OT: more Justy wheel madness...
 

Some of you may remember the insanity I went through to get a set of '88 Celica alloy wheels to fit on the Justy. I have had those wheels, happily, on the car now for several months. So what do I do?

I complicate things. What can I say? It's what I do.

I met a fellow autocrosser and bought a set of used BFG r-compoound tires from him. They're mounted on VW 13" alloys with the correct bolt pattern. The offset even seems like it'll work well with the spacers I have on the car already (part of the solution to get the Celica alloys to fit).

The problem is that the lug holes in the wheel are too small to fit the lug nuts I have already. So I'm wondering if I can get thinner lug nuts, if I have to get narrower studs and lug nuts that fit them, or just scrap these wheels and have the tires mounted on the wheels I've got.

I'm also considering drilling out the lug holes on the 'new' wheels.

Oh, and if possible I'd like to solve this by the end of the week, because there's an autocross coming up on Saturday and Sunday. :p

Any input?

You know, I've been thinking...is there any reason I can't just bore those holes out with a drill press?

Like, providing I can find a drill press to use? :p

Would I just be throwing away a set of perfectly good wheels?

Don't drill them. The holes won't be centered. Just swap the rubber onto existing rims.

Well, despite your advice (which I'm sure is excellent but I had not read until just now), I bought a big-ass drill bit this morning.

I can see it being very difficult to drill them out and keep the holes centered. I guess that's a risk I take. The wheels are useless to me anyway, so I might as well make 'em totally useless. :P

If it doesn't work out, I'll still have tomorrow to mount the tires on the wheels I have. But it'd be nice to make the wheels fit if I can.

New developments.

David I was concerned, as you were, that I wouldn't be able to drill the hole out perfectly straight. So I found a cone-shaped stepped boring bit that will self-center itself well.

It was $40, but it's also made of titanium and will probably last longer than me.

http://tinyurl.com/3pscw

In order to make sure I drill straight, I found a drill jig that I can clamp to the wheel.

http://tinyurl.com/4pmkt

$72 in tools - well more than what I paid for the wheels, but whatever. Tools are cool.

I hope they're hubcentric.

That's the 'guy' in you coming out! ;)

-Chike

P.S. For a guy who's so careful with his SVX, you sure take big risks with your Justy! :p

And?

It's a Justy. :p

Anyway, I don't think I'm taking really big risks with the car - I'm just playing with a set of wheels I bought for really cheap. So here's the update:

Failure.

The drill guide I bought worked flawlessly, as did the bit I bought to bore the holes out. The lug nuts fit more snugly than they do in the other wheels.

Uuuuuuunfortunately, the offset is something wicked and when mounted on the rear the tire sits firmly on the suspension. When I bounced on the car's rear bumper the tire rubbed on the inner fender wall.

No, really, the offset is nuts. These tires are only 2cm wider, but it's like that 2cm has been added to the inside of the tire...and then some.

Ah, well, I gambled and it didn't pay off. While I'm pretty sure these tires would fit fine on the wheels I have, I don't think it's worth it to pay to have them mounted.

No r-compound tires for the Justy this weekend. :(