JMortensen Posted February 7, 2006 Share Posted February 7, 2006 I didn't say ZG...take a hammer and beat out the fender...my z looks cool but the fenders haven't been smoothed yet...about to buy a Miller 175 mig and build an english wheel. I swear I must have as much tire coverage as a zg flare but it is free...and it is a good way to get rid of old bondo...the rear fenders are a little more difficult though. got to get rid of the inner fender wheel well Just make sure you weld that wheel well back up. That is a major structural support for the strut tower. Without it your car is going to be flexy as hell back there... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OlderThanMe Posted February 7, 2006 Share Posted February 7, 2006 ya I know...I will get it back solid as soon as I get my Miller 175 and get a lot of bodywork done...My Z is normally driven 200-300 miles a week but since the clutch went out and it wouldn't maintain grip on the flywheel in second gear I decided to cut up the rear underbody since tire was slightly rubbing on long sweeping turns...eek!!! I am getting a piece of 20 Guage Aluminium 4'x 8' to make my dash and other interior stuff I will get a small piece of sheet steel to redo the wheelwell after I have the shape that I want on the outer skin. it is a little hard to hammer on the outer skin with the wheelwell there so I will probally remove the outer half of the wheelwell, get the shape on the rear flares final, and then weld in the new wheelwell. I am also looking at the 81-83 5 speed swap with my 3.54 rearend to get better gas mileage...right now my first gear feels too short with the amount of power the engine has. ( The previous owner was not a very car-knowlegable person, he said it had "webers, a cam swap and other engine work inside the engine") So I really don't know what is inside this "Mystery" engine that is really too powerful to drive everyday. I am guessing they increased compression greatly because when downshifting at 3k rpm from 3rd to 2nd it almost drags the rear tires (225/60/15) and when I had the spare on there after a flat(175/60/14) it was really undriveable. I could hardly accelerate without rotating that skiny little tire and downshifting was a joke. it would leave a black streak about 50 feet long. it has topped the rev limiter when I blew a shift pin inside the tranny and I freaked and instead of hitting the brake I jammed the gas . I glanced down and the tach was topped out and a huge black cloud behind me...but after a week (after I fixed the tranny) or so it mostly stopped smoking. now it does not smoke until I get real close to 6800-7000 and runs great...??? I have probably changed the oil 15 times and it has gone from thick chunky black to almost see through black. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueovalz Posted March 16, 2006 Share Posted March 16, 2006 New life in this old thread. I was looking at these wheels for a second set of wheels, and noticed the wheels are not hub-centric, and cannot be balance on the type balancing machine that centers on the hub hole. My question is, how did you guys get the wheel/tire combination balanced? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clarkspeed Posted March 16, 2006 Share Posted March 16, 2006 You must balance them "lug centric". Most custom race wheels don't bother getting the hole true. You must find a competent tire shop with an adaper that will fit. Spin balance machine manufacturers sell a 2 or 3 adapters that will fit up to most BC's. They cost about $500 each so many tire shops just don't purchase them (or lose them) since they are rarely used. Call around and you can find one or just buy your race tires at a race event and they usually balance for free. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heavy85 Posted March 17, 2006 Share Posted March 17, 2006 I just ordered some Diamond Wheels and am wondering for autox use if you really even need to balance them since the speeds are low. Anyone like to comment from their experience? Thanks Cameron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueovalz Posted March 17, 2006 Share Posted March 17, 2006 I tried doing this one time. Our local was very fortunate in having an old airport runway as a straight, which definately needed a balanced set of wheels and tires. It almost shook my teeth out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OlderThanMe Posted March 17, 2006 Share Posted March 17, 2006 yes!!! balance them!!! even if you hub balance them that will be better than nothing!!! I had mine just hub balanced and they shake a little but not bad...once I get my Z back together I will have the tires re-balanced... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom'sZ Posted June 19, 2006 Share Posted June 19, 2006 You will also need to double check that the size wheel you want is available with the small 9/16" holes (for 1/2" studs) if you still have the stock 12mm. Most stock car wheels are drilled 11/16" for 5/8" studs. I was thinking about using these wheels but was wondering about the stud size issue. Could 5/8" studs be swapped into the stock rotors and hubs? Are there any type of adapter lug nuts. Also what about balancing them, does a regular balancing machine work well enough? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OlderThanMe Posted June 19, 2006 Share Posted June 19, 2006 they need to be lug balanced...the stock everything works...just have to get their lug nuts...I was actually using the original 34 year old lug nuts that have a 60* angle on them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom'sZ Posted June 19, 2006 Share Posted June 19, 2006 olderthanme: thanks for replying, I want to order today. they need to be lug balancedHow hard was that to get done? Does just about any tire store have that capability or did you have to search around?the stock everything works...just have to get their lug nuts.... What lug nuts do I have to get? Order from Diamond?I was actually using the original 34 year old lug nuts that have a 60* angle on them.The diamond wheels are made for 45* I guess? ...but what, you just bolted up yours with the original studs and lugs? Your wheels are the pro series model right? And had the smaller 9/16 holes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OlderThanMe Posted June 19, 2006 Share Posted June 19, 2006 My lug uts that came with the car had teh 60 degree angle. Diamond has the lugs that you need. If not then any parts store should have them. I never got mine lug balanced so the balancing is close but not perfect. I am using the original studs. Call around to all your local tire places and ask if they can lug balance wheels. They have to have a special adapter for balancing from the lugs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjhines Posted June 20, 2006 Share Posted June 20, 2006 Hmm.... A good friend of mine owns a tire shop and mobile changing truck... I have help him mount tires at MANY events... We see the Diamond Racing wheels quite often on budget cars.... Diamond wheels balance fine using the proper sized cone... just like any other wheels... I seriously DISAGREE with anyone saying that it takes a special lug hole adaptor to properly balance them.... We have never had any complaints from people who take them over 140MPH... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fhptom Posted June 20, 2006 Share Posted June 20, 2006 I use Diamond Wheels on my track car and have had no problems either. They even cut down the rim size from 10" to 8.5" after I switched tire size. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tube80z Posted June 20, 2006 Share Posted June 20, 2006 In general I've found diamond are made much better than some of the other cheap ministock wheels. MRT is one that doesn't have a decent center hole and you'd probably need to use lug mounted balancing. Cary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OlderThanMe Posted June 20, 2006 Share Posted June 20, 2006 I am just saying what diamond says on their site. I had mine balanced like regular and they are smooth at high speeds. They just took forever to build the wheels for some reason. I think it was delayed 3 weeks because they were doing a lot of wheels for ARCA cars... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom'sZ Posted June 20, 2006 Share Posted June 20, 2006 Well I just ordered a set. 15" x 7" pro series with 4" backspacing. $67 a piece and Bill said 7 days. They did need to be made in that size. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjhines Posted June 20, 2006 Share Posted June 20, 2006 They might not hold the highest standards for center hole centering because of the manufacturing technique... I very well may be that some people occasionally have a problem.... but the manufacturer will not be held responsible for every complaint.... It may be very hard for them to guarantee the wheels are reliably hub centric on a stamped/ punched hole.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PUSHER Posted June 20, 2006 Share Posted June 20, 2006 I am just saying what diamond says on their site. I had mine balanced like regular and they are smooth at high speeds. They just took forever to build the wheels for some reason. I think it was delayed 3 weeks because they were doing a lot of wheels for ARCA cars... The took like 2 months for mine. I dont think they have a lot of 4x4.5'' centers lying around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heavy85 Posted June 21, 2006 Share Posted June 21, 2006 15X10 w/ 5" backspace Diamonds. Only took a week or so to deliver. I called around and about the fourth tire shop I called had a balancer to balance on the lugs - they had really nice newer equipment. Thanks Cameron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Collectindust240Z Posted June 21, 2006 Share Posted June 21, 2006 Stupid question. Do you have to use coil overs to run a 5" backspace? I'm assuming yes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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