spacers for escalade wheels???

[13B521]

this question is for those that have put escalade wheels on their kingpin trucks....

 

so i have a 521 truck and did the disc brake upgrade and now the stock wheels dont fit. so i got lucky and picked up the seven spoke 17" escalade wheels locally within a few days for a good price.

 

now i mounted the wheel and its obvious the wheel is still hitting the hub on the back side leaving a small space (like 2mm barely noticeable) between the rim and the disc brake (so the disc brake isnt tighten down with the wheel like its supposed to be). also, the center cap will not go on since the hub/dust cap is sitting so far out.

 

my question: how thick of a spacer would i need to properly fit the wheels to the truck (without rubbing) and be able to put my center caps on?

Edited September 5, 2009 by 13B521

[slodat]

The way I fixed this issue is the have that snout on the disc brake hub turned down on a lathe so it fits inside the wheel opening. I know it means you have to disassemble everything to do it, but in my opinion it is the correct way to do it.

[13B521]

although that would work it still wouldnt take care of the issue im having with the centercap not fitting due to the dust cap being to far out....

 

so im stuck using spacers, which im fine with, but need to know the correct size. especially since there are several trucks on here running these wheels with the centercaps on.

[]2eDeYe]

There must be a difference between the 521 and the 620 hubs. I've never had a problem with the center cap and I machined my hubs.

[slam_dat_sun]

Well I got a set of Z71 wheels on my 620 I guess I am going to have to space mine out a little bit cause my center caps will not pop into place on either

[13B521]

i took my dust cap off just to see if it would clear incase i could just crush the dust cap down until the center cap fits, but still doesnt clear the center cap. fits better but the cap doesnt lock in place.

 

so, im positive if you run seven spoke escalade wheels on a 521 with disc brakes, you need spacers. unless for some crazy reason my truck is the one exception.

 

now with some recent measuring i did. i noticed the escalade wheels themselves have an abnormally thick mounting area (i dont know what its called). so thick the existing lug nuts only go on about 1/2". so im not to crazy about buying 1/4" spacers and only having my lug nuts go on 1/4" deep. kinda scary if you think about it.

 

my datsun has a worked rotary motor in and i wouldnt want to launch the truck and have one of my wheels go flying past me. although it would be funny as hell, id be pretty pissed off when it comes time to repair it.

 

well with that said, ill pick up some 1/4" spacers when i get the chance and see what happens. maybe with the spacers minus the area that the hub is rubbing would give the lug nuts enough room to where i would feel safe to drive it.

 

to be continued....

Edited September 9, 2009 by 13B521

[jrock4224]

machine the hub and run no dust cap thats they way it has to be if you run a spacer say good by to your fenders if you got any drop.....ne need for a spacer..... any machine shop will do it it for minumum fee.....send them to me and i will have it done if you cant find anyone....mine fit fine....they rub real bad on full lock but no gettin around that....

[jrock4224]

its hard enough to find LUG NUT THAT WORKS.....do not run a spacer yor wheel will pass you on the highway if you do....

[HRH]

DO NOT run without the dust cap on the hub! Once your wheel grease turns liquid as the hub heats up, it will run out onto the wheel. Not good.

 

Here's an idea: What about cutting the dust cap flat and rewelding it, or altering the GM cap and then screwing it on to the wheel?

 

I also raced (autocross) the hardbody back in the day with spacers when I had some different rims front to back. Never had an issue with wheels coming off. Though there are two kinds. If you can get the adapter/spacers that bolt on to your hub, and then have a stud pattern out of them, that's a good way to go. Or just use the regular kind you find in circle track magazines.

Edited September 10, 2009 by HRH

[doc future]

i like the way these wheels look. what size tires are you using?

[13B521]

i dont know about jrock, but im running (or am about to be as soon as they show up in the mail) a 205/40-17. should be a good size for it. i dont expect it to cause any rubbing issues in the rear as the tire is as wide as the rims and the rims dont rub anything as of right now (close but still doesnt rub the frame).

 

i am expecting them to rub in the front at full lock like jrock said. but got my fingers crossed and hoping im might be an exception .

 

ill keep you guys updated after the tires are here and mounted. ill be machining the hubs myself as they dont need much cut from each hub. should be easy and fast im hoping.

 

i might do something special to the wheels as well, if i can find someone that would be willing to do it for cheap in the area. it a secret but i think if executed properly will give me a sleeker overall appearance.

 

as for the spacers, im likely to get them just for experiments sake. im curious and want to find out exactly for myself. $15 on ebay so its not a huge loss if they arent usable. plus the center bore is big enough to clear the hub so you wouldnt have to machine the hub for those of you that might be considering these wheels. but like i said, its an experiment so i dont know for sure until i order them.

 

ill be posting a build thread later after i get this figured out. im in no huge rush as the truck isnt even registered yet. taking my sweet time.

[slodat]

I turned down these front hubs on the girlfriend's 620 so I can put the Tahoe 16's on it. They have the same center bore as the Escalade 17's on my 521..

 

[13B521]

did you machine your hubs for the 521? what did you do to get the center cap to work?

[slodat]

These hubs are 620 disc brake hubs. I will be using a set just like them on my 521. My 521 will have ball joint control arms with hardbody spindles and these hubs.

[13B521]

yeah, i read your thread after i posted that. its a nice build you have going. good luck with it.

Edited September 13, 2009 by 13B521

[mklotz70]

For the spacer.....if you still have the drums you took off.....cut the flat, center part out of them and use that for a spacer. It's about a 1/4" thick and will fit closely to the lug bolts......a lot closer than the passport rotor or a cast aluminum spacer. Other guys have put longer lug bolts in to solve the reach problem.

[13B521]

although thats a good idea, i already order the spacers so no point in cutting the drum up. as soon as they get here i will post my findings. i ordered them this weekend so im hoping they will be here by the end of this week.

[13B521]

UPDATE*

just to make sure that everyone is on the same page...

i have 1969 datsun with the beebani disc brake conversion. my wheels were rubbing on the hub and not sitting flush against the disc brake, so i ordered 1/4 spacers...

 

the 1/4 spacers arrived today. i put them on the 521 and found out the following:

~the spacers center bore was plenty big and fit over the protruding hub with out touching the hub, which is good so you wouldnt have to machine the hub.

~the rim's center cap still doesnt fit with the dust cap on, but does fit with the dust cap off. so maybe you could trim the cap and reweld it so that it fits under it or even attempt to beat the top of the cap flat with a hammer until its more flush.

~the stock open ended lug nuts are only about half way threaded on to the lug bolt fully tightened. it was expected but i was curious. some people might not have a problem running them like this but i think its unsafe and i wont risk getting injured just to make the truck look better. to remedy this you would simply have to get extended lug bolts.

 

but for me, ill be machining the hubs and running them without the spacers or center caps, since i already bought the wheels i might as well use them. i might end up doing a 5 lug conversion by getting the hubs and axles filled in and redrilled with a 5 lug pattern.

 

but that is to be decided at a later date. i still have a few other things i need to button up such as tucking my exhaust and coilovers as well as a few other things on a much larger scale.

[drastic520]

if you just bore the wheel itself, youll sahe yourself a lot of headaches. its what i did on my wheels when i had them on my 520. i used regular open end lug nuts too. but if you can, go a any rim shop and get a set of et lugs. they will also help your wheels be centered so there will be no shaking at high speeds. i also had a rotary in my 520 so trust me you will be hitting some high speeds!!!!!!

 

Edited September 20, 2009 by drastic520

[impala_631]

if you just bore the wheel itself, youll sahe yourself a lot of headaches. its what i did on my wheels when i had them on my 520. i used regular open end lug nuts too. but if you can, go a any rim shop and get a set of et lugs. they will also help your wheels be centered so there will be no shaking at high speeds. i also had a rotary in my 520 so trust me you will be hitting some high speeds!!!!!!

 

 

nice vid,why did he just use a hole saw?

[doc future]

i dont know about jrock, but im running (or am about to be as soon as they show up in the mail) a 205/40-17. should be a good size for it. i dont expect it to cause any rubbing issues in the rear as the tire is as wide as the rims and the rims dont rub anything as of right now (close but still doesnt rub the frame).

 

i am expecting them to rub in the front at full lock like jrock said. but got my fingers crossed and hoping im might be an exception .

 

ill keep you guys updated after the tires are here and mounted. ill be machining the hubs myself as they dont need much cut from each hub. should be easy and fast im hoping.

 

i might do something special to the wheels as well, if i can find someone that would be willing to do it for cheap in the area. it a secret but i think if executed properly will give me a sleeker overall appearance.

 

as for the spacers, im likely to get them just for experiments sake. im curious and want to find out exactly for myself. $15 on ebay so its not a huge loss if they arent usable. plus the center bore is big enough to clear the hub so you wouldnt have to machine the hub for those of you that might be considering these wheels. but like i said, its an experiment so i dont know for sure until i order them.

 

ill be posting a build thread later after i get this figured out. im in no huge rush as the truck isnt even registered yet. taking my sweet time.

 

i just noticed that you live pretty close by. never seen another ratsun member from this area! i was interested in finding a set of escalade wheels for my 720. there are a few sets on CL but i think i might hold off until the spring.

[drastic520]

nice vid,why did he just use a hole saw?

 

its the easiest way to DIY. the hole saw method is not recommended. kinda hard to keep it centered. this gives u a perfect circle. the guy on the video is a buddy of mine here in tampa. he taught me how to do it and i did it on my old escalade wheels i had on the 520. worked great. done in 30 minutes.

[mklotz70]

With the hole saw method....you put a second, smaller hole saw inside the larger, one that just fits inside the original hole.....that helps keep it centered......but the router is still much better.

[doc future]

so by boring the wheels using this method shown in the video i wont need to use any spacers on my 720 will i?