How To Widen A Set Of Wheels

Want steelies, but nobody makes the width you want? Make them!
See also: "Take 2: Make 4 even wider wheels out of 8!"
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[@johngossert3908]

Used to have a local guy, back in the 80’s, widen wheels for the racers in the area! I was one of them! This was before you could just get on your phone and order what you needed! Ah, what we used to put ourselves through to get to the track on Saturday night!

[@jamesblair9614]

Very nicely done, and I completely appreciate steel rims. I have a nice collection of 1966 factory wide Mopar rims, 5.5 was wide back then, but they all have some sort of deficiencies, curb damage and opened up lug holes mainly, I guess this is why I’ve never been able to find a shop to consider fixing them. There used to be a local shop that would do whatever you wanted, but long gone, I’m in Canada as well.

[@tobygathergood4990]

Great idea! Now all I have to do is find an old brake lathe to use. I'm from BC. A place I worked for in the '70s used to widen wheels on a huge lathe. Used to turn 15" x 6" rims into 15" x 10". To weld the extra steel onto the rim, we used a multi arm cam driven spider that expanded into the inner diameter of the rim to which the widening strip could be clamped to. Weld up was also done on the lathe that was sloooow turning. Gott watch that back spacing too, depending on what the wheels are going on. Quite often the only difference of some thing being "legal" and "illegal" is if the welder was a certified welder or not. Cops are definitely NOT the ones to ask if something is "legal" or not on a vehicle. Most have no clue. "Because I can" is the correct answer, not "because I'm stupid" 🤣

[@JBLewis]

The wider wheels do indeed fill the fenders very nicely!

[@JunkMikesWorld]

Very Cool! Good idea using the brake lathe. I own a brake lathe and I had never considered using it this way.

[@4b131]

Awesome job they look great. 👍

[@erniehenshaw76]

Nice craftsmanship.

[@gregkimura5906]

Great description! Thanks for making the video!

[@GeloNegron]

Hahaha, so Steelies are technically 3 piece wheels! Dope ❤ I love steelie styled wheels, they really look great and aggressive.

[@jimssawsnstuff8903]

Great explanation, subscribed! Thanks😉👍

[@paulinocantu8261]

Great work!!!!

[@robgigabyte580]

I understand you are editing this but wished I could have seen the entire process. Awesome video, got a 70 Z28 with a 383 Stroker pushing 500+ HP and 400 + ft lbs torque at the rear wheels. I NEED TRACTION BAD. But want to keep the 5 spokes. Off to get 2 OER's now and add 3" for 10 " wide rims... Thanks for showing me the process. I'll be able to keep the offset, have that factory look and get some badly needed traction!!!!! Subscribed and liked!!

[@paulscott3266]

Great projects, reminds me of my shop teacher. Maybe in your next video ask for comments to name the shop teacher that made an impact on us

[@guyforlogos]

You do it because you can! I like the steel wheel look too….

[@LetsFixIT]

I love this vedio. Hey i had this tired place do my 88 Acura legend. They make the car ride so smooth on the highway it almost put your too sleep. How they do that.?

[@jimdean7335]

You did it because you can. Nice use of a brake lathe. If you could slow down the brake lathe you could use a mig and speed things up.

[@Archer_Off-Road]

Just put the brake lathe in free wheel and use it as a positioner for welding, turning it by hand. This assumes you can get a good ground through the body of the lathe though.

[@janeblogs324]

@@Archer_Off-Road just ground to the rim....

[@ericbarnawell8481]

Not to try to spoil fun time in the shop but Bassett race wheels make really nice steel wheels. Also DOT approved ones. Fun video.

[@mumblbeebee6546]

Hmmmm, Sir used to say that this car was going to save money… wider tires use more fuel, Science Teacher told us… 😜 Solid work on the welding and fabrication though, and _very_ tidy finish! Sexy? No 🙂 but it does look good!

[@olivermwangi9558]

youre very valuable man

[@jpsimon206]

Hey there. I'm a retired machinist, and left-handed. I spent many many years trying to find if anybody had ever made a left-handed lathe or an ambidextrous lathe. The economics has made it essentially never done and I've become strangely obsessed with building one. I was vaguely aware of brake lathes but assumed they were quite limited and I had no idea they had a headstock on the right. What you're working with looks like a very strong candidate as a platform for such a project. Could I ask the make and model? And if there is specific jargon for the headstock being on the right? Thank you in advance.

[@GregWellwood]

Pretty much all brake lathes are arranged this way. I'm not sure why this way and not like a typical lathe.

[@jpsimon206]

I'm assuming that a brake lathe essentially can only do facing operations, but no turning? Is that right? How feasible do you think it would be to cut down a casting and add a lead screw for say 12 inches of turning?

[@GregWellwood]

It will cut brake rotors and brake drums. It's really not a "machine lathe" as such. It -could work, but I don't think it's ideal.

[@robgigabyte580]

Only way is to reverse the internals.... If it's belt drive this might be the easy part, the rest of the lathe setup would be a nightmare!!!! Good luck, I'm left handed but have dealt with being in a right handed world.

[@wintermachine]

@@robgigabyte580 My brake lathe manual says it will also do flywheels.

[@tardstomper]

Mig those and save a couple days. And less tacks, use a cut wheel so as to facilitate an open root, approximately one sixteenth with the right disk between the tacks, 100 percent penetration. Pro tip for anyone attempting this.

[@peterplouf2836]

Plan C. Buy wide hoops and cut out the wheel centers and weld them into the new hoops with whatever offset you want.

[@robgigabyte580]

In the video it's stated you run into issues in maintaining the offset and keeping the rim true.

[@asayoasayo5746]

Good idea.

[@lawrencefosterjr.7332]

Just about the same as we did for the dirt track racers in the late 1960s

[@luisbatista1103]

Just subbed 👍👍👍👍👍🇨🇦

[@benmullen1605]

Smart guy 👍👍👍👍

[@ProfessionalArmourer]

Back in the day we had to do similar, however, wedidnt have tig or mig welders available and had to use stick welders

[@jpsimon206]

Is the one headed hammer a DIY? What's that like to swing? I can't decide if it would self align or if I think it would be wildly imbalanced.

[@GregWellwood]

I made it to fit into a small space for a job a while back - I keep it with my bodywork hammers, and it was handy at the time.

[@gotj]

El mejor canal de todo yputube :-)

[@erniehenshaw76]

What Welder do you have??

[@k.lamareyev4418]

Wish you were in my area

[@MikeAnderson-uj3oo]

I can't say I've ever banded a wheel. I have seen it done. Just never had to do it myself. I have turned a lot of steel wheels into beadlocks. Lots of welding and lots and lots of bolts.

[@joell439]

Sweeeeet. 👍👍😎👍👍

[@replicant357]

I’m just happy to see an American using a guard on their grinder for once 👍🏼😁ha!

[@GregWellwood]

(Canadian, eh!?) Thanks!

[@replicant357]

@@GregWellwood , sh*t! That’s terrible of me to call you such blasphemy. My apologies 😁 We don’t meet to many people from here “down under” 🦘 ha!

[@jenstori5746]

Hey can you do a diy e30 bottle caps wheel

[@drofmah3836]

any predictions on the balancing after all is done?

[@GregWellwood]

They all hold air. They all balanced with an ounce or less per side (I used stick-on weights to keep the outer lip clear), except one wheel that has a bit more warble than the others, which took over two ounces on one side.

[@immanutt4442]

awesome job !!! ... never say you're stupid

[@mikeknowlden9617]

Where did you find that bubble tool! That's an old school tool used before hi tech machines were made. I want it for my vett. !

[@GregWellwood]

Any circle track racer shop will have them. Wait. What bubble tool?

[@stevecallachor]

In this wide brown land down under, you can widen the rim by 2inches (50 mm) maximum but you cannot increase the track width, so both wheels need to be widened similarly and you need to place the band in the rights spot!!! Not always easy for the DIY FOLK,!! Stavros

[@aussiefarmer8741]

Another possible option, if you could find other 7'' rims and cut out the centre stud plate and just reweld that in. I hope I explained that ok.

[@shanepowers7566]

Wagon wheels for pickups make good donors.

[@cm5838]

I watched this because I have to attempt to repair 4 atv rims that the bead had completely rusted off. Why not just get used replacements you ask? Because this particular atv is apparently the only one ever made that used this rim size, offset, and lug pattern, in other words I have been searching for two years and have not found any rims to fit it. I am considering two options, cut off the bead of a good rim the same diameter and weld it on or cut the centers and weld a good outer rim to them. However more and more I’m thinking about parting out the atv, this thing has been nothing but a pain in the rear trying to find anything for it

[@GregWellwood]

I have another video where I repair a bent rim as you are suggesting. Having said that, there is something to be said about "parts availability."

[@GregWellwood]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/aKSpoIZplNqokLs

[@benromo157]

How much to do mine ?

[@Erol-Oztrk]

Would it be possible with aluminum wheel?

[@GregWellwood]

Interestingly, here in Canada it IS legal to "repair" aluminum wheels by welding, but not steel wheels. For me, I'm a far more sketched out about welding aluminum wheels than steel wheels, but yeah - technically, it can be done the same way.

[@garyyorke1080]

Why do it .?? Because you can and it makes an interesting video . More so than going and buying a set . Would be a real short and boring video .in the UK this is called banding and it is actually street legal , a lot of custom VW Van's and bugs use them I'd guess reasons being you can widen a steel rim easier than an alloy. Thanks again

[@brandonthiessen2285]

I am honestly curious why you chose to TIG on steel rims rather than just using a mig welder?

[@GregWellwood]

I am more confident in my TIG for structural or things that need to be really sealed. It's slower, and I can see my progress a whole lot better, less "bead" means it shrinks less, and it's a less brittle weld, too. Could it be done in MIG? Heck yes.

[@brandonthiessen2285]

@@GregWellwood gotcha! I am a shop teacher as well in Alberta. Interest stuff!

[@pedrocarrera2284]

​@@GregWellwood made mine with a mig welder and now i'm trying to stop the leaks 😢😢😢 maybe i put urethane sealer on top of the welds. I don't want to grind them and make a new pass of mig welding because it could warp the wheel 😢😢😢

[@GregWellwood]

@@pedrocarrera2284 The first wheels I ever widened, I did in MIG, and had a dickens of a time getting them to hold air. I even ran braze over the weld, and ended up running tubes. This was on a shop car the kiddies worked on, and never saw the road.

[@twojsasiad8214]

10:15 I have been done this with 8 rims. Najtrudniej było wyciąć rotor , bez uszkodzenia zewnętrznego rantu. Efekt był zadowalający.

[@GregWellwood]

This was 8 rims into 4: kzbin.info/www/bejne/poqZd42VibFmbtU

[@deankay4434]

You mention the use of epoxy and I never bought any, but can spray. What epoxy brand & p/n do you find in the great white north? I have one more, promise. Epoxy that is simple two part, mix, induction period sometimes (What I call, The chemical handshake) But I am not able to afford certain brands, but the “DTM” stuff that contains an acid, weak, strong, vinegar, don’t know” It bothers me because they are for it, or against it! I am scared, upset, confused (Because today is Father’s Day, & my wife of 40+ has me fixing the washing machine, YEA, Bingo, Cats Meow) I can’t make up my mind about epoxy! Can you help. Thanks!

[@GregWellwood]

I buy ProForm Epoxy Primer from KMS Tools, because it's convenient to me. I believe it's a better go than Etching Primer, but I am NOT a body guy.

[@deankay4434]

@@GregWellwood I go once a year to the nearest McDonalds, only when the McRib is available! So, I understand. The DTM stuff only with epoxy on cleaned sanded bare metal with no old paint or filler. I think it will work fine as this first coat. I am not a body tech either or a chemist, but a tech. I was lucky enough to give back holding 4hr tech seminars from serial data to advanced charging systems in 7 states in the upper Midwest, finish my career. But watching you and other videos to learn the new the new products. Thanks for your efforts and yes, a lot of work!

[@sugizotakuro]

i would rather use spacers or buy wider wheels. because i am afraid the machine shop just claim they know what they are doing but really, they didn't know. for me, you may send to someone that you know he knows how to do this. but if you are not sure, better not. it is for your own safety.

[@barenekid9695]

Local hot rod shop used to do exactly this Steel wheel widening Back in early 70's. He did a decent job and they were affoordable. Sum Bitch to true and Balance though. Fairly high failure rate (unbalanceable and not true). Not nearly as Easy as it looks.

[@944tim]

before you did yer 'don't do this' disclaimer I was going to suggest that you add a disclaimer " 'don't be stupid, take responsibility, if you kill yourself it's not my problem'" but I think you said it pretty well. enough said. Ideas for future projects/videos 1::add a drive motor to your ring roller, Take off the hand wheel and put a transmission flex plate and ring gear, driven by a variable speed motor (not a starter, necause you will want a soft start and ramp up speed and reversing. 2: rotary table to put insider your blast cabinet to spin wheels as you blast. 3: I forget. My last shop class was in 1968

[@GregWellwood]

I'm going to make my own slip rollers at some point, just for this sort of thing. I want to motorize my bead roller, too.

[@zragevii4705]

This seems like the perfect thing for a "stock" drag car..🤣

[@Horus9339]

I want to go to his school! Oh, darn it I'm fifty years old. :(

[@chadoien4033]

You don’t keep welding in a strait line that’s how you warp it 😂😂😂😂😂

[@clivewilliams3661]

This type of wheel modification is illegal in many Countries and rightly so because of the critical nature of the wheel construction. There are too many wheel modifiers out there and almost without fail the welded band is not tested for integrity. There are aftermarket wheel suppliers that provide wider wheels in various diameters and offsets that are properly manufactured and at a cost that almost matches banding but with the guarantee of quality. If you wish to retain the centre of the wheel then it is possible to get the aftermarket steel wheel providers to supply just the rim or get a metal spinning company to create a new rim that has proven to be particularly economic. Banded wheels are illegal for use in all forms of motorsport AFAIK and certainly in Europe and bearing in mind that motorsport has access to the very best engineering that says how banded wheels are regarded. Unfortunately there are too many low skilled engineers attempting this.

[@mblake0420]

Lol smh

[@falkin42]

@@mblake0420 It's fucking stupid. Why the hell would anyone risk this? To get an ugly final product and invest way more time than this man's skills are clearly worth? He should be machining shit that matters and paying for safe wheels instead of wasting his own time making something that could easily kill him.

[@mblake0420]

@@falkin42 😆

[@Scrubworks]

That seems a bit overkill on the rules. In the UK any wheel is allowed as long as it spins true and holds the tyre properly.

[@Chechenzko]

is this osha safe?

[@GregWellwood]

Check your local rules and regulations (grin)

[@Chechenzko]

@@GregWellwood I was just being silly!!! It was a very educational video... nice work sir!!! God Bless

[@GregWellwood]

@@Chechenzko (grin). They are still holding air to this day. I win!

[@harrywalker968]

i got 16 x 10 steel wheels..

[@bobhalstead1879]

I don't see the need for a grinder to cut ,when you have cutters on a brake lathe

[@GregWellwood]

Chatter. HORRID amounts of chatter.

[@MikeAsma-ib1uc]

you did it because you can

[@1979gmcummmins]

Why!? Because you can!

[@peterkent1587]

No good in Australia banded wheels are illegal.

[@josecuevas8602]

Question: Why weld steel wheel's ... Answer: To make a sleeper....

[@pauldonovan5878]

The new metal looks too thin to me!

[@GregWellwood]

Your eyes are deceiving you. They are the same thickness. I measured. To three decimal places. :)

[@user-wm3fc1sk1p]

@@GregWellwood Only three decimals?

[@GregWellwood]

@@user-wm3fc1sk1p 3 out of 4 is 75%, and technically a "B"

[@mobiledevto]

I'd paid for mine to be widened.

[@JonathanWhoever]

Don't do it Wink wink

[@harrywalker968]

legal for race.. ??..race is 100mph.. street is 55mph.....???...

[@AlCatrraz]

Where there is a WHEEL there is a way... And why should a RCMP know anything about CAR'S WHEELS ? Horse shoes may be more appropriate.... lol

[@davisonnyatinyirenda4626]

If not street legal, then where do you get them? That width? Band the rims and break the law!!!.

[@59vaughn]

Freakin legal hooks....😒Always seeing if they can get in yer pockets...

[@themayorofdipshittery3646]

Why bother ? Just buy nicer wide wheels whether they be allot or steel it’s still more cost effective than all that faff, and that’s ok if you have the gear 🤷‍♂️

[@goober239]

For me, I have a unique vehicle with unique wheels and a unique 7 bolt pattern that are 11 inch wide. No one makes tires that are 11 inches wide, and no other wheel on the market fits my 7 bolt pattern. But there are tires that are 14.5 inches wide, so this option would work best for my application. Otherwise I would have to get a custom splined yoke, a custom made hub and a custom brake set up for each wheel, which would amount to more than ten thousand dollars. This costs me a little over a thousand dollars for all my wheels.

[@warrenscott8491]

you should have made it wider on the outside of centre cos it will probably touch the steering rod or inner guard now lol

[@GregWellwood]

They have been widened on the outside.

[@thedon2512]

If anyone asks the question why would you widen steelies …. Because steel wheels 🛞 are much stronger and forgiving to road surface compared to mag wheels 🛞, Ciao

[@falkin42]

Not when they've been cut and welded, they aren't stronger. Maybe, MAYBE this one person knows enough to do it safely but this is very simply a recipe for disaster for 99% of anyone that would try.