SkinnyG Widens some Steelies

Hyundai Accent. I want 15" steelies, not mags, and I really want the wheel lip to come right out to the fender edge. Nobody makes those. So....

Initially I banded a set of wheels from 15x6 to 15x7 for my Angry Accent, but those will be going on my wife's Happy Hyundai. Banding is kinda tricky. 15x7's:

But of course, I now must go wider, like 15x7.5, and I think turning eight into four is a better way.

To do that, I'll need eight wheels.

First step, fabricate an angle-grinder mount for your brake lathe.  We all have brake lathes, don't we? These wheel halfs were 0.125" thick, so you can follow your cutting depth indicator to cut just enough.  Takes the guesswork out of how deep to cut.  Or just go until you hear it change in sound; you're pretty much there.

One set of wheels were cut 5" from the backside:

Another set of wheels were cut 3.5" from the front side:

The centers had to be removed from the 3.5" fronts:

15x7.5!  TIG welded, because I prefer TIG for things that matter to me.

Not wanting to waste anything, 15x3's, anyone?

Blasted and epoxy primed:

And sprayed with PPG Delfleet:

Tires ordered, and you'll see them on the car in spring.

I love this. And I hate steelies 

edit: looking at the pics it seems like you added all the width on the inboard side of the wheel.  Am I missing something?

I cut the outer part off one wheel keeping the back and about 2" of dropped center (ALL of the dropped center).

Then I cut the outer part off another wheel keeping the front and about 1.5" of dropped center (MOST of the dropped center).  Then removed the center.

Welded together, I end up with about 3.5" of dropped center, with the width being added to the outside of the wheel.

Nice!  I really like subtle mods like this, but it's specialized work and the shops that can do it are disappearing.  Very impressed that you DIY'd the job!

Looks great. Did you get two shraeder valves per wheel? 

The 15x3's have two schraders!

Seems like the 15x3s should be used for a winter setup. 

That is some fancy bodgery right there. Nicely done! 

Very nice work.  I hope they balance well; I know that if my own handiwork was involved, that would probably not be the case.

This is next-level DIY--excellent work, sir!

Steel wheels are the best wheels.

I have little constructive to contribute to the wheels themselves, but repurposing a brake lathe for this is brilliant

EvanB said:

Seems like the 15x3s should be used for a winter setup. 

Because this is far and above the correct answer.

Since the brake lathe spins, you can probably mount up a traditional lathe cutting tool instead of the grinder for more precision and maybe a bit more safety.

I've split welded 3 piece wheels with a lathe and with a cutting wheel, and I much prefer the former method.

Could you just go buy a 15x7 rim with the wrong bolt pattern  ,

remove the center and replace it with the center with the bolt pattern you need

Then  weld the center to the offset you need,

The shop that does this locally for all the Porsche 911 guys was using Dodge minivan rims to get 15x6 outers and welding in the 911 steelie center .

I would love somebody to make some wide steelies like this for me, but I don't think the base stock exists.

The 15x3s will look great on the back of your drag setup!

In reply to buzzboy :

WHEELS | corsasteelies

Made my own wheels for about 10 years of dirt track racing mid '80s to mid '90s.  Also made my own beadlock rings. Generally started out with cast off aftermarket 15x8 wheels no one wanted and widened them to 15x13 or 14. Did it all with a oxy/act cutting torch and mig welder.

To cut the wheels, i bolted them to a hub so they could spin. The torch was held in a fixture but operated by hand. Same method to cut wheels apart was also used to cut the bead rings off stock wheels to make my own beadlock rings.

The bands for widening the wheels was just strips of steel of that I "rolled" in a homemade brake.

Made some simple templates to make production of the bolt rings easier and more consistent. Still cut the parts by hand using the templates as a guide.

For welding them together, I made an adjustable fixture that went inside the wheel to hold the part in place before welding. That allowed me to adjust position until the parts spun true before tack welding.

It was the kind of thing you do when you have more time than money, definitely helped me hone my skills. All the wheels on my backwards engined cars like this one were made the same way...

Here's some banged up homemade wheels from the previous year on the double engine rotary powered car before it got aluminum wheels...

Grant

I am all in on team wide steelies

14X7.5" on the Caddy

13X6.5 and 7.5 for the Fiat

And 10X6.5 on the mini

What tire size do you run on the caddy?

185/55-14. 

Those are the Federals that they discontinued last year 

My brain faded and my first thought was all you had mounting that grinder was a rubber bungee cord.  LOL

Awesome work my man......

Nope.  The bungee was just the trigger.

Trial fit just to see. There's still 6" of snow outside. I like it.  A lot. Nitto Neo Gen 205/50R15.

Oh my yes