safely narrowing a set of wheels?
 

I hope I don't get pidgeon-holed on this question; what is the safety or practicallity of finding a set of wheels and having them narrowed? I am quite certain this is not a fantastic idea based on the potential for losing the structural integrity of the 1 piece wheel but I'm curious if it can be done and be as sound as originally built... done by a very qualified person goes without saying. Thoughts?

From what size to what size?? Alloy or Steel??

evilC

wheel narrowing
 

I would hope to narrow a set of 19"s from 10" wide to 8"wide. These would be the rears. I believe the fronts may be available in 8" wide as is. My sense is that they are alloy wheels... probably made by BBS for Porsche. The wheels are the Carerra S wheel. A very ambitious wheel to try to tuck under the fenders of my Ghia. Not to mention the fact that cutting a wheel apart and putting it back together is probably not advisable. I'm no engineer but I have a little common sense that struggles with my affection for the look of that wheel.

Thanks,
Russ

Dont want to sound daft, but if the fronts can be had in 8", what stops you getting 4x 8" for all 4 corners in the first place? Perhaps due to front and back being different offset?

steel yes, alloy no.

Jason

What makes you say that?

Alex

Here's a guy who had a set of Cayman wheels narrowed to fit his type3.
This would typically be done by either a wheel specialty shop,
Or a welder who has the cojones to do it.
http://www.xposure.nl/phpBB/viewtopi...r=asc&start=15

Steel is very durable, can put up with being bent and welded and is OK with it.

Aluminum is not very good at handling changes, repeated flexing stresses, and being welded. Aluminum is usually weak right next to the weld.
Unless a wheel is designed to be welded as part of it's construction, I wouldn't want it anywhere near my car. Call up some wheel fabrication places and ask them about it, curious what they'd have to say.

BTW, not saying it can't be done, just that I wouldn't want to be a person in the car. The alloy wheels I've seen welded are designed with a heat shrink effect then welded just to maintain the position, not as a structural component.

Jason

Narrowing rims
 

Well I really hope you guys are wrong, the ones that say it can't be done.
I wanted wider rims, at the time I choose the Cookie Cutters. The guy that did mine, is all he does is Alloy rims, his name is Eric Vaughn; 1-626-358-6413 Eric is very slow, but very good at welding the Alloy rims. I also know of a company that does Steel. How is does it is on a lath, he cut off the outter ring. I don't know if he does 19' but give him a call.
http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k9...8.jpg~original
http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k9...5.jpg~original
The outside rim is a blank Eric buy for your project. The weld, will there is a machine he jigs up your center section. The weld process is automated, damn good work:D

2nd on Erics work. Took forever, but quality is very high.
He widened a set of repo BRMs for my oval (back before you could buy them wider :mad: ). He split them behind the center and added his own hoop to the back half of the wheel. Went from 5.5s to 7s. He was even able to keep the heat controlled enough so as not to discolor the factory paint on the front side of the wheels.
But, not all alloys can be done this way. Depends on how they were manufactured.

Did I mention it costs?

Jeff-

Cutting and welding alloy wheels can be accomplished safely ...but you better be damn sure of the welding skills of the person doing the work.

I wouldn't trust such an extreme operation to anyone, except to an absolute expert in welding alloy materials. Someone welding in the aircraft manufacturing industry would be a good candidate. Alloy welding requires unique skills and a thorough understanding of metallurgy. I've seen the process performed first hand and the guy doing the welding had the skills of a surgeon. He even x-rayed the welds to check for complete weld penetration and no air-pockets when he was finished just to make sure that the wheels were bullet proof. He wasn't about to let an unsafe job leave his shop. He learned to weld in the Navy where he worked on jet aircraft welding high stress components like land gear and wing ribs. He knew his stuff when it came to welding.

One more thing. Expect to pay a premium price for the work.

That sounds about right. And finding that guy to do that kind of job at a cost most can afford is not that easy. I just would hate to have someone have "a buddy of theirs" weld up some wheels and end up with a blowout on the freeway. If you ask those guys that do this sort of welding, it's still not as good as the original casting, so keep that in mind.

Jason

welding
 

When I wanted Eric to do my rims, I tooked them to him. Once there he showed me what was invloved. No doubt this project or business (that's what Eric do for a living) has its risks. And defineately no back yard welder for me either:o . In the end you make the choice. On the back side, nothing but a very nice weld. Just so you know there is some one out there. This has been three years ago, I don't have the car running, his price was 200.00 per wheel (then)