Quote:
Originally Posted by VinceThe1
Widening will work, especially for racers that are generally crazy and do things on a low budget. For regular street use, you might not only have safety issues, but vibration and wobble issues, since wheels are orininally machined into their final form on a lathe to ensure perfect roundness...once cut and weled, the rear part of the drum won't ever lign up with the front perfectly as when it was cast or forged from a single piece of aluminum and machined into shape.
Also, if you widen wheels, that changes the offset, it makes it more positive (a higher offset number, tires further into fenders and towards the car).
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While some of what you state is true, I take offense to your first sentence - prior to the big wheel becoming the norm in pro touring and 15+" rims in large widths not being available, unless you had $5K to drop on a set(2) of wheels you had to figure out alternative ways to get what you want.
I took a 18"x8" with a 3.5" backspaceing alloy rim, after much searching found Weldcraft wheels that would widen it for me, they added a 7" barrel to the rim to make a 18"x15" wheel. The wheel is guaranteed and when balanced needed only .25 oz of weight to be true with a 31"x18.5" radial tire.
Back in 2006, it was the widest and largest diameter rim they had done.
So before you spout off about us crazies doing it, do a little research, it can be done and safely... In regards to the crazy comment, it took me 3 weeks to hand polish from a 60grit finish to the final polish you seen in the pictures...
