A friend of mine recently had a set of stock VW wheels widened from 15X4.5" to 15X6". I want the same thing done very soon, which is why I'm interested in the subject. He had them made at Bolton's in Gardena, CA, and specified that they were to have the stock rear offset. Problem is that they arrived back to him with the rear offset about 3/4" too wide, which causes them to barely clear the frame in the rear. It's upsetting that they didn't follow the instructions or let us know there'd be a problem, but to their credit, they did place the center hub as far to the rear as the outer rims they were using would allow. We were doing some research and see that there are a variety of outer rims that have the inner band (the thinnest point in the rim where the center welds to) closer or further from the rear of the wheel. To do this right, we will need to find an outer rim that has this inner band further back than the wheels that Bolton's uses. This will allow the centers to be welded at the correct rear offset. Question is, what is the outer rim of the wheel actually called, and where can you find them for sale? I've searched the internet and come up with nothing at all, but I don't know what the technical term is. They must be available, because places like Bolton's and Stockton Wheel use them. Yes, we can reverse the rim and make it work, but this is not an option for us as we are replicating wheels that were either available or custom made in the 1960s. They did not use reversed rims but were still 15X6" with the correct, stock rear offset. Any help or advice would be appreciated. Thanks! Dan
Wheel hoops. Speedway motors has 8" ones, but I didnt check other sizes. Do a search for wheel hoops http://www.speedwaymotors.com/Wheel-Shell-15-x-8,218.html
the outer piece that holds the tire is called a hoop. (i typed too slow) the part with the lug holes is the center. Sounds like the hoops you ended up with, had the "drop center" offset to the wrong side of the car. Those hoops may have already had the valve stem hole punched, before the wheel company got them, and that could be why the offset is wrong. also, VW? be aware that some VW "centers" measure a different OD than a so called conventional steel US car center. So, measure whatever center OD you are using, to compare with whatever hoop ID
Since we are on the topic, does anyone still widen aluminum wheels, I had a set of 15 x 10 American racing wheels that I wanted to add 3 inches to, called Stockton wheel and they said they don't do aluminum wheels anymore.. That offset info is good to know too
Eric Vaughn, at " Vaughn Machine ", Repairs, widens, & narrows, aluminum wheels Vaughn Machine (626) 358-6413
Eric Vaughn narrowed some American Racing T70s for me - you couldn't tell they had ever been touched....
I may be missing something here as I am struggling through this with simple math and geometry..........but having offered that disclaimer..... It seems to me what you are proposing/saying is physically impossible. I fail to see how you can expect to use a rim that is at least 1.5" wider, maintain the original backspacing and expect to end up with a wheel that doesn't have the characteristics of a 'reversed' wheel. Logically, if the back spacing remains the same as original, ALL of the additional width goes to the outside. That will create a deeper set wheel, not only in fact, but in appearance. Not radically so, but "so" nonetheless. I'll watch this space to find out where I went wrong.......... Ray edit. BTW, i did something similar back in about 1966 or so. I had a '60 Bug and wanted wider wheels. I mounted a front drum in a big lathe and cut the wheel center out of the stock Bug wheel to the same diameter as the hoops I was planning to use, which were at that time the then popular 14" (5" front / 6" rear) wheels. Then trued the wheels for lateral runout and welded 'em up. On the rear, they did have a slightly 'reversed' look...but that is what I was going for as the stock VW wheel track was too narrow and the wheel opening needed to be better filled by the tire.
Tim Smith at the Wheel Works also repairs, widens and narrows steel and aluminum wheels. He does real nice work. 1703 N. RT. 130 Burlington,NJ 08016 609-387-4488
When I read it a few days ago, I just assumed he meant the shape of the "sides" of the drop center. Some old wheels have a pronounced angled side on the drop center (on the back side), and when that style is reversed, the angle really shows up. like this: \____| Many wheel hoops don't have the angle |____|
Hi Frank,..........yes I am aware of that shape issue with many wheels. I thought he may have been concerned with that, though I didn't address it in my reply, but it is one way to get more of the drop center 'band' closer to the rear of the wheel. Perhaps some junk yard scrounging, or one of the wheel shops, will have the style shown in your second example. Ray
Been a while since I checked back here. Sorry. Yes, all the additional width will be added to the front, or outside, of the wheel. That's what I want. I just don't want the rims, "hoops", reversed because I don't like the look. We are replicating vintage, custom made wheels that did not have reversed hoops. We've made a little progress in figuring out how it was done and my friend, who is doing the same thing, is having wheels made as we speak that "should" turn out perfectly. The inner rim is cut down on a lathe, as Hnstray mentioned, as if fitting into a 14" hoop, except the hoop is actually 15" in diameter. You can also just use a VW Bus wheel for the centers, I guess, which is already a 14" wheel to begin with. The hoop is something he calls a "custom drop hoop" I believe. It has the "drop" in such a location that the stock rear offset can be used without reversing the hoop. This is how the original wheels we are trying to replicate were apparently done, as you can tell that the center was cut down slightly if you look close. Dan
Just did my own on my avatar '41. Reversed and widened 1" BUT I don't have a big lathe setup so I used the front hub to rotate the wheel on and made up a holder to guide & feed a 4'5" angle grinder to split the hoop. Rolled some flat bar and welded the hoops back up. Centres were a press fit going back in and I trued them again on the hub before fully welding. First one took about 100g of weight to balance, second only 25g! and they rotate true to within 1.5mm (seen stock ones that were worse). The last ones I had done professionally (admittedly the guy is in his mid 70's now) were substantially more out. But they did take about 4 hours each so I didn't really save anything....
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