Biggest wheels?

[Rogue Trooper]

I have some doubts about re-drilling, I don't know if it will affect the structural integrity of the hub..
Ive seen some bad examples on the web..

I'd be more worried about using the wheel adaptors. The hubs are really meaty. You'd have to take a lot more metal out than re-drilling involves to affect those.

[ben]

im changing stud pattern soon on my grey van. its gt bedford but i want holden hq.. ill let you know when its all done

ben

[jesus_is_alright]

you wont get 295's on the front, i have 245x15s on the front with flared gaurds, i doubt you's get away with that standard.. maybe..

What are you running on the rear?
Also what profile are your 245x15's on the front?

[outriding]

im changing stud pattern soon on my grey van. its gt bedford but i want holden hq.. ill let you know when its all done

ben

Can you document that with photos or video? That will come in handy to many people.

There are a couple of questions I have about this.

The hub studs are spined and they are pressed in so they wont rotate when you tighten the bolts.



When you re-drill new holes, from what i have gathered, you have to weld the stud head to the hub on the back... 
thats not really as solid as it should be... Imagine that when you are tightening a wheel or removing it that the bolts are a bit oxidated and the welding cracks or breaks... uh ohh.. now your in trouble... how will you remove the wheel?? 




I found this: http://offroadingsubarus.com/6stud_conversion.html


Also, what stud pattern will you choose?
I have noticed some people go with "Holden" or "Chevy" PCD..

And then there's the question of the center Bore, 84mm I believe..  so the new rim will have to fit snug on there..
Do you grind out the rim to fit since newer rims have a smaller center hole??



Usually you would use a "hub centric ring" to get the rim to fit on the hub center but since the bedford center is so big do you grind down the hub center or the rim? Don't think grinding up an alloy rim is that good of an ideia.. 

[Jeff]

Well first off, that's a shitty weld. A good weld is there forever.
But why weld it?
Drill the hole slightly smaller and then hammer the new studs in. They will cut their own splines, although you may have to level the back of the hub first, but there is plenty of strength there and a little bit of grinding will not matter.
Also you will need to get the thicker studs to fit your new wheels. ( a good idea anyway)

 The rear wheels do not have an edge to fit the wheels on, so no problem there.
The fronts may need the centre hole enlarged.....so what's the problem with that? The centre hole will be nowhere near the stud holes.

What Pattern? The same as you new 5 stud wheels of course. 
But seriously, the larger the PCD the more space to fit the studs, and the better the wheel is held on.
Some BMWs have 120mm PCD , and that should give you a good range of second hand alloys.

[outriding]

So if I do decide to go with the re-drilling option, I guess the first thing will be choosing a rim to decide on the PCD and then get the corresponding studs for that rim.

I am also thinking  you can leave the original stud holes (not fill them) so if you want for some reason to return to the original wheels all you need to do is switch the studs. That's a simple and pratical ideia. 

About the welding... so its not really necessary? But I guess it wouldnt hurt to give it a small drop, just in case?

[MaTTe]

hey outriding, as Jeff said, you dont need to weld the studs, i'm not sure why that one has been welded(poorly at that). The head of the stud will be flush up against the back of the hub, the spline will be so tight in the hole that it will need pressing in, so it'll never move, and the wheel studs hold it in anyway.
Look at getting soem good wheel studs like ARP or similar, you'll also need to decide on 7/16 or 1/2 inch studs (or whatever you want in metric)

As for PCD it depends on what range of rims you want or will want in the future. 5x120 is BMW/late holden etc, so there are quite a few designs out there, 5x114.3 is ford/nissan/toyota/etc so there are plenty of other designs out there too. Most late model rims will probably cater for both..

[Dano]

    yep I'd bet BMW would be a good choice for europe, nice stylish, cheap too.

[outriding]

That's what I was lookin at, 5x120 PCD used on BMW's and RangeRover's.
I don't know if some of the rims I have seen are tough enough to be used on a Bedford...

[outriding]

I found this van in the gallery, its looks pretty good with those wheels!

http://www.buga.com.au/index.php?option=com_gallery2&Itemid=21&g2_itemId=18626


Also, this one looks good with 235 / 45 Z R17 tires and no flares. I wonder if there were any fitting problems?

http://www.buga.com.au/index.php?option=com_gallery2&Itemid=21&g2_itemId=11551

http://www.buga.com.au/index.php?option=com_gallery2&Itemid=21&g2_itemId=11577