Fun with RX7 rims

[Dylan James]

maybe i coming in too late for this but i seen wheel spacers and wanted to say that they are no good / unsafe, and sometimes in a hard corner that your wheel may go threw your fender.

wheel adapters are just as safe as stock spindles because they bolt on to your factory lugs and have separte one for the rim.


why are they unsafe you ask?

because the leverage on the lug with the rim is right there on the spindle when you use spacersyou transfer this leverage point out and were the leverage might increase and snap your lugs off.

Gavin you may have a good design iam not sure i thought i would warn you to what might happen as i dont want to see you crash.



looking at your pic spacer so i see bad things happining to good people. and predict a wall in your future.



let me know

[gavin]

Dylan James.....Thanks for the concern. I was wary of spacers also when I started on this. Then to get even larger spacers...yikes. There is a lot of apprehension and fear surrounding the use of spacers. I dont believe this to be completely justified. Is a 3mm spacer as "dangerous" as a 20mm spacer? The way spacers are spoken about you would think that they ALL were dangerous

Still I believe Ive done the most that I can to offset any potential problems arising from using them. I mostly drive on the stock wheel/rim combo anyway. This setup is used once a week maybe. So all things considered I believe my exposure to risk is low(if not eliminated). Wheel adaptors with integrated bolts would be nice but the smallest I found were in the 15mm range which was more than I need.

Thanks for the warning though. Its always a good thing. You never know what you may have overlooked until someone points it out.

Gavin

[Dylan James]

your welcome gavin. but it is not the spacer thatis dangerous it is the gap from the spindle to the wheel that make it dangerous for the added leverage.

anyways ihave done my part.

[Probe_Racer]

WHOA wait a minute, so if i use my FD wheels all the time with a setup like gavins my tires are going to fall off!!!!

damn !!!! so how can i make sure they dont come off ?? this really concerns me cause im planning on using my FD wheels ALL the time

[gavin]

Theyll fall off only if you forget the lugnuts :P

Mine is a particular application, autocrossing specifically. Im working with a set of rules and regulations while trying to get the most I can within those rules. I wouldnt necessarily suggest this for everyone (like the huge spacers).

To answer your question though. No, they wont "fall off". Not if you do things right. All your answers are here in this thread as to the "whats", the "whys" and, of course, the "hows".

good luck on your project

Gavin

[macdaddyslomo]

guys i'm a moderator on www.protegeclub.com you should come check out the board if you want some mazdaspeed or mp3 wheels...there are guys selling them all the time..also check out www.clubprotege.com

[Chunchoy14]

FD rims are superior....

[SleepCounter]

Originally posted by Chunchoy14
FD rims are superior....

Shinier?

[Jon]

Lightier and better looking than stock...And shinier

[gavin]

Lighter, wider and bloody cheap.

(Ok, I do have to make the concession that they do look pretty nice )

Shinier? When I went to pick up these rims they were literally under a pile of garbage and rotting leaves/mulch in this fellows backyard. Heavy tarnish, some road rash, premium housing for various spiders and bugs, the tires were rotting. The guy was very apologetic about their state.

To me though, they were round, held air, dinged but not damaged, filthy beyond measure...in other words, I saw gold(and gold is shiny )

Gavin

What did it take to swap out the studs. The rear look easy, but what was involved with the front? I too am getting started in autocrossing.

I'm with gavin on this one about the spacers. If you are using spacers to place the wheel center-line in the factory placement or close too it it shouldn't increase the amount of leverage. On the other hand if you are using a spacer to simply move the wheel out it would cause problems. Am I right gavin??

You are in an X class, that means you are a national champ correct??

I too am getting started in auto Xing and I'm kind of new to this board but think I better take notes on what you have done. It may help me. Thanks

[iggypop]

FD rims... i remember when iused to have them. i took my car to get tires balanced . guy took wheel off my car and picked it up of the floor saying" Man I almost threw it up in ceiling , they are so light!!! I thought they weigh a Ton ."

[gavin]

porky55312.....welcome to the insanity they call Autocross. just keep an eye out for the orange thingies..they tend to jump in front of you at random times

Swapping out the studs was pretty easy. I used the precision BFH (2 lb model ) to get them all out.

You can do the fronts while the hub is still on the car. There is one area that isnt shrouded by the brake shield or any of the caliper hardware line the stud up in that area. It takes a steady and sure hand to focus the blow right on the tip of the stud to drive it out(like in tennis or baseball when you know youve hit the ball correctly by the "feel" and sound). It drives the stud out in one shot without giving the wheel bearing grief......or you could have a machine shop press them in if you get new wheel bearings(a good idea if youll be autocrossing a lot).

"x class" " national champ"

Good lord no! Unless theres a national chmpionchip for "super rookie" status. Seriously though. Ive just started my 2nd season of autocrossing. I just drove and drove in the 1st year trying to get used to the car and trying my best NOT to change anything until the next year(its hard to get used to something when its always changing and theres no baseline).
In a year of driving Ive learned..just how much I dont know. Curious though...Before when I made mistakes I couldnt identify them. I knew something wasnt right, but what it was, I didnt know. Now, I still make mistakes...but Im starting to recognize them for what they are. Its progress of a sort. I hope the next step is the ability to prevent those mistakes before they happen(autocross school..if your region has it..DO IT!)

Iggy... You bet! Regular rim/tire combo: Nankang 801 205/60/15 with stock rims...38lbs. Autox tire/rim combo: Kumho MX 225/50/16 on FD rims.....34lbs

And you can feel the difference

Gavin

Well out here in Denver any car with an “X” on it is a national champ. Still the four or so autocrosses I've been to I've never seen another 1st gen Mx6. I think you can be a good resource. Nice talking to you.

[gavin]

I see now.

The class that I run in is STX (Street Touring Xtreme?...never did figure out what the "X" stood for). Its one of the new "Street touring" classes that the SCCA recently instituted(theres STS, STX and soon to be STU and STS2). Very popular as it incorporates a lot of sport compact cars with mild bolt-on mods that you woud see out in the population. The main thing however is ...street tires of 140+ treadwear only.

Gavin