Aftermarket Wheels

[pluto]

Had the rotors, pads and extended studs installed on the front wheels yesterday. No issues with fitment and they only charged me C$150 for the entire job which I consider to be a bargain. They couldn't fit the factory hub caps back on after because the studs are so long! I'm going to leave it like this until spring when I have the Mini wheels mounted and can make sure I have enough thread before cutting them back. Guy at the shop told me it "looks like a race car" lol

[melloyello]

Melloyello you mentioned in in the other thread something about cutting the studs down to 60mm to fit them on the rear because of the backing plate, yet the studs I have are 50mm. I'm a bit confused, do they need to be cut down more or not?

The first picture on that post shows the oem stud vs the aftermarket stud after cutting vs before cutting. You can get a pretty good idea of the length from that. I think some of the confusion comes from whether the specified length is for the entire stud or just for the threads. The oem studs are about 45mm total length and the aftermarket studs are about 75mm total length, 50mm of which are just the threads. I had to cut mine down to about 60mm total length.

Rockauto seems to carry oem size studs, with measurements here: http://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php ... 03&jsn=369
and the extended studs ebay listing shows measurements on the fourth photo.

[Neven]

Hi, first post here, great forum.

I have the opportunity to buy aluminum wheels/rims that come from a 2007 Mitsubishi i (the car that the i-MiEV is based on). They're 15x4J35 and 15x5J35, just like it says in my car documents, and have four holes.

Am I right to assume that these will fit my i-MiEV?

[Don]

Probably - The sizes and the offsets are correct. The only thing that could possibly trip you up is the iMiEV wheels have different centerbores, front to rear. Maybe the 2007 Mitsu does too?

Don

[Neven]

Thanks, I didn't know this. In fact, I didn't even know something like a 'centre bore' existed.

Well, if the i-wheels aren't the same as the MiEV-wheels, but for instance are all 56.1 mm, it should be possible to use a ring for the front wheels. If they're all 54.1 mm, however, I'd need to find a way to make the centre bore of the two rear wheels bigger.

Complicated!

[Don]

On the iMiEV, the front spindles have a pressed on steel collar whose only function it to make sure some idiot doesn't try bolting a rear wheel on the front - The collar makes the front centerbore need to be larger than it is for the rear wheels

If the I wheels you buy all have the smaller centerbore, you can pull that collar off the front spindles - They are just pressed in. Once the collar is removed, the smaller centerbore wheels will fit. Drilling a pair of small holes in the collars so you can stick a small phillips screwdriver through the holes gives you something to yank on to pull the collars off. They just tap back on with a mallet if you need to put them back on. If you're the only one removing and reinstalling the wheels on your car, there's no reason to put them back on. I think they're just there to prevent someone unfamiliar with the car from bolting a rear wheel on the front . . . . the wheel wouldn't turn anyway if someone did, but tire store employees aren't always that observant . . . .

Don

[Neven]

So, it's 54.1 for the rear wheels and 56.1 for the front wheels? I assumed it was the other way round because the rear wheels are larger.

It makes sense Mitsubishi has done it this way, given the different wheel sizes.

I'm negotiating the price for the wheels right now. If I can settle with the seller, I'll ask if they can measure the centre bores. Just to be sure, but I have a hunch the centre bore sizes are different for front and rear.

Thanks a lot for your help!

[Don]

Yes, fronts are larger

You can see the steel collar on the photo at the top of this page - It's a little rusty on that car, but you can see that if that collar was removed, a wheel with most any centerbore size would bolt on the front

My 5" wide Mini wheels fit the front, but anything wider will hit the strut. Mine clear it by less than 1/4 inch

viewtopic.php?f=26&t=4132

Don

[Neven]

One last question, silly perhaps, but how much does one such wheel weigh approximately?

edit: Never mind, I asked because the seller was asking a steep price for delivery, and so I tried to figure out what the parcel would cost. But the seller has accepted my second offer, so it's irrelevant now.

BTW, I checked some pictures of older i-MiEVs and the wheels look exactly like the ones I'm buying.

[Neven]

The wheels arrived and... drum roll ... the centre bores are 54.1 (rear) and 56.1 (front) mm! I'll be darned if they don't fit on the i-MiEV.

One last question, silly perhaps, but how much does one such wheel weigh approximately?

Allow me to answer my own silly question. Front wheel is 7.08 kg (15.61 lbs) and the rear wheel is 7.31 kg (16.12 lbs).

That's for this original Mitsubishi alloy wheel used for the Mitsubishi i (gas version) and early i-MiEV (mine are from 2007):