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New 14" Aluminum Wheels

Discussion in 'Subaru Sambar' started by Stormin, Jan 1, 2010.

  1. Stormin

    Stormin Member

    I finally found some 14" aluminum wheels that will fit my Subaru. They came off of a 1996 Ford Escort. The bolt pattern was the same at 4 X 100 mm and the offset is a perfect match to the truck:). There is no rubbing at all even with 2 adults in the cab and the tires do not stick past the fenders on the outside which means no spray on the truck. I checked with a wheel repair company and the offset of these wheels is +36 mm. The tires that are on the rims are 175/65 R14. The only thing that I had to do to the rims is machine the center hole on the back to fit over the lip on the front rotors and the back drums. The hole was 2 1/8" in diameter and needs to be 2 3/8", but only needs to be the bigger diameter to a depth of 1/2". I found this very easy to do with a die grinder and an old hardened steel router bit, not one with carbide tips as the carbide tips do not last very long. A machine shop could do this as well but was supposed to cost $80.00 for all 4 wheels.

    I took some measurements from the old tires and rims to compare: Diameter old 21 1/2" new 22 1/2". Sidewall height old 3 3/4" new 3 1/2". total tire width old 5 1/2" new 6 1/2". The difference in ride is amazing, much smoother!! Traction on snow and ice is no comparison either. And there is no noticeable difference in power!! I have not taken the truck out on the highway yet but expect rpm to be less:). The only thing left to do is refinish the wheels as they have some corossion, will post with the results of this. Very pleased with the $100.00 investment for wheels and tires. All the research from other posts and scouring wrecking yards paid off!!!
     

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  2. fupabox

    fupabox Well-Known Member

    looks really good...according to the trusty miata tire calculator your rpms and speedo should drop by 8.6% so 100kph on speedo will actually be 108.6 kph...let us know how fuel mileage is with the new tires
     
  3. cabnfever

    cabnfever Member

    Looks good, i can wait to do this in the spring with a set of 14's i have
     
  4. Acerguy

    Acerguy Moderator Staff Member

    Nice! Thanks for posting it. Looks great.
     
  5. Stormin

    Stormin Member

    Thanks, now that I know the rims and tires work I have taken the tires off of the rims and striped all the varnish off and sanded the rims down. Now just have to polish them and give them a couple of coats of clear.
     

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  6. draggbody

    draggbody Member

    i dont recomend sanding them... you are in for an overwhelming task polishing them... i have had great results w/ aircraft stripper and a pressure washer... it will get all the little nooks that will be tough sanding and polishing... just clear them after you pressure wash them...
     
  7. fupabox

    fupabox Well-Known Member

    those rims will look great...are you gonna repaint the inner spokes or just strip them..The inner spokes would look good in white with the rest polished or aluminum
     
  8. Stormin

    Stormin Member

    I have sanded the rims already as the aluminum was very stained and plan on going over them a couple of times with progressively finer grit sandpaper before polishing. I was carefull not to strip the inner spokes and planned to leave them a dark gray, but you got me thinking about the white inner/polished spokes thing. Will have to think about this some more :).
     
  9. fupabox

    fupabox Well-Known Member

    princess auto has some good polishing pad kits for an air die grinder (pads are like green kitchen scouring pads in different grits) they work well and you can polish a wheel in under an hour to a mirror finish with them..they come in 2,3, and 4" if im not mistaken...I got 1 on sale for $15 included the chuck and 20 various grit velcro backed pads
     
  10. Stormin

    Stormin Member

    I finally got a chance to go out on the highway with the new wheels and tires (I drive mostly on gravel around our yard). Wow what a difference, alot smoother ride than with the stock wheels and tires. Also the engine rpm's are down to 5,000 rpm's @ 100 kmh. I also went with one size bigger tires than the escort rims had on them and have not had any issues with tires rubbing. I would like to encourage anyone wanting to go to bigger tires to do it, you won't be sorry you did.:) I have attached a current picture with all the work done except for center caps which I need to find yet. I could not leave the factory ford caps in place;).
     

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  11. aeroshots

    aeroshots Member

    Nice, I like it. I had to look twice at the picture. It looked just like you were on a dune in Northwest Florida. Our beaches look like snow drifts. With those new meats on, you should drive down here to take a picture on the beach. My bet is you will enjoy the temperture difference.:cool:
     
  12. cabnfever

    cabnfever Member

    when you say went up a size did you go to 185 or from 65 to 70?
     
  13. Stormin

    Stormin Member

    Aeroshots, I looked at the picture again and yeah it looks like I parked on the sand. I didn't think of looking at it that way because it was cold when I took the picture.:)I went to size 175/70 which is one size taller and narrower than what was on the aluminum wheels when I got them.
     
  14. cabnfever

    cabnfever Member

    since you have these on your truck, do you think 185 60's would clear? you say you dont have any rubbing issues just wondering if you think 10 more mm's would clear.
     
  15. Stormin

    Stormin Member

    According to the miata tire size calculator 185/60's are actually smaller than 175/70's. You can compare different tire sizes at this link http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html I actualy had to tweek the front mud flaps a bit after I had 2 adults in the cab and some weight in the back of the truck. Every time I turned a corner and went over a bump at the same time the outer corner of the tire would rub a bit on the mud flap. I just bent the inner lip of the fender/mud flap a bit with a pry bar and problem solved. I think that there would still be room to go with a bit bigger tire like a 185/70 provided you are using the same offset wheel that I have. I also have not lifted the truck yet so that would also make a difference. Hope this helps.
     
  16. Rick Melloh

    Rick Melloh Member

    Nice wheels

    Stormin,

    The wheels look great. Should be a lot of them out there in the junk yards. Did you try the white? That sounded pretty classy to me, but a lot more work. Gray is good too. The flat face on those Ford spokes really lends itself to refinishing.

    Sanding wet works much better than dry. A 600 grit, satin finish with clear coat would have a very soft, velvety sheen with nice highlights in the sun. Just an old aluminum sander/buffer talking.

    I noticed the cargo safety grid/grill (is there a name for those?) you have attached behind your cab. Was that a custom fabrication or is there somewhere we can get one of those?

    Rick Melloh
    2002 TT2 S/C HiCab
     
  17. Stormin

    Stormin Member

    Thanks, I did not try the white I took the easy way out!! Sanding the wheels left a satin finish which looks good, I did not have enough elbow grease to make a mirror finish like a wheel shop.:) The cargo rack or headach rack was in the truck when I bought it, I just thought all these trucks had them from the factory.
     
  18. anthill

    anthill Member

    Domingo this time

    OK, I just bought the van and already I've joined the 14" club.

    The stock Domingo tires are 155/80/R13. I replaced them with 165/65/R14s on '99 Nissan Sentra 14x5.5" rims.

    Thanks to this thread I picked a bolt-on low hassle rim with perfect 59.1mm centerbore and backspacing (40mm to tire bead). And their weight stamp says 10.5lb each :eek:! (Hollander #62364)

    Cost was $35/rim from a wrecker, new tires added more than that :rolleyes: (the Honda Insight is the only NA car with such super skinny tires). The clearance from tire to front springs is still a pinky finger (~4mm) so someone more daring might fit a 175/65/R14 on.

    Van now sits 1/4" lower, a few mm wider, and hopefully is just a little less rollover-prone. :D
     

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    Last edited: Jun 24, 2010
  19. fupabox

    fupabox Well-Known Member

    Those look really good...congrats
     
  20. olddatsunfan

    olddatsunfan Member

    Nice going!
     
  21. Stuff99

    Stuff99 Moderator Staff Member

    nooks good indeed. even some good tires on it lol
     
  22. Stormin

    Stormin Member

    Wheels look good, van looks good to. How many passenger is it? My kids wanted me to get a van but the truck made more sense for my work!
     
  23. anthill

    anthill Member

    Thanks for the encouragement! It's a 1994 van, and can seat four big people or seven short & narrow folks. Given its non-crashworthiness I doubt many of my friends will let their kids ride in it... :)
     

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