone,
Frank Grunthaner