guys, i ran that question already on roadglue a while ago,
i'm looking for a shop to widen my 7x15 alloy "cookie cutter" wheels to 8x15 and 9x15.
a local (greater bay area) shop is preffered (no shipping) but if you have any out of state recommendation, bring em on.

anybody here ever had alloy wheels widened?
how is the quality?
are they strong enough for club racing/auto-x?


what i have so far:

Stockton Wheel http://www.stocktonwheel.com/ does STEEL only

Kelley's Custom Wheel Service
1725 N. Report Ave
Stockton, Ca 95205
209.547.9246
209.547.9245 - Fax
they quoted $110 per wheel. not bad! do they have a web-site ???


your feedback is very welcome ...
Andy

I'm no expert on this (nor do I play one on TV), but...

From what I heard, you can't weld cast alloys
(Cookie cutters are cast aren't they?)
The weld itself will be strong, but the surrounding material becomes brittle

I have found a company in "der Heimat" that widens (forged) Fuchs wheels (with TüV)
but that's of little help to ya now

cheers,

Jeroen

hmmm, i looked around a little bit and i couldn't find any info about differences in welding for "forged alloy" versus "cast alloy".
anyone here who has any insights?

The Vipers have cast wheels....the rear wheels are basicly fronts that have been widened by welding.


I too thought of going this route, but I feel that I'd just rather have a brand new unmolested rim for better piece of mind.


According to JP , cast materials are better to weld than forged...correct me if I'm wrong here JP

Andy,
Lindsay Racing, in my area, has a full custom wheel service. They do beautiful work. Will take 6" Fuchs and make them as wide as you want. These are for racing applications, so you can be assured of strength.

I'll ask him if they can do cookie cutters. I pretty well know what he will say. He'll say what he always says when I ask him something like this: "No problem - BRING MONEY"

But I will check with him and let you know.

joseph222, thank you Sir.
that's exactly what i'm looking for.
and yes, i know i have to pay with $$$

I know nothing about this

There's lots of welded wheel talk on the Pelican 911 board. Jack Olsen had them on his car:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/showthread....t=welded+wheels

like mentioned before Lindsey can widen your wheels. The cut the wheel to just leave the center, then they get some spun wheel halfs and build your wheel. In effect they are making a 3 piece wheel using your wheel center. They can build any offset or width you want. You should take some careful measurements to determine how large a wheel you can fit and the offset you want.

WOW I forgot that jacks wheels were welded. Lindsey did a 3 piece set for customer of my friends..

What does it cost to have done???
Geoff

thanks. everything is already measured. the wheels are spaced out to max. already, so i need to keep the offset (from the outside) basically just adding on the inside. and there seems to be plenty of space

Three piece wheels kick ass. When I go to flares, I'll probably pick up a set, camoflaged as 16" or 17" fuchs.

Did Fuchs come as 17 inch?

-Rusty

What most people here are missing is the fact that Andy wants to do his Cookie Cutter rims which are made entirely different than the Fuchs.....


For the Fuchs, they cut out the center section and weld it to a new outer rim or bolt it to an new outer rim.

For Andys application, they would cut the rim in half or there abouts and weld in a one inch or two inch band of aluminum to widen the rims....more or less a "splice" is done to get the widened rim.

Cast centers can be welded to new spun aluminum outer halfs, but normally this is a factory (as in wheel manufacture) type thing. In fact, my Enkie rims currently on the 914 have a cast center section welded to a spun outer half.

You tell 'em Mikey! (I know you've been into this wheel stuff for a while now).

P.S. one of my Pro/E projects is almost ready for your review

mueller nailed it!

thanx I was getting confused

extreme alloy widening.... these are obviously 3 piece bolted wheels

Here's the link to the Lindsay wheels in 17" with pricing.

17\" Fuchs

I don't think the prices are bad at all!!!

Not Bad!! Damn I am on a budget! Forget that idea...
Geoff

My buddy paul put the 17" HRE's on his IROC look Carrera and it was quite a bit more than these!



Plus, I like the look without the rivets better than his (don't tell him)

Sweet lookin car!!! I agree the rivets dont cut it.
Geoff

I talked to the guy from Weidmans Wheels at the Ventura German Autofest last year and they widen the Fuchs. Beautiful looking wheels. No idea on price. They are located in Oroville, Calif. 530-534-7903.
The Lindsey racing wheels if you supply the core, is a very good price. If you have been shopping and seen the prices you will know what I mean.
CCLinLOO

LLC,
I've been in their shop and have seen both the widened wheels and just regular customer's wheels - I can't describe enough how good the effort and workmanship is. Looks like jewelry. I'm saving my pennies to get my street set polished.

Here's just the opposite of what they do. I did my AX set myself. They look real bitchin' 10-15 feet away. I will never strip another set of wheels - ever.