grinding the hubs for better ET

**BlackKnight** · by **BlackKnight** » Fri May 12, 2006 9:02 am

im getting ET38 wheels and I would obviously like to achieve ET49 at least on the front.
is it possible to grind a couple of mm off the hubs to get the correct ET? if it is, how much would be "safe"?

i know most of you will tell me not to touch it..

also, does anyone have any diagram or pics of how the front hubs look or something?

Mark1 · by **Mark1** » Fri May 12, 2006 9:12 am

It's not safe. Don't do it.

Wait and get wheels with the right offset.

**imcsherry** · by **imcsherry** » Fri May 12, 2006 9:55 am

You could possibly take a few mm off the wheels themselves (3 or 4mm)?

**BlackKnight** · by **BlackKnight** » Fri May 12, 2006 11:15 am

im not english so I don't know the proper term for the procedure. perhaps mill? or something.
exactly the same procedure is normally done with warped discs to straighten them out.
naturally i would use a shop with proper tools and machines that is successfull in fixing warped discs to do it. the hubs seem quite thick, but I dont really know how the inside of it looks i.e. how thick the outside part is.
i dont want to touch the rims as they cost 10 times more than a couple of second hand hubs.

as far as "safe" is concerned, i drove around with only two wheel lugs done only half way on two wheels. the rim was beating on the hub while i was driving/braking as it had 2mm play between the rim and the hub. this was when i bought the car, it was standing for like 10months so i thought it had some other problem until the next day i noticed the lugs arent screwed in properly and 2 of them fell out somewhere as i drove the car back home.. so.. if i could drive like that on 2 lugs, im sure i can take a couple of mm off the hub without risking much.. also an example of weakening that - the 308 brake kit lmf sells for 16 and 8v.. it is just a redrilled disc to 4x100, obviously it is somewhat weakened as the 5x110 pattern is still there but still it seems not to cause any trouble.
furthermore, did anyone ever see a hub break on a calibra? or any car for that matter? i never heard of that :/

**BlackKnight** · by **BlackKnight** » Fri May 12, 2006 11:20 am

oh yea, also the 298mm brake kit EDS sells, in addition to grinding like 10mm off the omega calipers for them to fit, i noticed the ATE disc they deliver is also thinned on the inner circle also to make room for the caliper. and it seems to be safe as they're still selling it... although i wouldnt fit it(i actually ordered it and saw what they did and decided not to fit it)

EY · by EY » Fri May 12, 2006 11:33 am

I wouldn't do it, you would be weakening an integral part of the drive system, it would be expensive, and a couple of mm wouldn't make enough difference to warrant doing it. You are obviously having doubts about it in you own mind, i say just get wheels with the right offset. [img]/smile.gif[/img]

**BlackKnight** · by **BlackKnight** » Fri May 12, 2006 11:52 am

wheels are paid for already. 38 is the closest offset i could find. i dont have much choice here. only quality wheels that are sold here are OZ and BBS.. other wheels sold are like dezent, mak, dotz, allesio.. i currently have dezent wheels and they get bent when you drive over a penny.
OZ or BBS don't really have much 4 stud 18 inch wheels with offsets bigger than 38.. infact there are none i think. so that's that.

im not really scared about grinding material off the hub.. but as im not a mechanic i dont know how the hub looks like on the inside, i know the bearing is in the hub and all that, and i dont know how much "meat" there is before i reach it. if there's like 20mm of metal meat before i reach anything inside i'd grind off 10mm just like that :/ the hub doesnt really need to be that thick IMO. the hubs on a speedster/vx200 for example are much thinner and they work...

EY · by EY » Fri May 12, 2006 11:57 am

The connecting face of the hub on my turbo is only about 12mm thick, there just isn't enough material to play with mate. Have you experienced problems with the wheels on? or is it the look you are not happy with?

**BlackKnight** · by **BlackKnight** » Fri May 12, 2006 12:08 pm

my current wheels are ET 35 and tire 215 and they tramline quite a lot..
new wheels are being fitted today or tomorrow with ET 38 and tire 205 so it will probably be a bit better.. but probably will still tramline.

the look is superb, they just fill the arches nicely on the front with ET35, but i like handling more than looks so...

so the wheel nut holes on the hub are like 12 mm deep? i could take 3-4 mm off then i guess :/ but thats not really enough
what about the inside face of the hub? any room to play there? any other ideas? if i get 3-4 mm off the face of the hub i need a couple more from somewhere and ill be good [img]/smile.gif[/img]

oh yea, ill also be fitting a camber/castor kit, and increase castor to max - that will probably make it tramline less.. but i want it to handle proper regardless of the kit.

EY · by EY » Fri May 12, 2006 12:16 pm

<div class='quotetop'>(BlackKnight)</div><div class='quotemain'>so the wheel nut holes on the hub are like 12 mm deep? i could take 3-4 mm off then i guess :/ but thats not really enough</div>

You want to take the hub down to 8mm?!!! I really don't think its a good idea mate. If you havn't got the wheels on yet i would wait and see how they are, you might be able to live with it.

**BlackKnight** · by **BlackKnight** » Fri May 12, 2006 12:27 pm

well, it is said that a wheel bolts needs to screw into the hole with at least 4 "grooves" or whatever you call them - this is said when using spacers.. if it doesnt protrude that much into the hub then you need longer bolts or it wont be safe.
i have heard this numerous times.
so in essence those 3-4 grooves are pretty much the thickness that is actually needed in some way?

grinding the hubs for better ET

grinding the hubs for better ET

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