Steel Wheel Question

[Will Van]

I just bought a set of Wheel Vintiques Series 12 "Smoothies" for my '93 FZJ80. I noticed when swapping from the 80 series OEM aluminum wheel, to the smoothies, the backside of the wheels are different.

On the OEM aluminum wheel, the back face of the wheel is machined flat to sit flat up against the face of the wheel hub.

On the Wheel Vintiques wheel, the backside of the wheel is not flat, and is slightly concave. Essentially, only a small portion of the wheel is actually touching the face of the hub. Is this a problem? Has anyone had an issue with the Wheel Vintiques Smoothies or other steel wheels?

You can get a better angle from the front of the wheel. Basically the "ring" where the lug nuts bolt to the studs, isn't sitting flush up against the face of the wheel hub.

I know tons of guys run steelies, including Toyota spare wheels. Are those steelies machined flat and sitting flush against the face of the wheel hub?

Thanks in advance!

 

[jjfj80]

I recently went with 15X8 vintiques on my '91. They seem to run true enough.

 

[Will Van]

I recently went with 15X8 vintiques on my '91. They seem to run true enough.

View attachment 1650386

Awesome! Thanks!

 

[greentruck]

Make sure you have the right lug nuts. They're usually different AL vs steel, but they need to match what the wheel needs in terms of the way it contacts the lug as it tightens.

Your other question is something along the lines of "lug-centric vs hub-centric" wheels. There's ways to do either, but you want that right, too. It's late and my brain is already hurting so I'll leave it to those with more expertise.

 

[mudgudgeon]

I think that's fairly typical of an OEM style steel wheel.

I lost the left front wheel of my HZJ105 at 120km/hr after swapping from my steel wheels, back to factory alloy wheels after a weekend wheeling.
The steel wheel let a very fine layer of silt settle on the WMS on the hub.
Bolting the alloys on, the wheels had a different contact area on the hub, so they sandwiched the silt in place. After 50km, the silt allowed the wheel to shift a little, and the nuts lost torque and came off, and the wheel came off.

I lost a left front wheel on my 80 once to after having tyres replaced, so I'm anal about seating wheels properly, and torquing wheel nuts.

 

[Will Van]

Here are a few photos of the steelies mounted on my '93.

 

[Malleus]

That's a good looking truck.

 

[Malleus]

Make sure you have the right lug nuts. They're usually different AL vs steel, but they need to match what the wheel needs in terms of the way it contacts the lug as it tightens.

Your other question is something along the lines of "lug-centric vs hub-centric" wheels. There's ways to do either, but you want that right, too. It's late and my brain is already hurting so I'll leave it to those with more expertise.

And don't let anyone install the lugnuts with air wrench. There's a TSB covering this, but I can't put my hands on it at the moment.

 

[Will Van]

That's a good looking truck.

Thanks a lot!

And don't let anyone install the lugnuts with air wrench. There's a TSB covering this, but I can't put my hands on it at the moment.

Yeah, I'm using a torque wrench.

 

[COYS]

I picked up a set of 16x10 Pro Comp steels and took some shots of the hub mating surface for reference. It's definitely a flat mating surface, but does have these two lips in the inner and outer. I can feel with the tips of my fingers that the holes accept a typical 60 degree acorn lug nut for a lug-centric fit.

I'm hoping to do a test fit unless someone already knows that Pro Comp steelies match the FZJ80 hub. I've seen them run many times, but a confirmation would be nice. The model is 252 series, 6 x 5.5, 108mm, -38 offset.

 

[mudgudgeon]

I had pro comps on my HDJ81, no issues.

 

[ccslider]

X3 on the lug nuts.. you can't use shank style on steel wheels and I believe the to is 100 instead of the 88 for the aluminum.

 

[Will Van]

X3 on the lug nuts.. you can't use shank style on steel wheels and I believe the to is 100 instead of the 88 for the aluminum.

I’m using the correct 60 degree conical lug nuts called for by Wheel Vintiques (FWIW I think the OEM lug nuts are also 60 degree conical).

Does anyone know the torque spec for steel wheels on a an FZJ80? 100 ft lbs?

 

[retrofive]

I’m using the correct 60 degree conical lug nuts called for by Wheel Vintiques (FWIW I think the OEM lug nuts are also 60 degree conical).

Does anyone know the torque spec for steel wheels on a an FZJ80? 100 ft lbs?

 

[Chrisfj62ut]

Man those look awesome I would love a set for my FJ62.

 

[Douglas S]

I love the look of those wheels. I wish there was a readily available 17" alloy smoothie lookalike (similar to what Icon tends to use on their reformer and derelict projects). Haven't been able to locate anything that would work for an 80.

 

[Will Van]

I love the look of those wheels. I wish there was a readily available 17" alloy smoothie lookalike (similar to what Icon tends to use on their reformer and derelict projects). Haven't been able to locate anything that would work for an 80.

View attachment 1652453

Wheel Vintiques makes a 17" wheel that would work on an 80 series. They're steel though, not alloy.

Wheel Vintiques 12 Series Smoothie Wheels 12-7806042

Specs are:

• Part Number: 12-7806042
• Size: 17"x8"
• Bolt Pattern: 6x5.5"
• Backspacing: 4.5"
• Center Bore: 4.25"
• Lug Nut Seats: Conical 60 degree

 

[malteserunner]

Retorque your lug nuts after you've driven 20 miles or so. Good practice after installing new wheels.

 

[Will Van]

View attachment 1652359

Just wanted to say thank you for posting this. I had typically tightened lug nuts by “feel,” since I didn’t have a proper torque wrench over 100 ft lbs. I thought I was really close. Maybe even over-tightening. But I decided to go ahead and invest in a high quality Snap-On 1/2” torque wrench. I was way off!!! At least half a rotation on every lug nut. Safety first.

Thank you again.

 

[TWILLY]

I recently went with 15X8 vintiques on my '91. They seem to run true enough.

View attachment 1650386

That looks really sharp. I was planning on the exact same thing for my 92; this seals the deal.

Question: Are you running 32s or 33s?