ISUZU Rims.....

[nfpgasmask]

Hey everyone, I'm having some real trouble finding black rims that I want and that will fit my VX. I want to keep my stock 18" rims for now, but I am looking for some 16" black rims to wear most of the time.

I really like the AR Mojave style and the Chamber style, but I just can't get a straight answer from anyone (including American Racing) on whether they have any rims that will fit.

So, I am thinking about buying some used ISUZU rims off eBay and getting them powder coated black. Here are some that I am looking at:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ISUZU...65380346QQrdZ1

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ISUZU...66210481QQrdZ1

Can someone tell me if these will fit the VX? I have heard the Trooper wheels will fit the large bore, match the bolt pattern and still be "hub centric".

I am also looking at just some plain old black steel Rock Crawlers. If there is anyone running these, some advice on what to buy here would be great also.

Any help would be appreciated!

Thanks - Bart

[mbeach]

You want a wheel that has:
6x139.7 bolt pattern, this is the same as 6x5.5"
It should have a hub bore of 108mm. This is 4.25"

I prefer to ignore backspacing, as it takes the width of the wheel into consideration. Use offset instead.
Stock wheels are 7" wide, and have an offset of +38mm. If you choose, say, and AR rim that is also 7" wide, but has an offset of +20mm, you will move the outside edge of the rim 18mm to the outside of the truck. This is not enough to cause rubbing. BUT, if you choose a more common 8" wide wheel, the +18mm will be added to +13mm (1/2 inch) and you'll have moved the outer edge of the rim outwards by +31mm. Depending on your tire diameter and lift, you might rub cladding.

My philosophy is "no compromise."
If your new wheel/tire combo weighs 10% more than stock, you overwork your brakes.
If your new tires are 10% larger than stock, you alter gearing, steering, ABS and speedo readings.
If your tires are 10% wider than stock (@1"), you wander into ruts, increase roadforce, and wear your steering components.
If you have to cut/bash/trim or otherwise modify your vehicle just for the sake of fitting tires that only serve their purpose occasionally, you have compromised the design of your truck.
I recently lifted my VX -I feel like it went too high, and it bothers me. I hope that the springs settle a bit.

As for selecting wheels, you can't go wrong with stock for two reasons. One, is a guaranteed fit, and two is the quality of the wheel. Granted, they are cast and not forged, but you won't find a stronger cast wheel out there than an OEM selection. Think about this:
If some bargain tuner wheel breaks, no big deal to the company. If some OEM wheel breaks, than the company's looking at a lawsuit. They pick the best wheels that can be reasonably purchased for each factory application.

Also, a note about powdercoating.
Aluminum is not heat-treated like steel. It uses a curing process completed at low temperatures, over longer periods of time. Without going all metalurgical, I can say this:
Do not powdercoat your cast aluminum wheels at high temperatures. Most experts say that anything above 275F is too high. You can cause brittleness in the outer layer of the wheels (since they are cast, the grain structure is not uniform throughout the wheel).

Instead, I'd recommend a high-quality epoxy paint, professionally applied (just like what the OEMs use). This stuff is tough -I just spent a week and two gallons of Aircraft Stripper trying to remove it from a set of wheels.

Also, if either of those stock wheels are chromed, good luck finding a place that'll remove it. The disposal license for chromium is in the $25k range, so most places won't touch it.

[morgan-tec]

My stock Axiom wheels are powdercoated silver , and i have powdercoated multiple sets of cast wheels with no problems. The durability of powder is second to none. Just my 2 cents

[nfpgasmask]

Hey, thanks for the input. I guess what I have been struggling with is the whole "hub bore" size. Everytime I mention the 108mm size people say "Oh, we certainly don't have anything that will fit that!" So I just don't know what to do. I would just order the AR rims, but if they don't fit I will be pissed.

And about painting the rims instead of powder-coating, quite honestly, either way would work for me, as long as its durable, so that isn't really as big of an issue as finding wheels I know will fit is.

So do you think either of those Isuzu rims on eBay will fit the VX?

Thanks - Bart

You want a wheel that has:
6x139.7 bolt pattern, this is the same as 6x5.5"
It should have a hub bore of 108mm. This is 4.25"

I prefer to ignore backspacing, as it takes the width of the wheel into consideration. Use offset instead.
Stock wheels are 7" wide, and have an offset of +38mm. If you choose, say, and AR rim that is also 7" wide, but has an offset of +20mm, you will move the outside edge of the rim 18mm to the outside of the truck. This is not enough to cause rubbing. BUT, if you choose a more common 8" wide wheel, the +18mm will be added to +13mm (1/2 inch) and you'll have moved the outer edge of the rim outwards by +31mm. Depending on your tire diameter and lift, you might rub cladding.

My philosophy is "no compromise."
If your new wheel/tire combo weighs 10% more than stock, you overwork your brakes.
If your new tires are 10% larger than stock, you alter gearing, steering, ABS and speedo readings.
If your tires are 10% wider than stock (@1"), you wander into ruts, increase roadforce, and wear your steering components.
If you have to cut/bash/trim or otherwise modify your vehicle just for the sake of fitting tires that only serve their purpose occasionally, you have compromised the design of your truck.
I recently lifted my VX -I feel like it went too high, and it bothers me. I hope that the springs settle a bit.

As for selecting wheels, you can't go wrong with stock for two reasons. One, is a guaranteed fit, and two is the quality of the wheel. Granted, they are cast and not forged, but you won't find a stronger cast wheel out there than an OEM selection. Think about this:
If some bargain tuner wheel breaks, no big deal to the company. If some OEM wheel breaks, than the company's looking at a lawsuit. They pick the best wheels that can be reasonably purchased for each factory application.

Also, a note about powdercoating.
Aluminum is not heat-treated like steel. It uses a curing process completed at low temperatures, over longer periods of time. Without going all metalurgical, I can say this:
Do not powdercoat your cast aluminum wheels at high temperatures. Most experts say that anything above 275F is too high. You can cause brittleness in the outer layer of the wheels (since they are cast, the grain structure is not uniform throughout the wheel).

Instead, I'd recommend a high-quality epoxy paint, professionally applied (just like what the OEMs use). This stuff is tough -I just spent a week and two gallons of Aircraft Stripper trying to remove it from a set of wheels.

Also, if either of those stock wheels are chromed, good luck finding a place that'll remove it. The disposal license for chromium is in the $25k range, so most places won't touch it.

[mbeach]

The 16x7 rims will fit without a problem, these are the same as used on the 99 Vehicross.
The others look like 15x6.5 rims to me. They might have issues with clearance to the upper control arm up front -Joe Black runs a nice set of 15" Nissan wheels, he had to do a bit of clearancing in that area. Also, think about mud packing in between the brake caliper and rim -I wouldn't go less than a 16" myself.

As for powder, it is super-durable, BUT, you don't see much powdercoating done on aluminum, especially cast. Now you know why.

[nfpgasmask]

Awesome, thanks for the extra info. 16s would be fine with me....I honestly just really dont like the shiny "bling-bling" 18s that came stock with my 2001. It's just not my thing....

As far as paint goes, can you recommend some brands and types? Thanks for taking the time out to help me.

Bart

[mbeach]

There's a lot of guys on here that are paint smart. I just used what comes in a can marked "Wheel Paint"

I'll most likely sandblast them this winter and get it professionally done, either epoxy painted or a low temperature powder coating. My job looks great from 3 feet away. I'd like to have better.