Steel Wheel Tech (2 Viewers)

[gnob]

I imagine the larger diameter wheel (17")no longer hits the steering arms like 15s

 

[residualboulders]

Here's my contribution to this thread. I bought a 55 a few years ago and wanted stock steelies with 33x10.5. That size tire on the stock wheels can look a bit ballooned so I looked all over trying to find some steel wheel I could get a bit wider. There were several options, but not quite the same look as stock, and I would have had to buy hubcap clips, get them welded on, etc. So I decided to send of my stock wheels to Stockton Wheel and have them widened. What they do is cut out the center disc and reinstall them in a 15x8 ring. This was not a cheap solution but they turned out great and seem to be balanced really well. I think I'm into it $150 a wheel, excluding the cost of the original wheels. So, I ended up with a 15x8 wheel with 3.5 backspacing. I had them powder coated with Cardinal P004-GR09. Much better than the rattle can gold the PO painted them.

I liked how they turned out so well I've installed them on all my cruisers just to see how they look. Below on my '86 fj60 with 2" OME lift. Love the look of these on the 60 but I may just stay with the stock wheels with a 33x10.5 all terrain - mainly so I don't have to pay to have another set widened.

Here they are mounted on the 55 with 3 1/2" lift.

And here they are on the 40 with 2 1/2" Lift. I think they stick out of the rear wheel well a bit more than my preference. Would look great with fender flares installed - I just can't get myself to cut the rear quarters for flares. I've been running stock steelies with 33x9 1/2" for the past 17 years on this one.

 

[wngrog]

Thanks for contributing

This is why I’ve gone to 16’s so I can run the 255 and 235/85 series tires.

 

[residualboulders]

Thanks for contributing

This is why I’ve gone to 16’s so I can run the 255 and 235/85 series tires.

Yeah I may need to do that in the future as the 33x9.5s are hard to find these days.

 

[wngrog]

Yep. The two sizes above in Yokohama and 6-7” wide wheels are 32-9 and 33-9

 

[ravenplague]

I had the OEM steelies and sold them for summit 16's. They are cheap, fit perfect with no back spacer needed and free delivery. I never used the hub caps so it wasnt a big deal for me. Now rolling with nankang 235/85/ 16s and love it!

 

[wngrog]

I had the OEM steelies and sold them for summit 16's. They are cheap, fit perfect with no back spacer needed and free delivery. I never used the hub caps so it wasnt a big deal for me. Now rolling with nankang 235/85/ 16s and love it! View attachment 2046655View attachment 2046656

Yeah. Agree on the hubcaps on some rigs. I like them on my 40 series


Those would have been easier than my eTrailer wheels

 

[wngrog]

Krylon Smoke Gray for Steelies

I'm looking at Krylon COLORmaxx and Fusion All-In-One spray paints. They both come in smoke gray, both are alkyd enamel based paint, and both claim to not need a clear coat for durability. They have slightly different drying times but the same 2 hour or 48 hour recoat time. The All-In-One claims...

forum.ih8mud.com

This was some tech I wanted to crosspost for painting the wheels

Smoke gray left versus Industrial Gray right.

 

[Prairie Swamp]

From the Tall Skinny thread. 2002ish Tundra steelies in RAL 7000 powder coat.

 

[wngrog]

Legit offering from FJ Company

The FJCO Expedition Wheels (6 Lug)

IN STOCK NOW! Direct signature required for delivery. Inspired by the original Toyota steel wheels - steelies - we designed this wheel to be on par with the advances in performance of our vehicles. Light weight, all aluminum, ready for the most commanding environments. Pricing is per wheel (1)...

store.fj.co

 

[BC40]

might be of interest to someone. Been running gm van steel wheels I picked up at the wrecker for $10 ea on the 60 . they are 6.5x16 and about 4" BS. centre bore opened up to fit hubs. running 255/85r16.
old splits on the 40 with 7.5r16.

 

[serenity]

Legit offering from FJ Company

The FJCO Expedition Wheels (6 Lug)

IN STOCK NOW! Direct signature required for delivery. Inspired by the original Toyota steel wheels - steelies - we designed this wheel to be on par with the advances in performance of our vehicles. Light weight, all aluminum, ready for the most commanding environments. Pricing is per wheel (1)...

store.fj.co

That is probably the best looking alloy wheel I’ve ever seen! Not sure what that says about me and my tastes.

I’m planning on using the wheels from my 2017 Hilux on my 55 along with the 4Runner hub and brake swap. They are 17x7.5 +30 offset.

 

[G-Cat]

From @luckynb ‘s build thread:

Ok, here goes.. OEM hub caps fused to baby moon caps that fit aftermarket steel wheels.
I really wanted to run OEM caps, but also wanted to run a larger tire, so needed a non-OEM wheel.
I was prepared to run stock looking steel wheel without caps, but thought I'd give this a shot.

If you are opposed to cold-fusion, stop reading now, otherwise read on.

I got the wheels and hubcaps from Summit

Wheel Vintiques 12 Series Smoothie Wheels
Part # 12-580604 - 15x8, 6 on 5.5 - $80.99 each (I bought 5)

Wheel Vintiques 12-580604 Wheel Vintiques 12 Series Smoothie Wheels | Summit Racing

Free Shipping - Wheel Vintiques 12 Series Smoothie Wheels with qualifying orders of $109. Shop Wheels at Summit Racing.

www.summitracing.com

Wheel Vintiques Center Caps 1009 baby Moon for 14-16" Smoothie Steel Wheel - $24.99 each

Wheel Vintiques 1009 Wheel Vintiques Center Caps | Summit Racing

Free Shipping - Wheel Vintiques Center Caps with qualifying orders of $109. Shop Wheel Center Caps at Summit Racing.

www.summitracing.com

(I bought 6 thinking I may mess a couple up trying to modify them)

I bought a set of OEM caps from CruiserCorp, I thnk.

I cant find my extra OEM cap, so cant show the entire process, but I think you'll get the gist of it. Instead, I pulled a couple off the 40 so you can see the underside of the cap.

You can see in this shot whats left of OEM cap after I cut out the ring part that snaps to an oem wheel - see the serrated edge left from the snips I used. I left about 3/4 inch around the perimeter of the oem cap. This allows enough clearance for the moon cap to set down in the oem cap and make contact with it.
View attachment 2117630

Next rough up the outer surface of the moon cap where it will make contact with the inside of the OEM cap. I used 80grit - roughed it up good.
Also drill some holes through the moon cap at the contact area.
View attachment 2117634


The oem cap is stamped in such a way that there are raised areas on the underside, which are the black indents on top side. This is the main contact area.
Rough up the inside of the OEM cap where the moon makes contact.
Why? Because JB Weld is the miracle substance that will hold the two caps together, and it works a little better when it has something to bite into and flow around.

When doing the rear cap you need something to sit it on in order to get both the OEM and the moon cap level and centered. I used a roll of painters tape.
View attachment 2117638

Get the OEM cap level first. Check it several spots all around.
View attachment 2117640

Next make sure you can get the moon cap level. I used a couple small, light weight levels when I actually did this.
View attachment 2117649

Once you're sure you can get it level, take the baby moon out of the oem cap, mix up a bunch of JB Weld and spread it around the inside of oem cap where it will contact - the raised areas.
Put the moon back in, add some more JB Weld in the holes you drilled - be generous with it. It doesnt need to be pretty, it will not be seen.
With the JB weld still wet and the moon sitting in the oem cap, get it level again, then let it sit for a day.
It will be set up enough to at least move it at that point, but I let mine set for several days. I didnt expect it to work.
After it had sat for several days, might have been a week, I tried to pull the caps apart by hand and I couldnt, so I snapped it on the wheel, pulled it off the wheel - it still stayed together, no give at all. I did it a bunch more times and it held strong.

Since it appeared to work, I did the other 3. They've been on the truck almost a year now. Over the year I've pulled them off many times for various reasons, to include today to take pictures of them for this post. Bumpy blacktop roads, a little offroad, still holding together strong.

Doing the front cap is as little different.. You have to cut a hole in the moon cap. After you cut out the mounting ring from the oem cap, set it on top of the moon cap, level it, then sharpie a line on the moon cap of the hole in the oem cap. When you make your cut, I used a jig saw with fine tooth blade, cut just a hair outside of the line you marked. Rough up the contact surfaces, level it, apply JB Weld, level again, let it sit. Theres more contact surface with the front caps so you can use a little more JB Weld.

Thats it. Before I took the JB Weld route, I considered heat based fusion but didnt think I could do it without messing up the oem cap - either burning off the plating, burning through, warping...

I think they came out pretty good and a bit cheaper than having oem wheels widened or custom built with oem centers. Since I didnt have any oem wheels to start with, it was going to be a little pricey to do the other options.

I also looked at welding tabs on the smoothie wheel. If my current solution doesnt hold up, thats what I'll try next, but so far they are holding real good.

The snips I used were straight cut. Would have been easier with curve cut.
View attachment 2117655

The front oem cap has a small lip at the hub opening. Cutting the moon cap just outside of your sharpie line will make sure it fits around that and be completely undetectable when on the wheel.
View attachment 2117657

View attachment 2117658

View attachment 2117659

Theres a slight gap between the wheel and the oem cap. If it hit the wheel flush, it would be really hard to remove the fused moon-oem cap from the wheel... nothing to grab on too. With the gap, you can just get a finger back there to pull it off. SAme thing with the rear. But its hard to tell theres a gap just by looking at it.

View attachment 2117660

I didnt take a picture of it, but I used the depth gauge on a digital caliper to make sure the moon was centered in the oem cap. Measuring from the outer lip of oem cap to snap ring of moon cap.

 

[wngrog]

Why not just put VW or OEM Toyota clips on the summit wheel?

my friend Jerry added OE clips to his split rims. Just drilled the holes

 

[Rigger]

Just an FYI I bought 15” Vintiques smoothies from Summit. They would not fit my FJ40. The welds banged into the brake calipers. I should have got the 16’s.

I love them 16” OEM steelies that City Racer sells. If my Christmas bonus allows, I’m gonna order a set of those. They now offer them in grey, ready to run.

 

[wngrog]

Just an FYI I bought 15” Vintiques smoothies from Summit. They would not fit my FJ40. The welds banged into the brake calipers. I should have got the 16’s.

I love them 16” OEM steelies that City Racer sells. If my Christmas bonus allows, I’m gonna order a set of those. They now offer them in grey, ready to run.

His wheels are so legit, especially if you want hubcaps. The only reason they are not on my 60. I run them on my 40 and 45

 

[Rigger]

I’m a wheel junkie. I got a set of 15” OEM’s in the garage. Saving them for when the zombies come. Currently running el cheapo grey spokers that I had powder-coated. But I love them City Racer 16’s and I’m salivating over them.

Here’s my el cheapos:

 

[chbrow10]

I feel like this is the right place to ask this question. I recently bought an FJ60 and it came with 3 steelies. They are not rivited. They are gray and have the hubcap clips. These were described by the PO as "like for a FJ55". Attached are photos of the markings.

What do I have here an what are they worth?

 

[wngrog]

Worth? Not much. The new ones are $100 each so that’s the ceiling

 

[chbrow10]

Are these compatible with disk brakes? How do I tell? Does the “15” mean 15 inches and therefore no bueno for disks?