Wheel application list

Thanks timetripper,

Just by looking at 14" wheels and tires it just seems like you'd gain a little more on the top end than 4.34 mph. What I plan to do, some day when I actually own a mini truck, Is to install 14" or 15" tires and wheels to try to acheve a comfortable RPM at 60mph. Or are these mini trucks not as low geared as I think?
The only mini truck i've ever driven was a CONY 4 speed made in the Phillipines, that poor truck was screaming in 4th gear at 45mph
That just made me think of another idea.......Are there higher gears available for the differentals?

 

i have a 5 speed but i don't have a tach to give you exact figures, but at 100kmh (62mph) it's really not revving very hard at all. i still have a lot of pedal left in it and power to pick up and pass easily.

try this wheel calculator it seems pretty acurate when compared to what i got on my gps

http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

 

How do you tell if it is 4x100 or x110 or x115? I have no idea what that stands for, except for the 4 bolts

 

C/P from a tire website:

Most Bolt Patterns are represented in the following manner:

4/100
The "4" indicates the number of holes in the wheel for the bolts to enter and mount the wheel onto the car.
The "100" indicates the diameter of the bolt circle measured in millimeters or inches. 4 & 6 bolt wheels are measured from the center of one bolt hole to the center of the bolt hole directly across from it. On a 5 bolt pattern, it is a bit trickier to measure without special tools. Imagine a circle running through the centers of each bolt hole. You would measure from the center of one bolt hole to the imaginary circle that lays between the opposite two bolt holes.

 

I'm in the same wannabe position (for now). A tire 21.5" diameter (i.e. in the range of the stock size) does 938 revolutions per mile.

If you look in this thread ...
http://www.minitrucktalk.com/showthread.php?t=2091

you can see the ratios for, for example, a normally-aspirated Subaru Sambar. 938 revs/mile x 6.500 x 0.861 = 5250 revs per mile. At 60 mph that's 5250 rpm. At 70 mph, which is probably close to that truck's top speed, it's doing 6124 rpm, which should be close to the RPM at which the engine makes peak power.

Putting taller ratios or taller tires to bring the revs down is one thing, BUT, you can get a situation where the engine won't "pull" the gearing. The top speed (and revs) go down, but the truck won't go as fast because the engine can't put enough force to the ground to push it through the air.

In that thread, the supercharged version of the same truck has not only a taller top gear but also a taller final drive. Works out to 4684 revs per mile. It can do it because the supercharged engine makes more torque, so it'll pull the taller ratio.

I've driven exactly one mini truck, and it was a 5-speed Suzuki Carry (and I want one!). At 100 km/h, the engine was screaming in 4th. It would slowly accelerate in 5th (had it up to 110), and you could tell the engine was spinning ... Still, the pistons and stroke length are like many motorcycle engines. It's built to take it ...

That's a very old model. Minor internet searching finds that the engine was at most 360 cc! No wonder it would have been screaming at 45 mph ...

Re differentials, depends on model. Honda and Subaru have transverse engines with transaxles (like a front drive car, but with everything sitting in the back) and that makes parts swapping hard because everything is inside the transmission case. All of the others have the old fashioned traditional separate transmission and live-axle rear end. The Suzuki and Daihatsu models were sold (outside Japan) with 1.0 litre engines, and I'm sure those had taller gearing, and with leaf-spring rear ends it ought to be a simple matter to swap axles or diffs. BUT ... will the little engine pull it?

 

yet another good reason why i've kept my silly little stock tires on my truck thus far. it cruises very nicely between 110-120kmh on those little 145's. anything larger will not only increase your gearing, but it's more rotating mass to get moving, and more rotating mass to try and slow down. not to mention more resistance with a larger foot print on the road.

i've been down this road before with VW's. and quickly UNDERSTOOD the old saying about "for every action there is a reaction". i started off with a 67 beetle with a stock engine that made about 55hp... i was looking for a "healthy daily driver with decent gas mileage"... i ended up with a 200+ HP fire breather that wouldn't run on anything less than 105 octane... and spent a lot of cash doing it. so i'm trying to be conservative on this project.

there is nothing i would like more than to pep my truck up a bit and put some decent wheels on it, but i hate throwing good money out the window, and having to admit that the engineers really did know what they were doing

BTW, i thought a live axle was solid like when a drag car is running a spool? these little trucks have a diff in them...

 

"Live" just means the differential (or welded-solid "spool"!) is built into the axle assembly and goes up and down with suspension movement, and it's a different matter from the type of differential.

The Carry of my current dreams has the suspension *lowered*, and the "headache" bar either removed or trimmed back so that none of it projects into the air stream, in the interest of a little less drag ...

 

don't even get me going, i've been fighting the urge to slam my truck and my buddy at work is still trying to talk me into bagging it... i have a set of bags just sitting in my garage doing nothing

 

Milt, Your'e going to hook a set of bagpipes up to your stacks? Cool!
JK

 

well get out the bandsaw and MIG welder and start making something happen

 

Gofaster, dude!! you gotta stop, this is killing me!!

#1 i'm a fabricator by trade, and could do this in my sleep, aside from the fact that i have a gimp hand due to an accident at work, they had to harvest tendons from my forearm and rebuilt a joint in my hand... i have all the tools and equipment... i love to lower things





from this.. (drug it home for $100)


to this...


#2 i live in cow country, and don't know how well i could navigate the roads in a lowered stance

#3 it's 4wd, i can see it now, "yo, mac daddy milt, you gotsta kick in that fo' wheel drive so we could get over that speed bump, yo"

 

yeah that's really what i'm aiming for, mostly just biding my time till my hand is a usefull member of society again

i would like to lift it only about 2 inches to avoid too much hassle with the drive train lowering and all, and put a low pro 14" or 13" a/t on it... if it can be found.

my wife know's i'm an idiot out on the road... not like a terrible driver but she's been in the passenger seat in the mud and her biggest fear is me building it too tall and top heavy and her getting that call... "uhm, honey, you know i love you right?... can you get the dodge and the tow straps and the trailer... maybe call dave for some help... my truck is on it's side... no, baby, i'm allright.. just a little banged up..."

<---jen

 

The center-of-gravity (plus that I'd be driving it on road all the time and almost NEVER off-road it) is why I wouldn't consider lifting one of these ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1Vs9TN2vdU&feature=related

PS I'm not talking about slamming it (BTW that Caddy looks baaaaaaad, ya know in a good way of course) - just an inch or two depending on how the suspension is designed.

This is (sort of) what I want it to be able to do ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26PYrJEvUCc&feature=related

 

there's no way you could cruise on the two side wheels with an open diff, but after mastering riding a unicycle, i think i've got enough balance to do that

keep in mind i'm sittin in the living room working on my laptop.... she heard the guys from top gear and her ears perked up (gotta love her for her recognition of the motorheads)

the missus looked at these over my shoulder, then stared and me and said "NO!"

lol

 

Wheels and adapters

I thought I would finish what I had started with this thread,regarding wheels and adapters for a Daihatsu (110mm to 100mm). I got my 1st set of adapters I had manufactured for the impossible 110mm x 4 bolt pattern that most all pre 1999 Daihatsu mini trucks have. These really worked out great so I am posting a pic of my 98 Daihatsu SI with a set of Acura 14" 100mmx4 wheels I found at the salvage yard.I mounted a set of 175/r70 14's up and what a great change from those 12" tires. She cruises at 70 no problem .. even with my old 1936 Indian chief on board!...I had several sets of these adapters made up so e mail me if you need a set($200 for full set includes lug nuts 12x1.5mm)
Tom

 

the wheels look good, and the side skirts on the bed are fantastic!! but, nothing compares to the indian

 

Tom, I have found your list very useful as well
Thanks for the info
I quite often point posters to this thread for those
"what fit's what questions" and I always make sure to give you credit
for it though.

 

That is an awesome list you compiled! I know you posted several days ago, but I just saw it. Nice Hijet, did you build those skirts are did they come from japan on the truck? Also how much offset do your spacers have? Oh, just saw Milt's Caddy from the earlier post also, Big Pimpin!

 

Wheels and Adapters

Thanks all! .. The adapters are 1 inch thick, The side skirts or a factory item on the IS model ,I am considering having these reproduced in fiberglass for all models and making them available to the public. The factory skirts are steel. Any interest out there in a set of these???.. Also I just completed my 114.3mm x 4 wheel application llist and will be posting soon.
Tom

 

adapters from 110 x 4 to 4.5 on 4 and 4.25 on 4

a bit wide, but could work with FWD offset wheels

http://airbagit.com/index.php?cPath=1_4&sort=2a&page=5

 

another good list for you guys that need 4 x 100 wheels...

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

 

mazda miata 14" x 5.5" rims fit very nicely. the tires are a bit larger than i wanted, but were brand new 185/65R14 (23.5") and fit without a lift kit and without rubbing anything but the front mud flap on a hard turn. i will be putting a 2" lift kit shortly.

 

Did you find them at the scrap yard? I wonder if they would work on my 99 Suzi with 4x100 rims?Jeff

 

I found them on craigslist, $200 with brand new tires on them

 

Great Deal

 

Excellent!
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