My wheels - Yes, another wheel thread!...

Right, I bought some wheels a while back and have been working on them. They're almost ready for paint and then obv go on the car. I just have a few questions as I don't really now alot about wheels, though I have read up recently, and I just want some advice.

So, my new wheels are nice vintage steels, and have the following markings:

CM x555 6A (CM I'm guessing is a make or model stamp, the 555 is that centre bore?)
KZ 7.79 (No idea what either of these are? Again, KZ could be make or model stamp)
5 1/2 Jx13 CH (I know 5 1/2 is the width of the wheel, J is the bead lip, and 13 is the diametre. Whats the CH?)
GM ET37 (Now ET is obv offset and I suspect GM could be another make or model mark?)

So my question is what do all these bits mean and will they fit my Micra? I quickly measured centre bore on them at approx 5.6cm (could this be the x555 6A bit) and am woried now they wont fit. I did fit one to the rear just to see if it fitted when I first got them and seemed to fit no prob, will front be the same? Just worried as I measured Micra steelie centre bore at 6cm?

The Micra wheel doesn't seem to have much info on it? All I could find was the part number, 13x5JCHx4.5 and in the centre 4T and 0933?

What does all this mean? Will the wheels fit and will I need spacers/spigots etc? I know theres something you can use that does like a computer line image of how the wheel will sit, but I don't know what this is?

The wheels also came with pretty much new tyres, 2 x Yokohamas and 2 x Federals, both 185/60r13 80H. Would these be the right tyre as they looked a bit big for the wheel?

I know this is a huge thread and a subject that gets covered time and time again but I really am struggling here guys! Your help, knowledge and advice, as always, are much appreciated!...
 
CM x555 6A ignore these, just random factory markings, nothing to do with the wheels in the real world

KZ 7.79 same applies as above

5 1/2 Jx13 CH (I know 5 1/2 is the width of the wheel, J is the bead lip, and 13 is the diametre. Whats the CH?)
this is bang on, but the CH is irrelevant so ignore it (ps, the 5.5 width is measured inner bead to inner bead not the over all outside width)

GM ET37 offset is +37 the GM means they are General Motors i.e vauxhall this makes the center bore 56.6mm so they will not fit directly onto a micra without making it bigger, out to 59.1mm


The wheels also came with pretty much new tyres, 2 x Yokohamas and 2 x Federals, both 185/60r13 80H. Would these be the right tyre as they looked a bit big for the wheel?

***depends what spec car they came off sounds about right
 
Cheers for the info guys... Hmmm, gonna get to the bottom of this tomorrow. I've had one on the back already so know they fit, logically the fronts should too, yes?

To be honest, the centre bore on the new ones is only briefly 5.6cm, it tapers away inside the wheel, so should be alright I think?

Just to check, the Micra is hub-centric yes? My wheels are lug centric... Imagine theres an adapter I'll need then?
 
Right, well tried one on the front earlier & they fit! The size of the bore doesn't matter, the spigot doesn't come near it!

So I'm pretty happy, just need to answer the question of whether the Micra wheels are hub centric or lug centric? As mentioned, my new ones are lug centric so am I likely to need some kind of adaptor or something?
 
totally confused me!!! hub centric means that the center of the wheel, the center bore, fits snugly over the center of the hub on the car i.e the spigot, the round bit that sticks out about 8mm, if it does not fit snugly then the wheels can suffer from run out i.e where they are not located center on the hub the wheel does not spin on the dead center so will give wheel wobble. thats why the center bore is important. a lot of people run bigger center bored wheels without fitting spigot rings and have the above problem.
 
So what are we saying? The wheels I'm putting on are defo lug centric, they're vintage steels & the centre bore on them was never designed to be accurately central, the hole is just there to clear the spigot...

So are the Micra wheels hub or lug centric? I'm guessing from whats said above that they're hub central? That being the case is there a conversation ring or adaptor or something I can buy or have made up?
 
A spigot ring?

I don't think thats gonna work, the wheels well clear the spigot, sit well away from it. Plus, as mentioned, the centre bores aren't really that central.

There is an adaptor plate you can get isn't there? Hoop, was it you who needed them to get a set of lug eccentrics to fit or am I thinking of somebody else?

Basically some kind of ring, like a spacer, that also sits near on the spigot would be the ticket, right?

Seriously need some help here, wanna have them on in the next 2weeks...
 
It's called a spigot ring you get it made up to match the micra center bore and the center bore of your wheels

No, I'm aware of Spigot rings, they're no good for this application though asmy wheels are not hub centric... They don't sit on the centre of the hub & the centre bore of the wheel is round about central, as it was never intended to be used to centre the wheel...

What I'm thinking is, do spacers for snug on the centre of the hub & if so surely using these between the wheels & hub would make the wheels hub central?

If the hole in the spacer is bigger then obv I could use spacers with spigot rings in to centre it all up then fix the wheels?

Does that make sense? Advise please...
 
Meh. Don't just wang the first nut up super tight and you'll probably be ok. Tighten opposites in turn nice and slowly and the taper on the nuts will centralise them. If you get a bit of vibration turn the wheel 90 degrees on the studs and have another go.

My old old slots never had any centre location, just careful tightening and were always fine, likewise the 7"s that were on the front of the red one. My current slip on spacers are the same. The only time I've felt compelled to use centre location is when I had no location on the studs using separate tapered washers and nuts to shuffle the 4x4" PCD of the wheels to the 4x100 of the studs.
 
like mark says, do the nuts up slowly, bit by bit on each stud and the taper of the nuts will centre the wheels, just like stock steels, which apparently have a slightly over sized centre bore anyway to allow for this.
 
Yeah, cheers for that guys... Yeah, I'm sound with changing a wheel. It's the wheel wobble I'm worried about though as hoop said. Doesn't the wheel centre take some of the weight/force of driving on hub centric wheels?

The idea of the spacer & the spigot ring would work though wouldn't it?

Did I upset Karl btw?
 
the spigot doesnt take any weight, it just centralizes the wheel, friction takes all the weight. may be woirth you getting a pic up, im guessing your wheels are similar to old wide 5 beetle wheels, not as extream obviously. how wide are the holes for the studs/bolts?
 
the spigot doesnt take any weight, it just centralizes the wheel, friction takes all the weight. may be woirth you getting a pic up, im guessing your wheels are similar to old wide 5 beetle wheels, not as extream obviously. how wide are the holes for the studs/bolts?

Yes Hoop, as you say, very similar to the old VW spoked wheels, as well as those used on most cars throughout the 70s. Rain stopped play today so no pictures but imagine a standard flat, steel wheel. Then imagine between all the lug holes there are spokes, so 4 in total... These raise up toward the centre of the wheel to the centre bore, so effectively you have a wheel with the bolt holes where they would normally be on the face of the wheel, but the centre bore is pushed outwards away from the hub... Hope that clears things up a bit for anyone who is having trouble understanding my problem?...

So yeah, the wheels fit fine, they'll need tapered nuts (which I thought the Micra used which is what threw me as to the whole hub/lug centric thing)... So the wheels will go on fine, but as has come up in the thread, usually you would use a spigot ring or something to ensure wheel centre & eliminate wheel wobble, but as my centre hole comes nowhere near the spigot & can not be presumed to be central in either case, I wondered if a spacer ring, sitting snuggly around the spigot, or just around it & a spigot ring added, would help make the wheels more solid & stable, i.e. Wiping out wheel wobble?

The reason I brought up the load bearing on the centre of the wheel is that I read that on lug centric wheels, obviously, the lugs centre the wheel & take the weight of the car & the force of travelling. The same site also informed that with hub centric wheels, the nuts are there solely to hold the wheel to the hub, and it is the centred around the inside edge of the centre hole (makes sense) and it is this part of the wheel that takes the weight of the car & any travelling forces... That was the bit that threw me & got me worrying...

Will get some diagrams up later to try explain what I mean with the taper...

Cheers to everyone for your input so far!
 
tapered nuts are designed to centre the wheel oddball, as long as there is clearance around the centrebore and the tapers match ok they will do the job they,re designed for eh
 
rostyle type im guessing

4608417022_63524d41a8.jpg
 
Yes Hoop, spot on... they're Rostyles! Didn't wanna give too much away before I had them fitted but I guess I should have known better than trying to fool the wheel whore! :)

Have to say, they've been a bugger to strip with all the nooks and crannies and curves and what not, but nearly there now. Could probably spray them already but want them perfectly smooth! Guy I bought them off had brush painted them with this thick browny/black treacley stuff, completely hid all the detail so a strip was a must!

Frank, thanks for the advice! That's all I've been worried about, whether any extra seating was needed, so looks pretty straight forward now.

Would tapered nuts be what the yanks refer to as "Acorn seat"? Just I'm getting a set of Gorilla lugs and the best match to me seems to be the aforementioned acorns? The uts that came with the wheels (too small) pictured below...

nuts.jpg
lugnut2.jpg
 
Have you still got the stock wheel nuts? If so use them until you get the nuts you need :)

Yeah, stock steels still on, won't be putting the new ones on for a week or two yet (famous last words)... Have the stock nuts got enough taper on them to seat on the wheel properly an get a firm hold?
 
Just wanted to confirm before I purchase. Would you say these nuts:
lugnut2.jpg

Are what the yanks would refer to as Acorn seat (see below), I think we'd call them taper? Or are they ball seat?
nuts.jpg
 
I have seen rostyle wheels on a k11. Went to a auto test the end of last year,and there was a guy running a set on his micra there.
They did look good tho nice bit of offset.
 
I have seen rostyle wheels on a k11. Went to a auto test the end of last year,and there was a guy running a set on his micra there.
They did look good tho nice bit of offset.

DAMN! Thought I was the first!? Nevermind though, eh... still rare enough...

Do you know what size he had? 13s, 14s?
 
They'll be same as mine then, 5.5... Wanted 14s so badly but the PCD was different... The 14s have more spokes and just look better... They're the ones you see on all the old MGs... :(
 
Back
Top