TRX wheels or 15"

B

Bagel

Member
Fellow Frogger
Joined
May 1, 2003
Messages
179
Location
Melbourne
Hi,

A couple of my nice near-new damn expensive Michelins on the TRX's decided to take a turn for the worse a couple of weeks back. I need either two replacment wheel/tyre combinations or a new set of 15" GTi wheels. Otherwise I'll have to go back to STANDARD WHEELS eek! Thanks,

Chris
 
If we're talking about 505 alloys here - it is almost impossible to buy the 15" wheels without buying a car with them. We've seen on this board sets of 15" alloys sell for around $1300 (including tyres).

Your best bet is to look around for a 505GTi wreck, or look into getting them in NZ. I've heard they are far more common and cheaper than here in Aus.

PS. What do you mainly use your car for? The alloys are made from a very soft compound, and hence are easy to bend out of shape if driven 'off road'. You'd be better off with the 14" steel rims and some 185 width tyres. Of course, if you are more after road holding capabilities you'd better hope you can find some shy . If not, 14" alloys will be wide enough to fit 195 width tyres.
 
Chris,

Gerry has got a set of TRX wheels, which are all fine, they used to be on my sisters 504....

The wheels he has got have got re-treds on them, but all you would need to do is get your TRX tyres put on them !

Cheers

Ben
 
The alloys are made from a very soft compound, and hence are easy to bend out of shape if driven 'off road'.
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I'd be more worried about curbs than the occasional bit of off-roading, as long as you're not rallying or really bush-bashing. I've taken my 15 inch alloys on some fast drives on dirt roads, dodging potholes of course, with no real worries but the damage the previous owner did to them (think huge flat spots and dents) looked to be the work of mounting curbs rather than anything else.) eek!

I also accidently hit a pothole head-on (daydreaming) on a country road (sealed) doing ~100kph the other day, and the wheel seems to have come through unscathed.

Of course, this is a problem to one degree or another with most alloy wheel/thin tyre combos. At the place where I got my wheels repaired, one of the guys was telling me about a complaint from a customer who had bought big shiny chrome 18-inch wheels for his fake 4WD, then mounted a curb and it cracked in half. :D .

If you ask my advice, I'd get out of TRXes now rather than later. Maybe you could price some of the cheaper (decent quality) custom alloy wheels on the market.
 
Gus:
Maybe you could price some of the cheaper (decent quality) custom alloy wheels on the market.
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Which "custom alloy wheels" might you be talking about? And Ben, I'm really after the tyres, so the wheels don't help much, but thanks.
 
Which "custom alloy wheels" might you be talking about?
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Performance Superlites seem to be a popular choice, and I think someone got quoted something like $1600 incl. tyres for the lot (I might be very wrong on that number.)

Almost any custom alloy can be made for a specific offset and drilled for a specific PCD.

I'd get some quotes from wheel places, maybe even try and contact manufacturers. I've found privately owned wheel places (I have had great service from The Wheel Factory in Queanbeyan) to be infinitely preferable to chain stores, but I'd get quotes from both... the chain stores seem more able to provide the cheaper stuff, which is both a good thing (cheap) and a bad thing (unlike a good place, they won't tell you if it's a waste of money.)

And Ben, I'm really after the tyres, so the wheels don't help much, but thanks.
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I remember trying to get tyres when I thought I would "go metric". Having any luck? frown
 
Gus:
I remember trying to get tyres when I thought I would "go metric". Having any luck? :(
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Ha! I bought Michelins originally at 240 a pop and now the cheapest you can get is a British tyre at 400 or something else for 600! eek! Eeek indeed.
 
cheapest you can get is a British tyre at 400 or something else for 600! Eeek indeed.
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Mmm... Avons. I found out about those, too.

I did track down some near-new Michelins in a second-hand place in Melbourne, but the guy was charging new tyre prices for them so I finally gave up.
 
<strong>Ha! I bought Michelins originally at 240 a pop and now the cheapest you can get is a British tyre at 400 or something else for 600! eek! Eeek indeed.
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OK, here is something really radical, which I do not recommend that people try at home. But it works, if done professionally.

My father used to have a mag wheel repair business, and he invented a solution for the TRX million-dollar-tyre problem as follows.

Purchase a set of Nissan Skyline 16" alloys with good second-hand tyres fitted. These wheels are common and cheap (around $250-$300 a set, with tyres) because the importers bring them in on cars and the buyers generally want 17" or 18" wheels fitted.

Remove the tyres and set aside for later. :)

Take the wheels to a machine shop and have them machine out the centres so that all you have left is alloy cylinders. My local engineer charged me a total of $80 for this.

Take your 390mm TRX alloys and cut the back off them, right behind the front rim edge. We've used a tungsten-tipped blade on an angle-grinder for this. You put your wheel on a Pug hub (on the car is fine) and rotate it slowly with a wheel-spanner on one of the wheel nuts as a second person cuts with the grinder. These blades are nasty pieces of work, so take extreme care using them. Alternatively you could have the machine shop do this cutting also.

Take your TRX remnants to the machine shop and have them turned down on the outside so that they fit neatly into the back of the Nissan rims. Note that there is a chamfered step in the Nissan rims, near the rear edge, and the TRX rim centres need to sit against it. Remember to check your off-set also, but the chamfered section on the Nissan alloys is a good guide.

When you have this done you need to get hold of some J-bolts and bolt the sets together, so that they run true. This is best done on a lathe also, but can be done on a Pug hub.

When the sets are made up and bolted securely, take them to an alluminium welder and have them seam-welded together front and rear.

Return them to the machinist for finishing the fronts (cleaning up the welds). Afterwards you can paint or polish. If your welder is any good both options will be fine.

Many factory alloys are bolted or welded two or three piece affairs, and the welded ones are never seam-welded right 'round, so I can't see a strength issue with this modification. But it does rest squarely on the quality of the tradesmanship. Which is why I repeat, I do not recommend this for people to do at home. But it is an idea for those who have access to the right tradesmen.

I know of three sets of these wheels and they are fine - and they look terrific - the outer rims are way wider than the originals and 16 inches of alloy is substantially more than 390mm. Also, the wheels themselves are wider, allowing you to fit 215/55/16s to your car. Driving a lowered 505 with 215/55s on is quite an experience. If you think the Michelins were good (and they were!), these will blow you away. Tyre technology has moved on in the last twenty years.

Regards,
John Lane.
 
Just guessing, but anyone wanting this kind of work done around Sydney would probably be wise to get someone like Dave Mawer to do it (in Frankum Drive at Orangeville).

But probably the very best option is for a bunch of people wanting to do it to get together. Get your rims and go to someone who can set up to make a sort of production line of doing this.

After all, with five for a car, six people wanting them done adds up to thirty wheels. Costs are surely cut...
 
aquinian:
Nissan Skyline 16" alloys with good second-hand tyres fitted. These wheels are common and cheap (around $250-$300 a set, with tyres) because the importers bring them in on cars and the buyers generally want 17" or 18" wheels fitted.

John Lane.
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16" is about 2" and a bit bigger than the 13 3/8" TRX's. Would a 14" or 15" alloy be to small to do the same thing with?

Although I now have a set of TRX's now that should last me a few kms, both old tyre tech. and the idea of spending $400 a pop next time round makes me feel ill.

I have more than 1 set of alloys spare if anyone also wants to give this idea a go.

Anyone know of a place in Melbourne that would do a nice job of welding, and turning out the centres?
 
vivid:
16" is about 2" and a bit bigger than the 13 3/8" TRX's. Would a 14" or 15" alloy be to small to do the same thing with?
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Don't know without measuring. 14s would be too small, I suspect. And if you have 15s, sell them for a thousand bucks and get some 390mm wheels for free somewhere. :)

Regards,
John Lane.
 
Aquinian, do you know how much this would cost, I'm definitely interested in doing it to two alloys as I still have great tyres on the other two, plus 15.5" (which is what I come up with for 390mm) on the front and 16" at the back might make me feel like I"m driving a lotus! :) There's some interest on the Renault forum as well. What do you suggest?

Cheers,

Bagel.
 
Bagel:
Aquinian, do you know how much this would cost,
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Let's see.

Nissan rims: $300 incl. tyres.
Machining out centres of Nissans: $80.
Cutting rear off TRX rims: $35 for a tungsten-tip blade, OR another $80 for the machine shop to do it.
Welding: $240 ($60 each wheel)
Cleaning up the welds: $80
Paint or polish: Free if it's DYI or whatever you can get it done for.

Total: $735 (if you cut the TRXs yourself and paint or polish them yourself afterwards).

I like polished rims as a rule, but the set I am completing at present are going to be painted because my car is 306 Cabriolet yellow, and I think a dark silver-grey with a clear coat over it will look better with the yellow than the bright shine of polished alloy.

These prices are all indicative only. My machinist seems to be very reasonably priced. The welding can't be cheap - you don't want it to be cheap. :D

This is not a low-cost solution, but then again, it is way cheaper than buying Avons and it solves the problem forever, whilst keeping the TRX rim look, which suits the 505 very nicely. And it allows you to fit some great tyres to your Pug. :)

I'll post some stage-by-stage photos some time.

Regards,
John Lane.
 
Or i can sell you a set of TRX style 15" wheels, for only $800 with ok tyres and save the hassle, i also have a set of series 2 GTI wheels,
for $1000, with excellent tyres..
Mail me, i will mail you some pics..
:) :)
 
Cant_get_enough_of_peugeots:
Or i can sell you a set of TRX style 15" wheels, for only $800 with ok tyres and save the hassle,
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There is a bloke in the Quokka with a whole STI for $750, including 15" rims. The car doesn't run properly, but it would be a bargain for somebody who had a use for the rest of the car...
 
Here are some pics.

TRX with the back cut off: <img src="http://home.space.net.au/~nethow/trxcut.jpg" alt=" - " />

And another, this time the rear view: <img src="http://home.space.net.au/~nethow/trxcut2.jpg" alt=" - " />

And here is a 16" Nissan Skyline wheel with the centre machined out: <img src="http://home.space.net.au/~nethow/nissancut.jpg" alt=" - " />

The Nissan wheel from the rear: <img src="http://home.space.net.au/~nethow/nissancut2.jpg" alt=" - " />

Note that the "rear" of the Nissan wheel will become the front of the new, composite, wheel.

Now, here is the composite, in mock-up form, prior to the machining of the TRX rim to reduce its size. It doesn't yet fit into the Nissan wheel outer. Also, I have stripped the paint from the TRX rim. It is best to do this before you get them welded - the heat bakes that paint on something awful. Note, again, that it is sitting in the back of the Nissan rim: <img src="http://home.space.net.au/~nethow/mockup.jpg" alt=" - " />

I'll post the rest of the images when I have them welded and machined to clean up the welds.

Regards,
John Lane.
 
mmm, nice. Does the fact that you mount the face on the back of the rim change the handling at all or the offset?

Cheers,

Bagel
 
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