Official 6-Lug Re-drill Thread: Now in the USRM!

[TheLoyale]

This thread is about running 6x5.5 lug wheels on your 4x140 Subaru, by re-drilled your Hubs to the 6x5.5 patten commonly found on Toyota, Chevy, Nissan, Mitsubishi 6-lug wheels to name a few. Here we have a small compilation of (Re-Drill How-To's, Rim Center Bore/Backspacing/ Interchangeability)

 

First off, Here are two good write-ups with photos on how to re-drill the Hubs for 6-Lug conversion.

http://offroadingsubarus.com/6stud_conversion.html

http://www.subarubrat.com/6lugconv.htm

 

Drilling the Hubs

 

You will need the following parts:

 

1. Eight more 1.25x12M thread wheel studs. (Found at any parts store)

2. At least one 6x5.5 lug wheel for marking new holes on the Hubs.

3. Center Punch/Transfer Punch.

4. 14mm or 9/16" Drill bit.

5. Also a smaller 6mm or 1/4" drill bit to start the hole is good.

6. Preferably a Drill press, but a normal Variable-Speed Electric Drill can work.

7. Plenty of oil to lubricate the drill bit.

8. Angle Grinder with Grinding or Flapper Disc to smooth bures.

9. A big Hammer and/or Bench Vise.

10. And preferably a chunk of hard wood for the Drill bit to go through.

11. And of course, all the parts to remove the hubs from the car.

 

You will start with your Stock 4x140 wheel hub. Grab yourself a Hammer and the a Block of wood.

Place something under the hub next to the stud you want to remove, but not under the stud.

Use the chunk of wood between the stud and the hammer to stop the hammer Mushrooming over the threads.

Continue to hit it till it puts out. You will then have this:

 

 

Now you will need the 6-Lug wheel.

With the two remaining studs in your Subaru's hub, bolt it to the 6-lug wheel like you would if it was on a car.

Now you should be able to see exactly where you need the new holes.

Should look something like this:

 

 

Line the Transfer punch up as close as you can get it to the center of the hole in the wheel.

Transfer Punch Link:

A transfer punch will easily and inexpensively transfer the center of the hole to the proper point on the wheel hub.

 

Tip: Try looking at it from other angles to see if it really is centered.

 

Strike the punch with a Hammer, it may bounce and put a smaller mark not directly in the center, make sure the mark is centered before drilling.

Repeat 4 more times per Hub.

 

 

Now take your 1/4" or 6mm drill-bit, take it slow until it bites and continue to drill.

The center punch mark eliminates drifting the drill-bit may do while trying to drill the holes.

 

Tip: When drilling the holes, if your using a power drill, make sure the drill is completely vertical, otherwise your studs will stick out all over the place and you'll never get the wheel on. If your using a drill press, you should have no problems at all.

 

 

Now that you have the 4 new holes drilled to 9/16" or 14mm,

Grab your Angle Grinder and flatten the back of the hub where the new stud will go.

This is to make the stud sit in place without rocking around (which causes wear and may lead to the stud splines failing.)

Place the hub on something hard. Put the new stud in place. And tap the new stud in until flush and seated.

It should look like the picture below now.

 

 

Tip: Some folks like to add a bead of weld to each stud to keep them from walking around incase they do not tap in snuggly.

 

Here is another picture showing the Stub seated flush agains the Hub, this is the Rear Drum.

 

Repeat all steps until you have 6 Lugs per wheel hub, and you are finished!

This is what it should look like:

 

Front:

 

 

Rear:

 

Now with Wheel Installed:

_________________________________________________

 

Common 6x139.7 Wheels/Manufactures Chart:

 

Edited May 2, 2012 by TheLoyale

[92_rugby_subie]

Personally Ive had issues with tire places touching re-drilled wheels. Some people dont though.

 

 

Hell, even Les Schwab got into a fit with me when I had the 15" pugs on Ned... I told them the lug pattern was the same, not drilled but they said a Subaru of my era didnt come with 15" so they wouldnt mount them cuz its "liability" so I went elsewhere...

[TheLoyale]

This is why I never take my car anywhere. No one is the wiser as to what I am sticking the wheels on (Although they did know they were going on a Subaru) and they liked it lol.

 

They can touch my wheels, but no one touches my car.

[Skylar]

I have a set of those mounted on my off road tires .

They're 15x6 modulars . Or trailer wheels lol I have em on 215/75/15 Wild Country's . I think I drilled em after I got them mounted .

 

[Numbchux]

This is why I never take my car anywhere. No one is the wiser as to what I am sticking the wheels on (Although they did know they were going on a Subaru) and they liked it lol.

 

They can touch my wheels, but no one touches my car.

 

Doesn't matter. Most shops will not touch wheels that have been redrilled. Whether they're on the car or not.

 

 

I've seen people run trailer wheels a few times. Nothing wrong with that part, but make sure you drill them after you get the tires mounted.

[92_rugby_subie]

The shops I went to luckily did mount them on the tires, but I had to bring them up separately.

 

Then take them home and mount them on the car myself.

[Red92]

What are the risks, if any, on running Automotive tires on Trailer wheels? And will a tire shop mount tires to them?

 

 

As I mentioned in your other thread, some trailer wheels don't have safety beads. This would be one reason why tire shops wouldn't mount a passenger car tire on a trailer wheel.

 

As for the "why", here is my other post:

 

I should make a thread just about using Trailer wheels, I know a lot of people have done it and I'd like to hear their experiences with them. What is the deal with different beads? Why are trailer wheels different then Automotive wheels? Considering some double wheel trailers can haul 15,000lbs+ (Goose Necks for one)

 

The safety bead is a raised lip immediately inward from where your tire sits. What it does is keep the bead of the tire from moving inward when your tire deflates. This keeps the tire from flopping around, and keep the rubber aligned and rolling, helping you maintain control in a blowout situation. It also does a really good job protecting your wheels (keeping them from contacting the pavement). The safety beads also help keep the tires from being pushed sideways off the bead when you are cornering hard.

 

 

Safety beads are a significant safety feature, so you should really think twice about using wheels that don't have safety beads.

 

 

If pictures help, it is because of safety beads that most flat tires look like this:

 

instead of this:

 

 

I suspect the reason why they are optional on trailer wheels is because the trailers generally have stiffer, heavier duty tires, and are subjected to (relatively) lower side loads than a car when it is cornering. They also have more controllable failures than a car, particularly if a loose tire is flopping around and binding up one of the front wheels of the car. It also could be that the trailer wheels/tires were made for running inner tubes, whereas most passenger car wheels/tires are not.

 

 

Personally, I would strongly advise you NOT to run a wheel without a safety bead, especially since you don't have the wheels and have to buy something new anyway. For the few extra bucks that the safer wheels cost, it just isn't worth the risk.

[TheLoyale]

Thank you for all the persuasive comments in helping me make my decision.

 

Skyler, Nice wagon.

 

Guess I am still on the look out for some 15s.

 

Does anybody have a picture of a redrilled 6-lug wheel dead-on? I'd like to see the 4x140 pattern amongst the 6 lug pattern. (Its like trying to see the 13 original U.S Stars in a circle, in a maze of 50) lol.

[maozebong]

i personally have never seen a difference between my 15" redrilled yota wheels and trailer wheels, bead-wise. they both have the exact same lip shape. ive never heard of this difference in beads.

 

i work at a small shop and i mount about 15-20 tires a week, between trailer, truck, and lightweight alloy wheels.

[TheLoyale]

Here is what I found using Wiki and google searches on the topic.

 

Another thread about the same thing.

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-176810.html

[TheLoyale]

A few posts from it.

 

My local tire store won't mount a tire on a non safety-bead rim without a tube.(It's a liability issue). Also,magnesium is porous. Air will leak out through the pores in the wheel if you don't use a tube.

 

the safety bead keeps the tire from coming off the rim when the air goes out of it. I'm not sure of the history of the safety bead, seems to have been introduced by Chrysler in 1940, but they seem to have become common in the early 60s? not too long after tubeless tires came along. My guess is that when a tire goes flat without the bead, the tire will come off or suddenly deflate, causing mayhem. The idea is to make the car more likely to stay under control when you have a blowout.

[TheLoyale]

The Peugeot wheels I bought for the Loyale years back, before and after coating. Guess these too, have the safety bead.

 

 

[Skylar]

Thank you for all the persuasive comments in helping me make my decision.

 

Skyler, Nice wagon.

 

Guess I am still on the look out for some 15s.

 

Does anybody have a picture of a redrilled 6-lug wheel dead-on? I'd like to see the 4x140 pattern amongst the 6 lug pattern. (Its like trying to see the 13 original U.S Stars in a circle, in a maze of 50) lol.

 

Front:

Back:

And i think these were off of a Isuzu or early mazda pickup:

[TheLoyale]

Thank you! That helps.

[Skylar]

Not a problem man .

[TheLoyale]

I guess my next question should be, what other Steel 6-lugs exist? Do all 6 lug rims share the same Bolt pattern? I always though Chevy, Ford, Dodge, Toyota used their own patterns and were not interchangeable? I bet I'm incorrect on this.

 

I should get another set of 15" Toyota Alloys, like whats on my Landcruiser. But then I would have to redrill the hubs (Since there is no way to redrill these alloys)

 

 

Everyone! Post pictures of your redrilled Steelies and Alloys. Looking for inspiration.

[maozebong]

that safety bead is on the trailer tire wheels i see as well as regular steel wheels. i still see no difference. maybe its just the ones that ive seen, but they all have that now.

 

most 6 lug wheels are 6x140, its just the center bore that is smaller or larger. one way to defeat this whole ordeal is to have the centering nubs on the hubs machined flat, but if you go that far why not get the hubs redrilled as well.

 

but, in any case, here's my redrilled yota wheels, painted rustoleum gunmetal hammered finish. came out beautiful, but you cant tell that well under the dirt.

Edited April 5, 2012 by maozebong

[TheLoyale]

that safety bead is on the trailer tire wheels i see as well as regular steel wheels. i still see no difference.

 

most 6 lug wheels are 6x140, its just the center bore that is smaller or larger. one way to defeat this whole ordeal is to have the centering nubs on the hubs machined flat, but if you go that far why not get the hubs redrilled as well.

 

Hmm, interesting. This is new water for me, so I'm trying to pick up as much info as I can.

 

As for the centering rings and nubs. I actually ground the rings flat on the old Drums I had for my Loyale, as I wanted to run the Chrome center caps, but the caps were from an EA81 car so the prongs were longer and did not sit flush against the wheel until I ground down the rings.

 

No strange vibrations either (Guess I did a decent job of grinding them down) but that is all long gone with the new Drums and Pugs I'm running.

 

I will be watching this thread for more discussion between folks who have seen both types of wheels in person.

 

Perhaps I should go take a look at trailer wheels locally and see whats up.

 

Thanks for the picture, they do look good. Royale Loyale? Ha!

[Idasho]

I dont think Ive ever seen a non-safety bead trailer wheel either.

 

Ive got a set of 14" trailer wheels in the shop that will eventually be drilled and fitted with some BFG A/Ts

 

I just went to check, and they do have safety beads.

 

I can get some pics for you tomorrow.

[TheLoyale]

To give ya'll the idea of what I want to go with on the Ski wagon, check these photos out.

 

These are 16x6 "Weller style" wheels? Aussie talk perhaps? With 205/45s. I think these would look boss on the Ski wagon!

 

 

 

 

Offset looks good as well.

Edited April 5, 2012 by TheLoyale

[TheLoyale]

Well gee whiz, that is cool. Pictures are a must, we all like pictures!

 

I dont think Ive ever seen a non-safety bead trailer wheel either.

 

Ive got a set of 14" trailer wheels in the shop that will eventually be drilled and fitted with some BFG A/Ts

 

I just went to check, and they do have safety beads.

 

I can get some pics for you tomorrow.

[maozebong]

Thanks for the picture, they do look good. Royale Loyale? Ha!

 

 

it actually says "royale with cheese" a poke at the pulp fiction quote/metric system.

 

i was drinking one day when camping out of it and decided to paint it on with white touch up paint i found at work. definitely get laughs out of it here and there.

[TheLoyale]

it actually says "royale with cheese" a poke at the pulp fiction quote/metric system.

 

i was drinking one day when camping out of it and decided to paint it on with white touch up paint i found at work. definitely get laughs out of it here and there.

 

Haha! I like it

[Scott in Bellingham]

heres a car I ran trailer wheels on , never had a bead issue 30 " tires

 

[O.C.D.]

Those Weller's above are a very rare wheel, especially in the states. I contacted the company last week about sourcing some and that is a no-go. I even asked if they could drill a 140 pattern and they said they do not have the ability to.

 

Keep in mind you do not necessarily need a "trailer wheel". You can have these for a little more. I run these on my TJ and you can't beat them for the price.

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/USW-70-5660/?rtype=10

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/CRR-310-5660/?rtype=10