131mirafiori forum

which set should i use for the 3ma ???

the whites are my abarth chromadora's

the silvers are a new set of modulars from compomotive

Andy,  in your case I should choose the Cromodora's!

See you in 4 days!

the white ones andy, the silver ones are very nice also what size are they? looking at getting alloys for the 131 project Y in the near future maby alleycats of Bbs type deep dish maby 15" or 16" for tyres that can be got not like the near impossible sizes 235/50/13 rear & 215/50/13 front thats on the celica, whats the fiat pcd is it 98x4? & will 100x4 fit?
(http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e354/sidta23/Picture30.jpg)
(http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e354/sidta23/Picture8.jpg)

Hi Andy - Thats a really tough question - I can see why you asked for help - The silver ones look real tough while the white ones are stylish - 51% white and 49% silver - Does that help..? ;)

Nick - I know you said that the Celica might be going in to the workshop on Saturday but I'd love to see it Friday morning if poss - It looks fab!  ;)

Hi Go with the silver as the white looks like something out of Star Wars.Cheers Gary

hi andy,
it has to be the white, they came on the abarth
the silver look like you nicked em off a mini
thanks for two more pics of that fine car
gerry ;D ;D ;D 

nicked off a mini that made me laugh well said happy days,
Kev sorry the celica wont be ready for friday would love some pics of it with the 131s   

well nick, glad you got a laugh,
if i ever buckle one of the revolutions on my x19
i know where to get a spare one, ;) ;) ;D ;D
that was probably the best looking celica the made
nice motor
regards gerry
 

thank you

My vote is for the white ones Andy. But as you have got the "bananas" off the local Mini, I suspect you'd prefer to use those and that's fine too! Surprise us in 3 days time!

I too had a wheel dilemma for a short while. Having refurbished (read that as a quick rub down, a couple of coats of paint and lots of coats of lacquer) my 'new' Cromadoras, I was eager to fit them to the car and see what they look like and hopefully have them for the 3ma. But the bolts I have for the alloys (off an X1/9 which was fitted with alloys) are too short. In fact they are only slightly longer than the bolts that are fitted to my steel wheels. I need the bolts to be at least 10mm longer. I even tried to use the wheel bolts off my Maserati but was very surprised to find they are a different thread even though the wheel is the same fitting. I am too doubtful of wheel bolts sold on ebay after Kevin's problems so I thought it's better to wait until I find some longer but proper Fiat wheel bolts.

I decided to go for a darker anthracite/steel colour on the Cromadoras rather than a modern looking shiny bling-bling silver.

Andy, I actually prefer the look of the silver wheels (I think ???) but the car still looks great on the white ones 8) I'd say 51% silver and 49% white - just to 'upset' Kev ;) ;D :D ;D ;)

Those wheels looks great Theo - but I'm still not sure that they should go on your Sport ???

I have a set of 13" CD40s at home, intended for my Special, that need refurbing, and it looks as though I've just found the man for the job ;D ;D ;D

Wow Theo - They look 100 times better than before - Well done. Whether they will look better on your car or not, only a "fitting" will tell.? ;)

On the bolts side yes they are the frustrating aspect of this modification. I tried longer Tempra steel bolts but they were too strong for the soft alloy and screwed themselves into the wheel.? >:(

Wheel bolts have to be strong and I don't believe there's such a thing as "too strong".  I think the problem with the Tempra bolts was the angle of the head seat. Different bolts have different taper at the head and bolts for steel wheels usually have a narrower angle than the ones for alloys. So if you use bolts with the wrong taper, they can reamer themselves into the alloy wheel bolt hole. (Is reamer a verb? well, if people use text as a verb I'll use reamer as one!)

I can actually see the difference in the taper of the bolt heads when comparing my 131 steel wheel bolts and the X1/9 alloy wheel bolts. I think the solution to our problem will be original 131 alloy wheel bolts or possibly 132 (even 124?) alloy wheel bolts. My local motor factors assured me that they could supply the correct bolts to fit the Cromadoras to my 131 but I wasn't convinced plus they wanted more money for the set of bolts than I've paid for the wheels!

the silver wheels are 9x15 rear and 8x15 front
the whites are 8x15 all round

theo why dont you use studs and nuts

Hi Andy have you ever tried the 8x15 ones on a standard sport? also do you know the offset?

I didn't think one could do that with bolted wheels. Don't the nuts need to have the correct base taper to match the wheel bolt hole seat? Otherwise how can I be sure the wheel will be centralised properly and not end up with a lot of vibrations? 

Theo - I dont think it's just the taper - Although I have been told that that is important to get right - It's also the relative strength of the metals in contact with each other. A steel bolt even of the correct taper will "ream" into the softer alloy of the wheel - At least that was my experience and I have heard from someone who kept tightening theirs until one day the wheel fell off the car ...but the bolts and centre section were still attached to the hub!!

I know that Brensports has successfully used alloy bolts from 132 Bellini wheels and Mark W also seems to have appropriate bolts from somewhere. Another topic for the pub at the weekend!!  ;)

Sorry Kevin, I think you have been misinformed. I definitely do not want "soft" bolts holding my wheels on my car! Wheel bolts have to be strong as they have a tough job holding the wheels on.  If your friend's bolts and centre section of the wheel were still on the car then the bolts did their job of holding the centre of the wheel attached to the car; if the rest of the wheel fell off it must have been a defective or damaged wheel. I am sure 132 bolts are the way to go but I am also sure you'll find that they are as strong as the bolts used for your steel wheels.

I think the argument is more about the compatibility of the metals than about relative strength - I've never heard of a bolt breaking but that does not mean it has not happened.

The example given of the wheel falling off the hub is because the bolts were continuously tightened until they almost broke through the wheel.

The `banana' silver is the choice. But I'll colour it white to match the car (don't forget the centre emblem).