D.I.Y disco rim off-setting..

[long stroke]

Hi all:)
Just seeing if anyone on here has ever tried cutting, flipping and re-welding the disco1 rim centre to gain more off-set?
Dad had a go today on an old rim which we don't use, he cut it then bashed the centre out and possitioned it in roughly the right spot, looks good so far the hardest bit would be to get it to run true;)
I know many of you have got them done by an engineer but we wanted to see if we could do it our selves:angel:
P.S if we do the whole set they will only be used off'road


CHEERS TIM.

[Newbs-IIA]

I has been done many times before I believe. More than one bloke on the forum i'm sure. The short answer is that I would definatly get them done profesionally at a wheel/rim specailist - should be pretty resonable in price and little compared to the safety factor you are gaining. Another option you can do is get an old set of 16 x 8"or10" sunraysiers (most likely cruiser 6 stud attern) and swap the centers out so that you not only get a better offset but a wider rim to fit bigger rubber on :D

Good luck with it, i'm sure someone on here will soon post up a local bloke to you who will do the job professionally.

[rovercare]

You really need a lathe and a dial indicator;)

Maybe set up a jig with an old hub to locate and spin them, either way, they need to be set up with a dial

[discowhite]

it can be done at home, safely, if you know what you are doing...ie, bounce, run out and welding of corse.
i know for a fact that you WILL go through LOTS of gringing discs trying to split the welds:eek: and you'll be sick of being covered in sparks after the first rim......

i paid a wheel shop 30 bucks a rim to split the centers.
i did the rest myself with an old stub/hub assy and a dial indicator.

funny thing is the same tyres on the boost alloys had twice the amount of wheel ballance then steel D1 rims i flipped:eek:

cheers phil

[rovercare]

i did the rest myself with an old stub/hub assy and a dial indicator.


cheers phil

:):):)

[long stroke]

Thanks guy's!!
Doesn't sound to bad, dad reckons the centre was easy to cut out, took a bit of a bash to remove the centre because they are so tightly fitted, he plans to make up a jig with an old stub/hub and go from there we'll see what happens;)

CHEERS TIM.

[long stroke]

One more question...
How do you get around the Valve stem being on the inside of the rim (under the car), do you weld that one up and re-drill it on the outside or just put up with it on the inside?

CHEERS TIM.

[rovercare]

One more question...
How do you get around the Valve stem being on the inside of the rim (under the car), do you weld that one up and re-drill it on the outside or just put up with it on the inside?

CHEERS TIM.

I've seen both:eek:

Fill it and redrill;)

[rijidij]

I recently upgraded my welder, so I thought I'd have a go at offsetting my spare set of Disco rims. I only wanted a 30mm offset, so I didn't need to spin the centers around.
One tip I can give is, grind enough of the original welds away so you can remove the center towards the inside of the wheel. This is because the outside of the center is actually tapered, so if you hit it out towards the outside of the wheel it actually gets tighter and tighter before it pops out......I found this out the hard way on the first one.
I made up a jig from MDF to allow the center to sit at the new position. We have a saw at work which cuts to 1/10th mm, so the jig is pretty accurate.
Because of the taper, when the center is moved back, there is a gap between the center and the rim. I used metal shims to center it.
When everything is in place, tack the center in.
I don't have a dial gauge or a lathe, so I simply fitted the wheel to the back of my Landy. I used a solid block and a steel ruler as a gauge, and span the wheel on the hub. Except for a couple of minor dents in the edge of the rim, it spun up pretty true. Actually, I wouldn't be surprised if it's better than the set I've had on the County for 10 years. It was certainly good enough to go back to the welder and finish it off.

Cheers, Murray

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2009/06/743.jpg https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2009/06/744.jpg

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2009/06/745.jpg

[Tote]

Couldnt be any worse that the expensive set of American Racing wheels on my ute that are put together by the reseller in Melbourne, one of mine is at least 5 mm out when you have it on a balancer. Didnt notice until it was too late to complain to the retailer.:mad:
Regards,
Tote

[long stroke]

Thanks heaps for the pics Murray!!:cool:
Very cool way of off-setting them, we might end up only off-setting them 30mm as well not shore yet;)
Looks like dad hit the rim out the wrong way as well:D
Thanks for letting us know there tapered:angel:

CHEERS TIM.

[rijidij]

I forgot to mention, if you offset 30mm, you'll need to cut about 15mm off the back edge of the center to mate up the welding surfaces..........as someone said earlier, expect to go through quite a few grinding disks.

Murray

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2009/06/738.jpg

[isuzurover]

I had 1 set done in QLD and one set done in WA. For $40 per rim I couldn't be arsed doing them myself.

The ones I did in QLD were cut and flipped, and the old valve holes welded up. These were +30mm offset.

The ones I did in WA were +20mm - they spun them on a lathe and machined down the flange (as Rigidij mentions above). While they were done very well, I think this method concentrates the load on the rim, which is not ideal. They also welded them up using one continuous weld (not great for crack propagation). However they are very nicely welded and needed almost no lead to balance.

[clankilpatrick]

Evening All, thought I would throw my 2 cents worth in as I have just gone through this process myself and hopefully the many mistakes that I made may save you some time if you do decide to have a crack yourself. I'll put them in point form as it's easier for me to remember all the good and bad bits along the way

1. grind the welds on the back of the rim down (obviously) and then use a ultra thin cutting disc to cut a groove around between the inner and outer rim. Do it deeper than you think you need to go as the centre rim is pressed in bloody tight and it is amazing how much corrosion is still in there.
2. Weld up a "cross" using heavy flat bar welded "on edge" so that it fits snugly inside the outer rim and sits on the inner rim. I tried pressing out the middle without doing this the first time and bent everything to buggery. (Rims 1- Dave 0)
3 Find a 14 inch rim that your 17 inch rim can sit on when you press the centre out as otherwise all that happens is the outer lips/edges of the outer rim flatten out. Took 2 rims for me to work out what was happening (Rims 3 - Dave 0). You may also need to weld some extra plate in the bed of the press so that the 14 inch rim sits flat all around the edge otherwise it will buckle and so will your 17 inch rim.
4. Find a good machinist who can put the centre back in for you at the correct offset. We ended up mounting the rim on a landy hub, holding that in the chuck and then running the tail stock with a live centre into the middle of the hub so that everything ran true. Tack in place
5. Reweld the centre back in place only AFTER taking the rim to a tyre dealer to check it for trueness and balance. Found this out the hard way as well. had to cut and grind out the centre for a second time on 2 rims.
6. Rust converter + precoat x 2 + white top coat x 2 and the rims look smicko.
7. 130 nows manages o turn inside a hectare instead of the 5 hectares it use to take along with the 16 point turn.

I'll try and post up some photos at a later date when I've finished the last 3 rims. Cheers and good luck.

[Newbs-IIA]

I had 1 set done in QLD and one set done in WA. For $40 per rim I couldn't be arsed doing them myself.

The ones I did in QLD were cut and flipped, and the old valve holes welded up. These were +30mm offset.

The ones I did in WA were +20mm - they spun them on a lathe and machined down the flange (as Rigidij mentions above). While they were done very well, I think this method concentrates the load on the rim, which is not ideal. They also welded them up using one continuous weld (not great for crack propagation). However they are very nicely welded and needed almost no lead to balance.
hey mate where abouts did you get yours done in Brisbane?

[V8Ian]

hey mate where abouts did you get yours done in Brisbane?
Wilson Wheels at Mayne used to be the wheel people in Brisbane.
200 Abottsford Rd, ph 3252 3891

[isuzurover]

hey mate where abouts did you get yours done in Brisbane?

I knew a race car builder who did stuff like that in his back shed. Don't think he is there anymore. Race engineering do them as well, but from memory they were $60-80 per rim.

[rijidij]

I had 1 set done in QLD and one set done in WA. For $40 per rim I couldn't be arsed doing them myself.

How long ago did you get them done for $40. Cost me $60 ea about 8 years ago. If I could get them done for $40 it wouldn't be worth doing it yourself.

Murray

[isuzurover]

How long ago did you get them done for $40. Cost me $60 ea about 8 years ago. If I could get them done for $40 it wouldn't be worth doing it yourself.

Murray

The last set was a year ago in WA - $40+GST. The set in Brisbane were $40 cash each, 7 years ago,

[Rangier Rover]

I like the jig idea to get them close, Then put it on a hub if you have no lathe or dial indicator and use a pointer of some sort to zero them in. If for off road only they will be close enough.;) Trust me I've done it:angel:

Then make a balancing pick so you can balance the welding.:)

Or find one of these
http://www.aulro.com/afvb/attachment.php?attachmentid=16072&stc=1&d=1245128498


I have just done five for my 120 now at the powder coaters..
They have come out with about -30 offset.
Cheers Tony

[long stroke]

Ok dad got one welded up and a tyre put on it today:cool:
The guy at the tyre shop had flipped a set of rims for his car once so he was fine with doing it, it only needed 40g of lead to Balance it, he said it was very close to spot on:cool:
Pics..

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2009/06/630.jpg

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2009/06/631.jpg

The inside
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2009/06/632.jpg

As you can see we welded up the old valve stem hole and drilled a new one.

P.S Rangier rover, what is that thing in the pic:angel:
and thanks for the advice everyone:thumbsup:

CHEERS TIM.

[Newbs-IIA]

That looks tops mate, so you don't have to weld all the way around? just in sections?

Wack some paint on and bolt it on the 4by to show some before and after shots - these would be really useful

[isuzurover]

so you don't have to weld all the way around? just in sections?


That is how they are welded from the factory. It is preferable to full welding, because in the unlikely event a crack starts in the weld, it cannot propagate all the way around.

[long stroke]

That looks tops mate, so you don't have to weld all the way around? just in sections?

Wack some paint on and bolt it on the 4by to show some before and after shots - these would be really useful

Thanks Newbs:)
As isuzurover said they come from factory with about five 3-4" welds, i can get a pic of before and after, this is only the test rim we have to do 4 more yet:D

CHEERS TIM.

[Newbs-IIA]

I was just quoted $120 per wheel to "flip" or change the offset on my 5.5" IIA rims :o

This was from Race Engineering in Brisbane. They also said that it was unlikely that they could find a newer, wider rim that the centres could be welded into i.e. take the centre from my IIA rim and put them into a 16x8" outer band

Does this sound right??? Can someone reccomend another place that I can compare prices with - sounds awefully expensive.

Should I just get some disco rims and do as Tim has?

[V8Ian]

I was just quoted $120 per wheel to "flip" or change the offset on my 5.5" IIA rims :o

This was from Race Engineering in Brisbane. They also said that it was unlikely that they could find a newer, wider rim that the centres could be welded into i.e. take the centre from my IIA rim and put them into a 16x8" outer band

Does this sound right??? Can someone reccomend another place that I can compare prices with - sounds awefully expensive.

Should I just get some disco rims and do as Tim has?
Did you try Wilsons?

[Newbs-IIA]

Just gave Wilson Wheel Works a call but got 'your call could not be connected'... Are they still operating? Anyone have a more recent phone number? - the one I have was listed the same on 3+ websites