Jump to content
Ultimate Subaru Message Board

Drilling Chevy 6 lug wheels?


Recommended Posts

here's what they look like

 

http://usmb.net/gallery/album93/tbnew2

 

drilling out the hubs for a six lug would make your wheels/lugs stronger. I drilled my rims, because I wanted to be able to swap back to soobie/pug wheels if needed.....

 

I used a half inch drill, and a very sharp bit (2 actually).

 

be careful not to force it through too much. easy way to get a broken wrist... mine were very sore that evening and next day.....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hey Mick! Whot are those rims from (specific chevy). The ones that I have, 15x8 from a K-5 Blazer, the center hole was too small and I had to grind down the tangs on the hub to get them to fit. Whot size are they?

 

Might be the size of mine, but I had a problem with snapping off lugs on the front with only 4 holding it on. Actually snapped all four one time, and watched the tire go bouncing off past me on a corner (luckily it was a slow speed test run). SO I ended up drilling out the hubs on the front for 6 lugs, I used 1/2" by 2 1/2 or 3 inch drag studs, strong. Like I said, it might be the rim and tire size that was doing it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

80's Puegeot(sp?) 505's have the same 4 on 140mm pattern. You can get them in 14 and 15 inches, in either steel or alloys. Lotsa people on here are running them, and haven't heard anything bad so far. I do remember somthing a while back about special lug nuts, but I think that thats only for the alloys, or the 504 Pugs, someone with experience with them will be able to fill in the details.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You can find them in the wrecking yards.. thats the best place.. or, of course other board members.. have seen a couple of sets for sale recently in the marketplace. I have 14 inch pug steels on my car.. got the set of 4 from a board member for $100.. then found a 5th for a spare a couple of weeks ago with tire(the right size even!) for $14.. they are around .. you just have to look for them.. the thing that makes them more desirable(in my opinion) is the fact that they have very nearly 0 offset, much like the soob wheels.. so there aren't strut clearance issues and other things that are possible with some 6 lugs.

 

As for Adam breaking lugs.. Honestly, I wouldn't worry about it too much, he's the only person I have heard of doing that, and he REALLY likes to break stuff.(not busting your balls adam, just making an observation :D )

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Problem with the Pugs is they are too narrow. The chevy rims (like McBrat's) can be had for $25 each BRAND NEW from shwab. Drilling them out is easy, and they have a nice wide offset that will make the tires stick out about 3 inches from the fender. So for the same price as Pugs, you get all the benifits of the pug, brand new rims, white with a similar pattern to the old wagon wheel, easy replaceability if you should bend one, and compatibility with the original subaru rims if you should need to use one (assuming you drill the rims not the hubs). So unless you are looking for alloys (need special lug nuts), I think the pugs are a pretty silly choice. (Oh and if you can't run your tires outside the fenders, that's no excuse either, as stock Toyota rims have a zero offset too, and work the same as the chevy rims [may have to drill the hubs instead tho] - Qman's Brat has a nice set on it).

 

And if you drill the hubs then you should be able to use Toyota or Chevy alloys too.

 

GD

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here's a pic of Qman's brat:

 

http://usmb.net/gallery/albun40/Qmanandbuggy

 

He drilled his hubs and added two studs, and moved two studs in order to make Subaru 6 lug hubs. You just knock two stud out, and drill some holes, and knock 4 studs into the hubs in the right place (use the rim as a pattern), and your done. Easy.

 

GD

Link to comment
Share on other sites

But the cehvy rims do bolt on when I'm done with em - I don't see your point.

 

That means they are not straight bolt on.. that was my point.. to bolt right on.. not bolt on " when you're done with them"

 

Ease of use, expedience, instant fitment. All of those things are worth money and time to the right person. I happen to be that person.

 

Its great that you have an opinion on what wheels you like best. But your ideas of what you like best does not make all other options invalid or "silly".

 

People have been running pug wheels with large tires (27-28 inch) very successfully for a long time. That in itself makes them a valid option. For example..

100_0056_IMG.jpg

 

 

Lets stick with presenting options and try to steer clear of pissing contests, eh?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

no idea what my Chevy rims came off of... I got 'em from someone else who bought them as a set but never used them. I gave 100 for them with the rubber still there...

 

the tires are 30x9.50x15's

 

as far as I know they are most likely 80's full size Chevy 4x4 white spokes....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

http://usmb.net/gallery/albun92/225_55_zr_16

 

check this out, these are the 16 inch chev rims i drilled out for the trashwagon.

 

i had to ream out the center hole to fit on the soob's hub, being 16's i used 205/55 camaro tires, about the size of a 185 14 wheel...

 

it uses 2 of the rims holes, and 2 of the drilled holes. i would suggest reinforcing the drilled holes by welding a washer to the outside, and countersinking id possible. if not countersinking, use the flat side of the ea82 open lug nut.

 

the holes on the rim are larger than a soob's, and a soob lugnut will want to draw through when torqued down.

the soob uses a 19mm nut, i got a set of 21mm nuts from napa.

 

when getting lugnuts, get the 21mm, M12 1.25 thread pitch, and a 60 deg. seat.

 

i got the black ones about $1.25 a piece, comes in a set of 5 from napa. they also have zinc ones too.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Problem with the Pugs is they are too narrow. . .

. . .So unless you are looking for alloys (need special lug nuts), I think the pugs are a pretty silly choice. (Oh and if you can't run your tires outside the fenders, that's no excuse either, as stock Toyota rims have a zero offset too, and work the same as the chevy rims [may have to drill the hubs instead tho] - Qman's Brat has a nice set on it).

 

Pugs are not too narrow. A 27/10.50/15 goes right on them. How much wider of a tire would you need? I've run Pugs on all of my lifted soobs except the hatch I have now. Don't see anything silly about that.

 

 

Rims that stick out 3 inches on either side will interfere with your steering ability, especially if you have relly big tires.

 

Only the 15 inch pug alloys need the special lug nuts I believe. Either way, pug lugnuts are pretty easy to come by.

 

Easy Rick untill you've had more experience as a lifted soob owner. Let your experience dictate how you form your opinions, and not what you read. :)

The lift kit should not mess with your camber and your tire wear. Adjusting your struts up would cause that. With or without a lift.

 

 

And lastly, my opinion about needing to change your struts and shocks while doing your lift. . . Change them when they are bad, not just cuz they are convenient.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm talking about with the 3 or 4 inch lift on a loyale style wagon.

 

Scott, with your bigger lift and extensive fender and wheel well mods also help quite a bit. Without these, the tires would rub way sooner when turning. Get what I'm saying?

 

 

 

 

On another note, if the pug steels seem too ugly, you can throw soob hub caps on them. Painting them can sharpen them up too.

 

http://community.webshots.com/photo/37919799/60788563yXAxQr

 

 

(friggin ultimate gallery or whatever only gives me box with the red x when I tried to post a photo. . . :banghead: )

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The easiest way to describe my theory. . . I can draw it out, but will try to write it. Has nothing to do with handling, but with turning radius. Important stuff sometimes out in the woods.

 

 

Draw a piece-of-pie shaped triangle. If you start at the inner part of the pie with a line across the triangle, it will be a shorter length than if you draw the line across the pie farther out. . .

 

The signifigance being the same as a tire without or with off set. The off-set tire will have to travel a bigger radius lock to lock.

The outside edge of the tire sticks out more, therefore traveling farther, needing more space.

 

My experience being that I seem to have to beat the floor panel a lot more to clear the tire with a rim with off set. The Oz rims on my hatch made me notice that. They have a 2 inch offset or so, and even though I used little 26 inch tires this time, I had to do a lot of banging to keep them from rubbing at lock, on 2 wheels.

Kinda remember needing extra pounding for the 15 inch pugs steels with their off set compared to 14 inch pugs steels with no real offset.

 

 

 

**I guess a piece of string tied to a stick or something could be used to demonstrate what I'm trying to show too.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...