a problem changing wheels from 12" to 14" ?

[atahoekid]

I though that changing tire and wheels from 12" to 14" was as easy as buying new tires and wheels and mounting them. Apparently not.... the first issue I ran into was that my hub and drums are not fitted with mounting studs as most hub/drums assemblies but instead have tapped holes for lug bolts like these:




I'm not sure that these bolts will be compatible with these wheels:


My second question and one that is more puzzling to me is the issue of the pilot diameter on the wheel. I've read that because my wheels are mounted with bolts and not nuts on the stud from the hub that my wheel is "hub-centric" and the pilot diameter of the wheel needs to match the hub. Apparently in autos, if these measurements don't match (pilot diameter is larger than the hub needs) this can cause vibration...

Anyone out there know about this kind of stuff?

I'm leaning toward making the swap anyway but I certainly don't want a wheel flying off at highway speed. I've seen it happen before and I know it would cause a lot of damage or injury, never mind the damage to my Road Foamie.

[Bigblock352]

If the hub diameter is bigger on the wheels they make rings to fill the gap. I wouldn't worry about it though. I have a few classic cars and I have a hard time finding the correct hub bore for my old style hub in modern wheels. If you are using acorn style nuts AND you tighten them in stages, that is a little bit each nut and keep doing that evenly in the correct pattern, you wont have an issue. The hub doesn't take a load it is only there for alignment of the wheel on the hub. I've never had an issue and I drive 1 of them everyday 30-50 miles everyday, mixed highway and in town. The only time I noticed a issue was on a dyno at 120 mph. I loosened and retorqued in the correct pattern and issue went away.

You wont have an issue but if it rests your mind
http://www.summitracing.com/search/depa ... tric-rings

cheap enough.

[Dale M.]

Hub centric probably is going the same way as dinosaur....

IF you are worried about lug bolts not securing wheel properly, you could have hubs drilled and studs pressed in.... Sure it would be some costs, but for piece of mind (and proper lug nuts for wheels), it may be worth it....

And machine shop can do the work.... Getting correct stud and lug nut is only problem... Dorman Parts make about 200 different replacement studs for hubs...

https://www.dormanproducts.com/catalog/ ... rdware.htm

They start in Section 9 page 160 or so....Dorman also has large assortment of lug nuts.... Once you find appropriate studs and nuts, you can order them through any good auto parts or on line at places like ROCKAUTO (dot) COM....

Dale

[atahoekid]

Hub centric probably is going the same way as dinosaur....

IF you are worried about lug bolts not securing wheel properly, you could have hubs drilled and studs pressed in.... Sure it would be some costs, but for piece of mind (and proper lug nuts for wheels), it may be worth it....

And machine shop can do the work.... Getting correct stud and lug nut is only problem... Dorman Parts make about 200 different replacement studs for hubs...

https://www.dormanproducts.com/catalog/ ... rdware.htm

They start in Section 9 page 160 or so....Dorman also has large assortment of lug nuts.... Once you find appropriate studs and nuts, you can order them through any good auto parts or on line at places like ROCKAUTO (dot) COM....

Dale

Thanks, That is good information. I may just do that for the peace of mind. I'm assuming that I only need to have the current threaded holes drilled out to the right diameter to fit the chosen studs of the right length. Will the machine shop also press in the new studs?

[Dale M.]

Hub centric probably is going the same way as dinosaur....

IF you are worried about lug bolts not securing wheel properly, you could have hubs drilled and studs pressed in.... Sure it would be some costs, but for piece of mind (and proper lug nuts for wheels), it may be worth it....

And machine shop can do the work.... Getting correct stud and lug nut is only problem... Dorman Parts make about 200 different replacement studs for hubs...

https://www.dormanproducts.com/catalog/ ... rdware.htm

They start in Section 9 page 160 or so....Dorman also has large assortment of lug nuts.... Once you find appropriate studs and nuts, you can order them through any good auto parts or on line at places like ROCKAUTO (dot) COM....

Dale

Thanks, That is good information. I may just do that for the peace of mind. I'm assuming that I only need to have the current threaded holes drilled out to the right diameter to fit the chosen studs of the right length. Will the machine shop also press in the new studs?

Drilling out to correct diameter is a must ... And if machine shop says no to pressing in studs, take your work some where else....

Dale

[barbhively]

Hi - I'm new here but I have some insight into this. I sell auto parts for a living and have 20+ years auto repair experience.

If you are concerned about studs holding the wheels on, look at all the Volvo's, Volkswagens, and Audi's on the road today. They use a lug bolt rather than stud and nut. I would recommend torquing them to the correct torque spec's, however.

There is nothing wrong with going to a bolt.

If you want to go to stud and nuts, Dorman makes double ended lug studs to change from one to the other.

I plan on going with 16" wheels to match my tow vehicle. That way I don't have to carry an extra spare tire. My tow vehicle, however, is a Ford Excursion. Rather large, but I also have a 32' Catalina, a 26' boat, a 26' tilt bed car hauler, and a 24' flat bed. Since, more than likely I will be using this to do the towing, it makes more sense to me to match the wheels. If we change our tow vehicle, I can change the axle and bolt pattern rather easy.

Hope this helps.

Chris

[atahoekid]

Thanks. That does put my mind at ease. I'll go ahead and order the wheels and tires and mount them up