The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Resizing lug holes on wheel/rim

Has anyone tried to resize the lug holes on a wheel/rim.
The holes in one of my rims have been "wallard" out and are no oversized...

Mark

....now oversized....

Sounds like you already "resized" them. If you mean make them smaller, then no. For safety, you should toss that wheel. Maybe cut it in two so someone won't be tempted to reuse it.

There is a way if looks don't count. IF they are steel wheels and common you can cut the center (spider) out of another wheel and use it as a "doubler". This was required in circle track cars of yesteryear if they didn't have eight lugs or were a wide five. The center hole has to be hub centric so both spiders are exactly aligned before welding. It is an ugly finished project but very strong. Some just used the spider and no weld. Spiders must "stack" evenly.

Do you play cards? Let's play some high-stakes poker. Someone who will bet his life on an altered wheel will probably draw to an inside straight!
Jerry

Some things just shouldn't be repaired. That being said if you do decide to try to repair it can you post your expected travel routes and times?

If one ever witnessed a wheel come off a vehicle and travel faster than the vehicle it came off of into oncoming traffic, one would never inquire about "fixing" a rim.

From the book "The Caine Mutiny". "When in danger or in doubt, run in circles scream and shout". Now if I can avoid the stampede of all the Chicken Little's screaming "The Sky is falling" them lets examine the situation. A doubler was required for racing so the lug nut would have a quarter inch of steel bearing instead of the factory 1/8 inch. Rules usually also called for a 5/8 lug that extended an inch out of the oversized lug nut. It's not my altered wheels that should concern you but rather the ones pressed/cast in some third world country. The situation reminds me of some seat belt mounts I have seen that are way beyond what it takes to kill whatever they are restraining. We build projects starting from chalk marks on the floor where some have gone over 330mph in a quarter mile, 200 plus in a circle, and 150 on dirt (Knoxville) and have lost numerous cars but zero drivers. Kind of verifies our judgement.

Evan, the OP doesn't appear to be racing. He's trying to figure out how to salvage a piece of scrap iron that will make him a hazard to a lot of people who don't realize he's driving around in a rolling deathtrap that could fail at any time. Those of us who race know the risks and accept them willingly. That soccer mom with a van full of kids didn't sign on to membership in the "Let's risk our lives by running around in a circle" crowd. I haven't seen a tech inspection lane in the past 30 years that would pass a double-centered wheel welded up from pieces like that. Back in the 1960's at a backwoods dirt track- - - - -maybe!
Jerry

Jerry's "soccer mom van" doesn't come equipped with a roll cage or 5 point harnesses either.
If a wheel that is planned for use on the street is damaged, THROW IT OUT -- PERIOD.

Kevin, back before the days of dedicated racing wheels and tires, Dad's 34 Ford 3 window coupe ran welded wheels. They would take two Buick or Oldsmobile 15" wheels, cut the "narrow" bead flange off with a torch, and drill out the rivets that held the center spiders in. Weld the two wide sides together, add a "wide 5" center from a late 1930's Ford wheel,and go racing. The tires were 8.25-15 bias ply tube type, stretched out to fit those wide rims! Of course, those wheel/tire assemblies never got used on the street, even when they towed the cars to the track with a tow bar made from a set of Ford front axle wishbone radius rods. They ran the narrow stock wheels and tires for towing.

The driver's seat was a cut down 30 gallon transmission grease drum with a little foam rubber padding, the seat belt was military surplus from a B-17, and the roll bar was made from welded 2" water pipe. Those guys survived- - - -most of the time!
Jerry

Mark K Get another wheel and keep your truck safe !!

Hot Rod Lincoln In the olden days the safety equipment consisted of a sturdy dog collar to keep the drivers door closed !!

Gents - I do appreciate your feedback, I will make a tether ball stand out of the old rim and look for a rim in better shape. Happy Holidays. Mark

Seems like adding a wheel center as a washer isn't that big of a deal to me... presuming we're talking about a hub centric wheel. If that's too ugly, put some washers behind the lug nuts. The nuts are only there to hold the wheel flat to the hub (and obviously on) they are not critical in managing the wheel loading on the hub.

How oversized are we talking here? There is a small amount of oversize (tolerance) to the holes already otherwise you'd never get them on, what's a little more?

I’m not familiar with Mark’s 37 wheels but if they use acorn nuts that are either curved or tapered on the back, the percentage of metal to metal contact is severely compromised as the holes wear. That seems to me the lug nuts could therefore loosen much easier.

A washer on the studs behind the wheel won't work either. The wheels are designed with a pad just outboard of the bolt circle and the holes themselves are slightly outboard of those pads. What that does is force the wheel center to be flattened a bit as the lugs are tightened, which serves as a sort of lock washer function. Washers take that action away, and then the lugs are loaded in shear without much additional strength from the friction of the wheel center to the hub.

Mark has made the right decision. Wheels are not the place to compromise on safety.

These wheels and lug nuts must be different than mine - my wheels have no “pads” and my lug nuts are flat. Tightening the lug nuts only presses the wheel in towards the hub. Distributing the load across the wheel via another wheel center or washers would help prevent the lug nuts from pulling through the larger holes. The only other unwanted movement I could see is the hub spinning forwards and backwards against the slop of the larger lug holes, though I would expect the friction of the lug nuts to prevent that movement.

I must be misunderstanding the problem because the only risk from the larger holes I see is the lug nuts pulling through the wheel and allowing it to come off the hub because the lug nuts went completely through the larger holes.

52 Carl Well said !! That inertia is wicked.