Alloy Wheels and Studs

Forum: 

I may be getting some alloy wheels for my 1990 F70. This came with steel rims as standard, I think the alloys are from an Independent, but I am not sure. Will the alloys fit on my hubs with the existing wheel studs? I work with lorrys and know that alloys are thicker and therefore require the studs to be changed for longer ones. I suddenly thought of this and think it would be better to know before I buy the alloys ^_^

Cheers, Stalin.

I asum you mean the standard

I asum you mean the standard 'pepper pot' / 'tear drop' designe? The studs aren't the problem. It's the wheel nuts. The Indipendent alloys have a deep hole for the wheel nuts to go into, but the hole is too tight to get a socket down to fit the nut. You have to get these extra long nuts, so you can get hold of the ends of them. Not a problem? If you can get second hand ones from somewhere great. I did £1 each. Sound a lot? Not compared to the £12 plus VAT the main dealer was asking for them... each! The guy behind the desk re-checked the price 3 times as even he couldn't belive it.
However these are very sterdy alloys, and well worth getting hold of. Mine have been on 3 cars now, over about a 10 year perioud. they have been off roaded quite harshly, and are still quite prety.

Any veiws expresed in this thread by me are purely from my own experience, and (sometimes) falible memory. Hope my comments help, but please don't take them as gospel.

I think they are lots of thin

I think they are lots of thin spokes, more than 5 I think. Not pepper pots or the one with (4?) rounded spokes. Ah right, do all the alloys have this recess for nuts? The rims I might be getting were took of the truck a few years ago when it was sold, so don't have any nuts with them. £12 is ridiculous, over £240 just for wheel nuts!

Nothing is ever simple!

Cheers.

wheel nuts

Hi Stalin
most modern truck wheels are located centrally on the hub itself and then held in place by flat faced nuts and all are designed to use steel wheels and so this dictates the design length of the stud, hence the need for longer studs to fit thicker yet lighter after market alloy wheels, lighter wheels more payload. On the Fourtrak and many other light vehicles however the wheel is both held on and located centrally by the wheel nuts. The nuts and the wheels have 60 degree mating faces so that when the nuts are tightened they are forced centrally into the wheel mounting hole and with all 5 in place the wheel is held centrally onto the hub.
We have new 19mm deep chrome wheel nuts to fit alloy wheels in stock at £28.00+vat for 20, we have a new webshop now online although it will be a couple of days before the wheel nuts are listed however we can process orders by phone on 01484 711344.
Best regards
Dave
Blood Red Offroad Ltd
www.bloodredoffroad.com

From that description they

From that description they sound like weller's. 8 spoke design. But they are steel rims. Maybe an after market alloy then? Or are they a 5 spoke alloy? With 4x4 cut into one of the spokes? If so, these are a Sportrak alloy. Same stud pattern. There is some worry by some members that Sporti Aloys are not up to speck for a 4trak. i had a set of these on an F50 once. Don't know if the insurance people would have liked that if I'd needed to claim.

Any veiws expresed in this thread by me are purely from my own experience, and (sometimes) falible memory. Hope my comments help, but please don't take them as gospel.

The wheels are round the back

The wheels are round the back of a shed in the yard where I work. I have only seen one at a fleeting glance, so am trying to describe from memory. They are definitely alloy and have more than 5 spokes, I spent some time looking on Google and Ebay, but couldn't find any similar. They may well have been after market, maybe I won't buy them then seeing as they might not be strong enough. As I said they were fitted to an Independent, but this obviously doesn't mean they are strong enough.
I don't like the look of the 5 spoke "rounded" alloys, but I quite fancy the Pepper Pots. There is currently none listed on Ebay, but would you know around about what you should be paying for a set? Do you know anywhere which lists/shows the alloy wheels acceptable to Fourtraks?

Thanks very much for your replies Nev.