Narrowing a couple of wheels..

[robwizard]

Yeah so I have four 8J steels and wanted to swap two of them for a some 7J ones.. thus giving me a staggered set. Nobody was interested so I thought.. Could I just chop an inch out of them on the lathe and weld them back together?

Figured people band steels to add metal.. so taking some out and narrowing them would be quite similar in principle but have only one weld in them instead of three in a banded wheel. I myself probably could weld it but just to be sure I would have my mate who is an engineer and cracking welder to do it.

Questions.. Is this a terribly dangerous idea and will it result in me being engulfed in a ball of flames? Should I TIG or MIG? I have heard of people doing wheels with arc welders..

My mate Rich (who will be doing the welding) seemed to think MIG would be the best choice? My welding tutor at college was sceptical of doing it at all due to weakening the metal..

Thoughts? Advice?

 

[cumbriasteve]

Just to clarify?..this is a DIY go at removing part of a wheel and welding it up again before fitting to the car and something you and your mate are guessing 'should be ok'
Is your mate Rich a benefactor in your will?

 

[piman]

Hello Rob,

this is a tried and tested way of modifying wheels, although I've never heard of anyone making them narrower. Given accuracy of cutting, alignment and decent welding it is a straightforward job.

Alec

 

[robwizard]

Not so much a DIY go at it as my mate is a precision engineer.. and not so much guessing either as Alec has suggested it is a pretty common way of modifying wheels. I was just wondering what if anyone else had done it on here and had any thoughts on it..

Cheers guys

 

[rtbcomp]

What's the advantage of a staggered set over a conventional set?

 

[cumbriasteve]

Not so much a DIY go at it as my mate is a precision engineer.. and not so much guessing either as Alec has suggested it is a pretty common way of modifying wheels. I was just wondering what if anyone else had done it on here and had any thoughts on it..

Cheers guys

It was a wind up.. It brought back memorys of many years ago when a mate welded 2 mini wheels together to make a mud plugger, thankfully the crowd were very fast movers when the outer wheel decided to part company with the inner and head for the seating area.

 

[langy]

I've done it a fair few times now, part it off on a lathe, then TIG weld, Lots of tacks and keep the heat down and it will come out fine.

Not so much a DIY go at it as my mate is a precision engineer.. and not so much guessing either as Alec has suggested it is a pretty common way of modifying wheels. I was just wondering what if anyone else had done it on here and had any thoughts on it..

Cheers guys

 

[brightspark]

Not so much a DIY go at it as my mate is a precision engineer.. and not so much guessing either as Alec has suggested it is a pretty common way of modifying wheels. I was just wondering what if anyone else had done it on here and had any thoughts on it..

Cheers guys

theres nothing wrong with banding wheels most of the lads doing stock car racing used to slit them apart with a cutting disk and then weld 2 inch bands in .i used to part them off in the lathe for local lads to do .providing there set up acurately for welding tacked up all round no probs a question ?? how many other people weld load bearing parts on there machinery or cars does anyone ever worry about that .even renew wheel bearings and brakes without much knowlege

 

[langy]

One problem that occurs on front wheels is if you band one side the KPI is out of line with the tyre contact patch.

 

[brightspark]

One problem that occurs on front wheels is if you band one side the KPI is out of line with the tyre contact patch.

not many cars fitted with king pins nowadays

 

[langy]

But they still have a KPI if they have independant.

not many cars fitted with king pins nowadays

 

[hotrodder]

SAI for cars without kingpins [/pedantic]

Unless they're next to impossible to find in the size needed i would of thought a pair of steels could be picked up for next to nothing . Brand new 15 or 16x7 steels are often less than £50 ea

 

[langy]

Correct

SAI for cars without kingpins [/pedantic]

Unless they're next to impossible to find in the size needed i would of thought a pair of steels could be picked up for next to nothing . Brand new 15 or 16x7 steels are often less than £50 ea

 

[Robotstar5]

Unless they're next to impossible to find in the size needed i would of thought a pair of steels could be picked up for next to nothing . Brand new 15 or 16x7 steels are often less than £50 ea

Seems to be shortage of some at present, a work colleague wanted a replacement for a steel wheel he had damaged. Phoned round the breakers and was told a lot of wheels go straight away to folks buying a spare set to fit winter tyres to after last years fun. He ended up buying a new one from main dealer.

 

[anto]

I got a set of 15" steel wheels to use on my pug for a fiver for the set.
Using winter tyres and i didnt want to put them on alloys.