Acura Wheels

[Dijadoit]

Well, I decided to buy some wheel adapters for a set total of 140+, there billet aluminum that are strong and lightweight. My steelies that are 155/80 13in wheels sit into the wheel well about 1.25 to 1.5 inches anyway.

Since those particular acura wheels are not popular then I wouldn't worry about them getting stolen. I just get more air to the brakes plus I can get some descent cheap tire for $67 a pop 205/40 R16 at Les scwhab tire center.

[almighty4wd]

so like 528 mounted, for all. Personally, that's a good deal, even after having to change the spacing. considering I'm looking at heliums, that'd be 470 before tires! good score, get us some pics of them mounted soon!

[GranadaTeg]

How safe are wheel adapters?

Really look into....

[therieldeal]

using those wheel spacers will put a crap ton more stress on your wheelbearings... and could make the car handle funky, since its essentially removing most of your wheel offset. a 1" spacer would change your offset from say, 38mm to 13mm.

-jon

[Dijadoit]

The adapter kit comes with necessary bolts, bolts right onto the existing 4x100 provided with correct torque specs. Walla, while the adapter provide 2nd set of studs for 4x115 made out of carbon steel material; including clearance. Unlike an adapter that slides on providing enough clearance for the wheel. But still looking for more info and do some calling around about them for safety wise.

[therieldeal]

i understand what kind of adapters they are, and i'm sure they are plenty strong... but you will still face the issues i mentioned above :/

-jon

[Dijadoit]

I understand there might be a lot more stress on the axle mainly on the bearings.

[sube]

I understand there might be a lot more stress on the axle mainly on the bearings.

You can count on going through wheel bearings like a knife through butter+ like Jon said you just may have dodgy handling. you would be better off selling them and get the proper rim for your car.

Pat.

[Dijadoit]

Its on craigslist for sale and looking at a couple of rims one on ebay like the ADR Battle EXE or the MB Tuscon wheels at discount tires. Looking at 15 x 6 or 6.5.

[southerncross]

spacers are cool if you have a REALLY nice set of wheels you normally wouldnt be able to afford to put on. those wheels do not qualify.

[Dijadoit]

I have one more question, how about replacing those oem bearings, with forged steel bearings which I came across while cruising the net?

[southerncross]

what brand are they. i tend to only trust NTN when it comes to performance bearings.

[coleman]

Bolded the important stuff for people who don't want to read it all

There are VERY few actual manufacturers of ball bearings (at all) in the world. Many of the ones you see are rebadged components - shop for the product and not the company.

All quality modern ball bearings are forged. Most all are made by cutting wire or approximately similar diameter to the ball, and slamming it into a die made of two hemispherical sides. What comes out is a forged "sphere" that is not nearly smooth or spherical enough to use, and has flashing just the same as a molded plastic part. From there it goes into a machine that has a sort of spiral shape. The bearings vibrate and turn between the two discs until they are ground to tolerance, following the path of the spiral until they are ejected.

Some companies call their product forged only when they are hot forged (when the metal is plasticy and pliable but not molten) though doing this process cold is also forging. Forging only means forcibly altering the shape of the metal's structure. Like swordmaking - beating the crap out of a metal with a hammer is a form of forging. Using a saw is not forging. Using a milling machine is not forging. Slamming a 100ton kinetic die onto a part is forging. Rolling a plate between two rollers is forging as long as it alters the grain structure of the metal. Sometimes absolutely weak crappy products are forged. The material is just as important as the process. Don't buy into the forged vs cast marketing crap unless you know what that means.

That said, it won't make a difference in your case because you are not only increasing the loads that the bearing sees, you are applying that load in a manner inconsistent with the design of that bearing. While you're not going to see instant failure and flames and doom and all, you will see noticeably decreased bearing life.

If you intend on putting a lot of miles on the car and see more than a few potholes, sell the wheels and get something designed for your car or get a wheel hub that can fit those wheels.

Oh - no one mentioned the fact that those wheels aren't hubcentric and you're putting all of the shear loads through the wheelstuds. That's a good way to bend those things. Get a hubcentric adapter if you must use those wheels for safety's sake

[therieldeal]

Oh - no one mentioned the fact that those wheels aren't hubcentric and you're putting all of the shear loads through the wheelstuds. That's a good way to bend those things. Get a hubcentric adapter if you must use those wheels for safety's sake

i try to tell people this all the time about just running with aftermarket wheels... to get hubcentric rings. but hardly anyone does

-jon

[TRRC]

Okay, I'm going to get on my soapbox for a minute, being that I am a trained Wheel and tire expert (debate this if you choose, but everything I'm about to say is firsthand experience, not some "I heard/ I think" garbage) ALWAYS DO YOUR HOMEWORK BEFORE BUYING WHEELS. No, CL wheels will not fit a Protege. SPACERS ARE A BAD IDEA UNLESS YOU ARE BUILDING A DEDICATED TRACK CAR WITH A PRO BEHIND THE WHEEL.

I know how those adaptors mount, and it will stress ALOT of things.

Also, that 1" in offset will make your car a darty, squirrell-on-meth acting, torque steering monster. It would respond quicker and track surer through corners, but it would be a nightmare on the street.

Plus, your wheels would stick out past the fenderwells, which would look really Mexican.

Next, the price. You can get some really good looking OE stuff from like a miata, escort, etc. for a lot cheaper that will fit perfectly, be lightwieght, look good, and most importantly, leave more money for tires. Which are way more important than wheels.

Stay away from the Tuscons UNLESS you get at least a sixteen inch diameter. They are incredibly ugly in any smaller size. I know. I see them every day.

The CL wheels will work on a '86-'89 323, so maybe a BF guy might be interested in them.

HUB-RINGS! Someone finally mentioned them! ALWAYS GET HUB-RINGS WITH AFTERMARKET WHEELS! No, you can't buy hubringsto run acura wheels on a mazda, but if you buy aftermarket, just spend the extra 10 bucks for them! Without them, wheels can vibrate off, you can get shimmys at highway speed, and cheap (Read: most aftermarket) wheels will not resist bends and warps as easy.

Also, if you must use O.E. Wheels from another manufacturer, make sure you have the proper lugnuts. Mazda lugs don't really work right on honda /acura wheels. THe best example is the the Toyota lugs found on most- alloy wheeled toyota's, or the special lugs on most newer model Ford pickups. Unless you want your wheels to fall off, just spend the extra $20 and buy proper lugs.

Phew! I'm winded.