Yesterday afternoon I got down to the task of of getting the car ready for the Holley LS Fest, which is only a couple of weeks away, and performing the few little upgrades that I had planned. First order of business was to take the front wheels off the car, break them down, install the wider inner hoop, reassemble, and reseal.
The wheels started life as being 8" wide. In case anyone was wondering, wheel width is measured at the area where the tire bead sits, not on the outside edges.
Here is the backside of the wheel. Notice the generous scalloping on the back side of the spokes and the hub area of the wheel. This is the reason why this particular wheel is only about 20 pounds. Also notice the generous amount of brake dust. I drive this car!
There are 40 fasteners that hold the wheel together. Once the nuts are removed, the wheel center comes out and the wheel halves can be separated. Notice the dead bugs on the inside of the wheels.
After disassembly, I cleaned the wheel centers with hot water and soap. This works very well to remove all the brake dust and general grime. The wider inner hoop was installed and the fasteners were torqued to 18 lb/ft, in two steps, and in a start pattern, much like when you torque lug nuts.
Here is the finished wheel, now 9.5" wide and ready for the new BFG Rival 275/35-18 front tires. Important safety tip: make sure you let the silicone dry before putting air in the tires. The pressure will penetrate the uncured seal and will leak, resulting in taking the tire off and doing the seal over again. Not fun!
Here is the rear Rival compared to the Falken 615...
Today I will be installing the Dodge 7/8" bore MC, so stay tuned for more updates.
Andrew