67 evil eleanor

I redrilled a 4 lug to a 5 lug pattern and I'm not sure there's enough metal left to be safe. It measures 0.120" from the edge of the drilled hole to the outside of the hub. I've not been able to find any info on what is "too close" and what is acceptable. The car has 11" brakes normally and I only need to convert these to a 5 lug for wheel selection. Here's a photo.

68dustin

that just doesnt look safe.... i personally would invest in some 5 lug axles. They aren't that expensive for the price it will cost to fix your car when a wheel buckles in your wheel well.

jojobanks

I would just chop some other studs off and weld them into the old holes if you're worried about it.

JMD

In my opinion those will never give you a problem. While the measurement at the narrowest point is only about 1/8", the studs will be held in around the whole circumference of the hole, and the narrow part is a very small amount. Additionally, the circle patern of 5 bolts will insure that all of the stress will NEVER be pushing on a single stud, nor will any stud be forced to hold solely against the weak edge.

Beyond this, most, (99% ?) of the force on the studs will be clamping the wheel against the drum, with very little lateral force being exerted against the side of the stud.

In any case whatever happens, even if the part fails, it won't fail "right now" a reasonable inspection routine after the car is put on the road will save you from any catastrophic failure. I mean inspect it a several times the first day, and taper off to once ever six months to a year. IMO the inspection process will lend itself to peace of mind, because like I said earlier, I don't think your modification will fail.

jp1967stang

I agree with jdm. If the wheels you are using fit tight to the hub. If they dont fit tight idk if i would trust it then just for the simple fact that if 2 bolts came loose or 2 break off for some unknowen reason. Then force would be putting stress on the bolts towards the thin sections of the hub and that i think could cause a problem. As long as the wheels are hub eccentric or whatever they call then i dont see how u could be putting much if any force towards the thin part of the hub. I would watch them tho. Might have other problems like fatigue in that section but most of this stuff has a large factor of safety.

JMD

What does that fit? A Ford "Exploder"?

67 evil eleanor

Its off an 05 Focus. Last night I was able to locate some info on using a Mazda nuckle and hub (that has the 5 lug pattern) in place of the Focus one and think I'll change over to it before I get too deep into the build. It has a much larger bearing both in width and height. I understand this is what some of the rally cars do and have had great success. I can still use several of the parts I have from the Focus as they are interchangable and are actually the same.