New Wheels in the making

[ssmike]

Um, hidden hardware!

[67motorcat]

I think is that the outer spoke ring is beveled about 20*

Which would mean the outer hoop needs to be as well....if thats it it's pretty freaken cool!

[Tom D]

Man you guys are good. Here are a couple of picks from car show that I took first place in. Lets you see profile and fit. They turned out just like I wanted them to. Ride comfort is the same cause I stayed with 20's which was the goal. But a lot wider with 315in the rear and 275 up front. So road noise did increase. I'll talk to some other pitfalls to help those along who might be considering having custom wheels made as well in a later post.
These are some early morning shots so sorry for the shadows. Grass was wet as well so grass all over the tire.

[11SynergyGr&Bl]

very kewl!!

[Moreno1]

Very nice and Congrats! Also thanks for the tips on any pitfalls. It definitely helps when someone has walked through the mine fields before you and is willing to share

[Stex]

[QUOTE=Tom D;4764221]Next its off to the hardening Forge. Long oven that heats to about 500 degrees and then dips them into water at the end. This is what gives it it's T6.
Attachment 355100

Then they go into an aging room for 5 days. The engineer told me that aluminum will get harder over time. They speed that up by placing them into this heated room.
Attachment 355101

Thought the 500 deg sounded low. I maybe wrong but, That would be about 530 degs C. Or about 980 deg F to put it into solution for the quench, if I remember correctly from my years a go heat treating job. And as I learned from the guys, it is a furnace. Ovens are what you bake in... T-6 would be after the temper. Info on 6061:

http://asm.matweb.com/search/Specifi...ssnum=MA6061t6
http://www.mlevel3.com/BCIT/heat%20treat.htm

Thanks for the thread. Always like to see shops and the work.

[njmike]

Looks great thanks for the great video and pics of your wheel making process. Enjoy!

[Tom D]

[QUOTE=Stex;4846869]

Originally Posted by Tom D

Next its off to the hardening Forge. Long oven that heats to about 500 degrees and then dips them into water at the end. This is what gives it it's T6.
Attachment 355100

Then they go into an aging room for 5 days. The engineer told me that aluminum will get harder over time. They speed that up by placing them into this heated room.
Attachment 355101

Thought the 500 deg sounded low. I maybe wrong but, That would be about 530 degs C. Or about 980 deg F to put it into solution for the quench, if I remember correctly from my years a go heat treating job. And as I learned from the guys, it is a furnace. Ovens are what you bake in... T-6 would be after the temper. Info on 6061:

http://asm.matweb.com/search/Specifi...ssnum=MA6061t6
http://www.mlevel3.com/BCIT/heat%20treat.htm

Thanks for the thread. Always like to see shops and the work.

Thanks for the help. I tried to write down what he said and may have missed the numbers exactlly because as you know the forging process is very loud. But I think everyone got the concept anyway and with your help the exact numbers.

[Stex]

[QUOTE=Tom D;4848284]

Originally Posted by Stex

Thanks for the help. I tried to write down what he said and may have missed the numbers exactlly because as you know the forging process is very loud. But I think everyone got the concept anyway and with your help the exact numbers.

Well I think that is correct on the temps. I am looking for feed back if not. The metallurgy behind the heat treating is very interesting. The molecular structure changes with the different temps etc... the entire wheel making process is very interesting, but normal life for the skilled journeymen making your wheels. Made in USA!

Nice wheels and nice Camaro. You have done a lot to that car! Nice! Thanks again for the thread.

[Tom D]

Well, I finally got around to doing this. Sorry it took so long. Here are some areas that were a concern for the type of wheel I wanted and the fit for staying with 20's. Hopefully they will help anyone along with their wheel search and design.

1. Width of wheel was a challenge for staying with 20's. On a three piece wheel the inner hoop came with an extra valve stem hole for mounting of the TPMS. I wanted to keep my valvel stem hidden so had to do it this way since TPMS sensor can not be mounted in center of wheel. The purpose behind this is if the wheel were to go flat than the car would be riding right across the TPMS sensor and crush it and damage tire if that were to occur. By mounting to front or back (in my case) keeps it in one of the valleys of the wheel. Anyway, the valve stem no mater how short would hit the emergency brake line every rotation. So had to either go with a flush valve stem or tie E brake line out of the way. This would not happen if wheel was a 21 or 22.

2. Lug nut length. My wheels are concave and I did not want them sticking out beyond the fender. So to do this and try and maintain the same profile on the wheel meant that the inner hub had to have different depth's. So lug nut holes were different depths from front to rear. Well, I wanted the front and rear to look the same including the amount of lug nut that stuck out of the wheel. So had to buy two sets of lug nuts of different lengths to do this. So I have extras now since I bought whole sets. Thanks to Gorilla they make multiple lengths that worked perfect.

3. Who ever mounts your tires, be ready for some scuffing on inner hoop. I had a couple small marks appear on mine and I was (to say the least) a little upset. Of course you can't see the small marks since they are on the inside hoop edge but still, be prepared for it.

And that was it for me. Of course others may have other issues to share but over all I am pleased to say they came out exactlly how I wanted. Hope this helps everyone out there thinking of doing anything like this. I am attaching a link to a video to watch on testing they did on my wheels during assembly. It measures the roundness in thousands of an inch. If you get custom made wheels I suggest you ask for this always. Maybe for any wheels you buy you should ask for this. I think some members have had bad experiences with some manufacture's. If video is blank make sure you set resolution to low for viewer. It was taken with a phone.



Thanks for the compliments guys and all the PM's I have received, I hope I answered all of them.

[The Led Foot]

Great looking wheel Tom D. Robert over at Kompression wheels is a great guy. The attention he pays to the little details is second to none. He makes sure you fully understand all your options and treats you like a personal friend, not just a customer. He is doing a set of wheels for me as we speak. I will post pics.

[Revo1]

GORGEOUS... Very nice man.

[Tom D]

Thought I would update and show off my wheels again with the Calipers by Mike. They both really shine in the sun.
Before;


After;

[shrinkdoc]

Originally Posted by Tom D

Hi everyone. Finally found a company local to make my wheels. Worked out a deal that would allow me to learn the whole process from beginning to end with how wheels are made and thought I would share as they progress. So stay tuned for pics and more pics. This is going to be cool....

First shot is this hunk of 6061 aluminum that is going to turn into my centers. Then off to the presses today to get it started.

Instead of pics...please provide a video of the whole process.