Forum > Pinto FAQ
New to you Junkyard wheels
bbobcat75:
i knew the ford mustang and t-bird would fit never thought about a saab or any other car makes!! thanks for the info.
Jessi:
Thanks everyone, I am glad this is helpful. There are more vehicles than these, but most of the ones I left off were 13"ers also. I am huge into using the cheapest and best resources possible, and I hope to share some more Junk yard info in the future.
Starliner:
THIS IS IMPORTANT!!! The hub size of the wheel should be correct.
Sure wheels with larger hub holes will fit, but you are risking your safety.
If the wheel hub hole did not matter every wheel maker would make huge holes and not include hub rings with their wheels. Think about it.
The purpose of the wheel hub hole is to center the wheel and take strong impacts. During a strong impact the threaded studs flex slightly while the hub takes the impact. If not, the threaded studs could bend or break.
If you use a wheel with a larger hub hole, look to buy a hub ring or have one machined.
Get your measuring calipers out! :o
You can search "hub ring" on ebay and get a large selection of sizes. It is just a ring of concentric aluminim to take up the space. If one can't be found, you can make a sketch drawing and have a machine shop make them. Use metal hub rings, not polycarbon or other plastic material.
Another tip...If the wheel hole fits snug to the hub or to the hub ring, make sure to apply "never seize" so the two do not rust together. These will be dis-similar materials and corrosion can occur. I am sure we all had a car or friend with a car where it was very difficult to get the wheel off.
Jessi:
Ok, I should have been a little clearer here, but didn't think to explain it further. I said it didn't really matter because it doesn't to me, but please read the following information and make up your mind for yourself.
" Wheel Hub Centric Rings are designed to fill in the gap between the hub of the car and the center bore of the wheel. Most wheel manufacturers design their wheels with a centerbore large enough to fit on most cars. Therefore, since wheel manufactures make their center bore large enough to fit most cars, most wheel fitments have a gap between the hub and the centerbore. This gap usually doesn't allow for the wheel to fit hubcentric but rather lugcentric which may cause vibration. Therefore, to fill the gap and ensure the fitment is hubcentric, hub rings are used."
- as quoted by JustForWheels. com (who's business it is to sell hub rings)
So lets discuss hub rings, and hub sizes. Here I think Starliner and I are going to disagree a little and we will agree a little. Not all companies send rings in with their wheels. In fact in the 5 sets I have bought in the past, only one set came with these rings. These were specialty aluminum rims that used flat lug nuts (see explanation below). The rest of these rim sets I bought were steel (for racing or offroading), I think this is important because material the rim is made and lug type will make a difference for vibration. Another fact to point out is that the hub rings that came with the aforementioned aluminum rims, were plastic, which really doesn't do much when it comes to strong impacts.
I think it is also important to point out the types of lug nuts that can be used.
When I discuss lug types I of course refer to the shoulder types.
1. Conical/ Tapered- typical of a lug centric wheel
2. Ball/ radius- typical of a lug centric wheel
3. Flat- which does lend itself to being hubcentric only. Hub rings are a must here, but merely to center the wheel on the hub
The tapered, and ball type self center the wheel on the hub with only the use of the wheel bolts. This is why we tighten in a specific sequence, and torque in steps. If your rims use flats (this is where Starliner and I agree) you must use a hub ring, both to center the rim, and dampen vibration. Vibration can and will cause a flat lug to loosen itself. Which as we all know is bad.
So all of that being said the reader will need to make up their mind for themselves.
Starliner:
We can agree to not agree.
That said, with a Pinto being very light in weight the hub fitting is not as critical as a heavy vehicle like as truck or SUV.
Cheers
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