Wheel adapters

You know, de-chromed, big Porsche rims, Brembos, etc.,... German Look rules!
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craigvwdude
Posts: 988
Joined: Sat Aug 19, 2006 12:13 pm

Wheel adapters

Post by craigvwdude »

Fellas,
wanting to give my bug the euro look and run some 17's or 18's. What wheel adapters are you guys using for the popular 4x100mm wheels?
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Jadewombat
Posts: 1447
Joined: Sat Jun 22, 2002 12:01 am

Re: Wheel adapters

Post by Jadewombat »

I'm not running any adapters on my bus. I had them for a short while on the fronts until I got all four wheels swapped over to the same (5 x 112) bolt pattern.

I'd suggest investing in having your stuff redrilled. If your looking for a specific offset after that you can just add wheel spacers which are pretty cheap nowadays.
Ol'fogasaurus
Posts: 17756
Joined: Mon Nov 13, 2006 10:17 pm

Re: Wheel adapters

Post by Ol'fogasaurus »

Not a big fan of using either adapters or spacers for several reasons:

Both adapters and spacers off-set the wheels to the outside causing alignment changes potential stress on suspension components (and yes, I have had deep dish/off-set wheels [cantilevered] on my cars in the past and had to deal with the problems they caused [they looked good though]), and potential body/fender conflict.

Some of the spacers I've seen use fully threaded studs which is not necessarily a good idea as you have the potential of putting the threads in "shear". Also remember that metal can stretch over time or over-torqueing especially with longer fasteners. But... some of the car mfg. now days are using them but that doesn't make them right either.

Some adapters bolt to the drum/rotor then have studs to connect the rims. The adapters are then thin in the counter-bored places in order to make the heads/nuts flush with the surface of the adapter. Do they work, yes... probably. Are they strong... maybe! I hope the makers have changed the design based on the set that came with my first buggy; VW to Chevrolet bolt pattern. They were known for failing even when just casually driving around.

If something in the spacers breaks when you are miles away from help, how are you going to carry on... unless you are carrying a spare set of parts.

Things to think about.
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craigvwdude
Posts: 988
Joined: Sat Aug 19, 2006 12:13 pm

Re: Wheel adapters

Post by craigvwdude »

Good point!
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