• Spank
  • Utter Madman
  • Offline
  • From: Escondido, CA
  • Registered: 2009-06-10
  • Posts: 5,864

Topic: Wheel Gurus: I'm looking for 4 lug 15" wheel w/ 3" max 4" backspacing

So yea, I'm looking for some 15" wheels-- alloy preferred, in 4 lug pattern (So I can get them redrilled for a different 4 lug pattern=  4 on 4" is the end goal 101.6mm)

they need to be 6"-7" wide to accommodate 195-50/15 tires and with 2.75" to max 4" backspacing (mounting face to inner lip).

What sort of cars should I be including in my search? I don't care much about existing lug, only that they are 4 lug so I can offset them 90degrees and have them drilled for 4 more lugs. The backspacing is important, though.

I've got some Basset steel wheels made, but those things are friggin' HEAVY for a 58 hp car...

Spank's Website

  • trekkor
  • trekkor
  • Lemons Staff Stalker
  • Offline
  • From: Napa, Ca
  • Registered: 2009-08-26
  • Posts: 2,124

Re: Wheel Gurus: I'm looking for 4 lug 15" wheel w/ 3" max 4" backspacing

Use the steel wheels, we're not drag racing!


KT

TH 2009- 40th ~ SP 2010- 13th Class Bad win!! TH 2010- 17th ~TH 2010- 16th  SP 2011- 20th ~ RF 2011- 13th Least Horrible Yank Tank ~ TH 2011- 79th
SP 2011- 105th ~ SP 2012- 119th ~ SP 2013- 139th ~ BW 2013- 17th
Follow Filthy on Facebook: Flailing Lizard Motorsports
  • From: Highland, MI
  • Registered: 2009-08-30
  • Posts: 93

Re: Wheel Gurus: I'm looking for 4 lug 15" wheel w/ 3" max 4" backspacing

90's Saturn wheels are about the cheapest 15x6 4x100 aluminum wheels that I could find & they work fine with the 195/50s, but like most FWD cars, may have too much backspacing.  I can't think of any RWD 4x100 cars off hand that ever came with aluminum wheels, or wheel larger than 13-14"...

Eric

4 Reply by Mulry (edited by Mulry 2010-11-12 07:02 AM)

  • Mulry
  • Mulry
  • Ayatollah of Rock-n-Rollah
  • Offline
  • From: Dallas, TX
  • Registered: 2009-05-01
  • Posts: 4,607

Re: Wheel Gurus: I'm looking for 4 lug 15" wheel w/ 3" max 4" backspacing

Look at Miata wheels. I use 14" Miata wheels on my MR2 because they're alloy, relatively light, and still have good availability in the junkyard and tossed-aside markets. The Spec Miata guys all go to aftermarket wheels and tend to dump the cheaper and barely heavier-than-Spec wheels fairly quickly. I'm pretty sure that some of the mid- to late-90's models came with 15" wheels stock or as a factory option, and those are all on a 4x100 pattern. Here's a decent list with photos so you can see what you're looking for at the junkyard:

http://www.miata.net/faq/wheel_weights.html

Pat Mulry, TARP Racing #67

Mandatory disclaimer: all opinions expressed are mine alone & not those of 24HOL, its mgmt, sponsors, etc.
  • Spank
  • Utter Madman
  • Offline
  • From: Escondido, CA
  • Registered: 2009-06-10
  • Posts: 5,864

Re: Wheel Gurus: I'm looking for 4 lug 15" wheel w/ 3" max 4" backspacing

trekkor wrote:

Use the steel wheels, we're not drag racing!


KT

You're right, and it's not like we're going to be a contender for anything, either. Besides the acceleration and stopping, I'm a little worried about the stock springs and shocks trying to handle 4x's the weight! The springs are rubber, btw.

RE: Miata wheels. Looks like I have a backspacing problem with them, too. I'm leery about running spacers on the front.

What about older BMW wheels?

Spank's Website

  • From: Dallas suburbs. Help me.
  • Registered: 2010-04-21
  • Posts: 145

Re: Wheel Gurus: I'm looking for 4 lug 15" wheel w/ 3" max 4" backspacing

Most of the older BMW wheels that would be 15" are going to be 5 lug. If you are OK with 14", then e30 wheels are a dime a dozen. Hell, I have some bottle caps laying around here I don't need/want.

  • Serj
  • Serj
  • Lemons Staff Stalker
  • Offline
  • From: Cincinnati, OH
  • Registered: 2009-05-02
  • Posts: 1,601

Re: Wheel Gurus: I'm looking for 4 lug 15" wheel w/ 3" max 4" backspacing

early 90s nissan wheels, like for a sentra or pulsar or even an older 240SX should be right up the alley you're searching

  • From: San Diego, CA
  • Registered: 2009-04-30
  • Posts: 1,640

Re: Wheel Gurus: I'm looking for 4 lug 15" wheel w/ 3" max 4" backspacing

Serj wrote:

early 90s nissan wheels, like for a sentra or pulsar or even an older 240SX should be right up the alley you're searching

None of those came with 15s.

The Homer: Powerful like a gorilla, yet soft and yielding like a Nerf ball.
  • Mulry
  • Mulry
  • Ayatollah of Rock-n-Rollah
  • Offline
  • From: Dallas, TX
  • Registered: 2009-05-01
  • Posts: 4,607

Re: Wheel Gurus: I'm looking for 4 lug 15" wheel w/ 3" max 4" backspacing

Spank wrote:
trekkor wrote:

Use the steel wheels, we're not drag racing!


KT

You're right, and it's not like we're going to be a contender for anything, either. Besides the acceleration and stopping, I'm a little worried about the stock springs and shocks trying to handle 4x's the weight! The springs are rubber, btw.

RE: Miata wheels. Looks like I have a backspacing problem with them, too. I'm leery about running spacers on the front.

What about older BMW wheels?

You're perfectly willing to run a piston with a fabricated weight inside it but leery of wheel spacers? LOL. What's sick is that I understand your rationale. I love Lemons.

Pat Mulry, TARP Racing #67

Mandatory disclaimer: all opinions expressed are mine alone & not those of 24HOL, its mgmt, sponsors, etc.
  • Spank
  • Utter Madman
  • Offline
  • From: Escondido, CA
  • Registered: 2009-06-10
  • Posts: 5,864

Re: Wheel Gurus: I'm looking for 4 lug 15" wheel w/ 3" max 4" backspacing

Mulry wrote:

You're perfectly willing to run a piston with a fabricated weight inside it but leery of wheel spacers? LOL. What's sick is that I understand your rationale. I love Lemons.

Front wheel falls off = bad news.

Engine breaks = motor swap.

One is safety. One is Lemons.

Spank's Website

  • m610
  • m610
  • Lemons Staff Stalker
  • Offline
  • From: Esparto, CA
  • Registered: 2009-12-12
  • Posts: 2,666

Re: Wheel Gurus: I'm looking for 4 lug 15" wheel w/ 3" max 4" backspacing

We're using steel 4-bolt 15x7's on Tinyvette.  Got them from Diamond Racing. They are heavy, but oh well, that's what we bought so that's what we got. But they are strong, and ours is a momentum car, we keep telling ourselves.

We tried Miata and BMW wheels but the center holes were too small for mounting on front.

Diamond Racing's web site is out of date. Their prices are higher and the wheels are heavier than what they have listed.

Momentum is a terrible thing to waste.
24 Hours of Lemons on Vimeo, Team Tinyvette on Facebook, Team Tinyvette

m610's Website

  • From: Sacramento
  • Registered: 2010-08-09
  • Posts: 1,665

Re: Wheel Gurus: I'm looking for 4 lug 15" wheel w/ 3" max 4" backspacing

15" 4-lugs vdub

13 Reply by djcommie (edited by djcommie 2010-11-14 09:22 AM)

  • From: Santa Margarita, CA
  • Registered: 2009-06-03
  • Posts: 177

Re: Wheel Gurus: I'm looking for 4 lug 15" wheel w/ 3" max 4" backspacing

4 on 4 is not 101.x its 98mm! It was used on Pintos, Fiats, and fwd Alfa Romeos.  You can use 4x100 with wobble lugs and hub rings, or have 4x100 wheels (Honda, Mazda, Daihatsu, Toyota, Nissan, Saturn, everyone) modified with the spacing difference cheaply. Then you aren't stuck with some piece of shit circle track wheel or some rare magnesium junk in 13x5.5" from 1978.


And what wheels are four times the weight? 13lbs is the spec miata requirement for weight and 42lbs is a pretty serious weight for a wheel, somewhere in the chrome 20" category. I have a super heavy 16x7 13ET wheel and its only 17.5lbs.

Team Dai Hard Home Page

1989 Daihatsu Charade

djcommie's Website

  • From: Sacramento
  • Registered: 2010-08-09
  • Posts: 1,665

Re: Wheel Gurus: I'm looking for 4 lug 15" wheel w/ 3" max 4" backspacing

Spank's looking for 4x4 ANY pattern to re-drill or weld a backplate (and re-drill) to
- Vdub are 4x4...
~some dub wheels are 15's, the back-spacing I do not know. I think he can figure that one out.

the "Wobble lugs" were called "Universal lugs" with a variety of offset plates in oval holes - American racing used those a bunch in the 70's
unfortunately the industry std on those stopped above the 4x4-1/4 size - though machining the slots down a bit might be easy.

Any wheel is 2x or more the weight of a std mini wheel. 10"x3.5 or 4.5"... a heavy mini wheel is 8lbs. The "standard" bolt-on steel wheel is the Vega/Monza wheel, 13x5.5 and was 19-21lb.
~He's adding in the weight of the tire, which is very significant - and of concern re the stress-loading of components like shock mounts and tie-rod ends.

  • Spank
  • Utter Madman
  • Offline
  • From: Escondido, CA
  • Registered: 2009-06-10
  • Posts: 5,864

Re: Wheel Gurus: I'm looking for 4 lug 15" wheel w/ 3" max 4" backspacing

98mm? Wrong.

4" = 101.6mm  same as vega, monza, etc.

I'm wrong on a lot of things, but not this measurement.



FWIW: the bassett steel wheels I have are 18lbs each bare. Add the tires and it goes up to 36lbs each. One wheel and tire combo that we currently run is 16lbs each. Ok, so not 4xs the weight EACH but more than double the total weight. 64 lbs versus 144 lbs total.

But yea, I'm looking for ANY 4 bolt pattern that is 15" x 6 or so with about 3" of backspacing and with a flat inner mounting that will take a redrill at 90-degrees off. I obviously won't have them in time for the Buttonwillow event and will run the tank wheels or stock wheels, but for future endeavors would like to find something lighter on both the corner and on the wallet.

Spank's Website

  • From: Sacramento
  • Registered: 2010-08-09
  • Posts: 1,665

Re: Wheel Gurus: I'm looking for 4 lug 15" wheel w/ 3" max 4" backspacing

Spank - I've seen 15x8 centerline and centerline knock-offs, but they are unfortunately worth more than your car(s). I'll keep looking.
Centerline types in 5 lug might work I'd need to look at the pitch circle to see if you could drill w/o hitting one hole - but I think there's room.
Check dune-buggy stuffs...

17 Reply by djcommie (edited by djcommie 2010-11-14 07:34 PM)

  • From: Santa Margarita, CA
  • Registered: 2009-06-03
  • Posts: 177

Re: Wheel Gurus: I'm looking for 4 lug 15" wheel w/ 3" max 4" backspacing

I swore pintos were 4x98, but they are 4x114.3. Despite only owning metric cars, I didn't think of multiplying 25.4mm by 4! I'd never heard of 101mm size, and hilariously the list of cars using is are probably some of the worst cars ever made!


It'd probably be cheaper to just pull your hubs, have the bolt holes welded up, and get some common wheel PCD matched. Then you could at least join modern wheel manufacturing rather than use something that might fit the size but wouldn't fit a decent tire width.


edit: then when you bend a wheel you aren't going on the trailer, just borrowing a wheel from a car in the parking lot.

Team Dai Hard Home Page

1989 Daihatsu Charade

djcommie's Website