

| Subject: | Re: Audi wheels!![long] |
| From: | jim catterson |
| Date: | Wed, 26 Aug 1998 11:38:50 -0700 |
i respectfully disagree w/ the premise that the wheel must fit snugly around any part of the hub. the lug nuts/wheel bolts fit into connical surfaces on the wheels so that the wheel is centered on the hub when the bolts/lugs are correctly tightened. the wheel to hub mating surface is not intended to load bearing at the wheel center area. the load bearing part of the wheel to hub connection is two fold: first, the tension of the lug/bolt and second, the mating surface formed by the flat section of the wheel and the adjacent flat part of the hub where the studs are or where the wheel bolts thread. the reason some cars require that you pound a wheel off of the hub or brake drum is that rust builds up and locks the wheel to the hub or drum. the vast majority of cars have enough clearance between the wheel center and the hub center grease cab or axle end that you can lift the wheel onto the projection, fiddle w/ the bolts and then when you tighten up there is plenty of room between the hub center and wheel center. the lugs/bolts do carry the load. old beetle/microbus wheels had a vast opening in the center. sorry for being long winded but the only danger in machining the wheel center is in compromising the wheel's structural integrity. cheers jim catterson 91 syncro 93 ev gl ny _________________________________________________________ DO YOU YAHOO!? Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com
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