Aluminum Wheels with 4" backspacing, spacer and shank flared lugs

lonesouth · Aug 4, 2008

I recently bought two 1977 broncos and at the same time picked up some aluminum big bronco rims for free. These are the 15x7.5" with 4" backspacing. I searched and found that I will need at a minimum a 1/4 inch spacer. The question of stud engagement comes up with the use of spacers. One thread talked about flared shank lug nuts and a quick search on jegs found these. Will this work to ensure enough lug/stud engagement and is there any reason to us 1/2" spacers instead of 1/4"?

TIA

surfer-b · Aug 4, 2008

As for using the 1/2" instead of the 1/4" It depends on what size of tire you plan on using and if you don't mind tire rub on the R-arms. I am using the stock Ford steels on both my rigs ( which have 4" back spacing) I wanted the full turning radius on my 76, I put 1/2" spacers on it to clear the arms (I am running p78x15 buckshots) I had new wheel studs machined with the threads being 1/2" longer to make up for the spacer they have worked out good. I can't help you out on the lugs I have had no experience with them.

crankman · Aug 4, 2008

lonesouth i use those exact lugnuts on my ford wheels with a 1/2 spacer. they work fine. my problem was clearance on the tie rod the wheel weights were just scraping. they snug up great. my wheels are 15x8 with 4'' backspace, i purchased mine at a local speed shop.

the only reason to use either 1/4 or 1/2 will depend on your vehicle' needs for clearance.

lonesouth · Aug 30, 2008

here they are, I did indeed need the 1/4" spacers on the front. I'm going to use airsoft BBs so I won't need to worry about wheel weights on the back side. I picked up a mix set of 31x10.50r15s to use for now.

The guy who mounted them said he has a set of 32x11.50r15 BFG A/Ts he won't need soon. Said they had sat for a while and were a little dry rotted. Given the condition, are they worth getting?

Last thing, my front passenger has a stud snapped off, can that be replaced or do I need to get a new rotor? Also, I do not need to use shank nuts, there was enough stud to grab onto, but I do need a full set of lugs, what I got is ugly.

Tito · Aug 30, 2008

Should be able to pound the stud out and tap or press a new one in. It will come off the backside of the rotor.

lonesouth · Aug 30, 2008

anyone know what the torque should be for the lugs?

slcpunk · Aug 31, 2008

lonesouth said:
anyone know what the torque should be for the lugs?

maybe in the 80-90lb area but I never torque a lug nut on any of my cars. I get them tight and then I check them almost every time I tinker with it( a lot the way I am)

lonesouth · Oct 1, 2009

Does anyone know what these wheels came off of? I thought they were the late 90's big bronco wheels, but they have more of a shallow dished face than those.

toomanymachines · Oct 1, 2009

I would torque them to at least 110 lbs. aluminum wheels have a nasty way of loosening, Recheck them at least a couple of times.
I have beads that go in tires but have had people not that happy with them, they tend to take time to spin out to the needed area. when you hit a bump they scatter and need to reposition themselves.
You can get a decent shop to use stick on weights on the inside.
As far as rims fitting just try whatever you can get your hands on, if it clears, great.

lonesouth · Oct 1, 2009

I should mention that I have been running these wheels since the OP without problems. The tire shop even balanced them with standard weights on the outside lip and stick on inside.

Now the question is where did they originally come from?

toomanymachines · Oct 1, 2009

I do not recognize them, I think they are aftermarket.

deltarat · Oct 1, 2009

Those lug nuts are 7/16. If I remember right mine are 1/2".

lonesouth · May 13, 2010

FWIW, I went over the fullsizebroncos.com and discovered that these wheels were optional for 1978 only. Even though they are a rather shallow dish, I think I'm gonna keep them, they add a little more uniqueness to the truck.

Here they are mounted with 32x11.50 mounted

akb3 · May 10, 2011

I've got mid 90's Bronco 10 hole wheels and the BCB tie rod over heim joint system. Here's the list of problems I ran into.

Aluminum rim backspacing causes contact with the tie rod.
To fix that you must run a spacer.
To fit a spacer you need longer wheel studs.
No one sells longer wheel studs in .625 knurl diameter with the correct knurl length. ARP gets close. They sell ARP 100-7707 which is a .618" diameter and 3" long, which I'm not sure they will fit due to the smaller knurl diameter, and they are super expensive.
To try to squeak by, you have to try to run the least of amount of spacer you can get by with and a long shank lug nut.
Then the lead weights on the inside of your wheels are going to hit the tie rod.
Replace your lead weights with sticky weights.

After many headaches and much trouble shooting here's what I think I'm going to end up with.
-Mid 90's Bronco alloy wheel (10 hole)
-1/4" floater spacers (I'm going to monitor the lug torque often)
-Dorman wheel studs (1/8" longer than stock) (Gives me 8 full turns on the lug nut and they're brand new)
-Extended shank lug nuts (Gorilla Ultra's from Summit)
-Sticky weights

2 more things you could do is (1) have your wheels machined to accept 7/16" wheel studs and get you a set of those. They seem to come in a better variety of sizes. Or (2) get you a set of bolt-on spacers. I think 1.25" is the thinnest you can go on them.

horseman · May 10, 2011

would 17 inch wheels make a difference?

lonesouth · May 10, 2011

Incidentally, I picked up a Mr Clean Magic Eraser tonight to try on the wheels. I've read rave reviews over on iboats.com, so i figured i'd give it a shot at these wheels.

I only spent about 10 minutes on this one, and it is mounted. I figure if I take the wheels off and put it on a table, I'd have a better go of it. Even if it isn't perfect, I'd bet it will save a lot of time when I go to polish them.

Before

After about 10 minutes

akb3 · May 12, 2011

Here is a list of parts that allowed me to run my 15x7.5 wheel on my 76 Bronco. I have Dana 44 / 9 inch. The only mod over stock that I have on my front/rear ends is the BCB over the knuckle heim joint steering tie rod and drag link. I just got through putting it all together and it turned out just the way I wanted it. I have about 3/16" gap between the wheel and the tie rod heim joint.

I needed to space out 1/4 inch on the front, so I went with Dorman 610-277 wheel studs. They give you just a little more thread due to the knurl length being a little longer than stock wheel studs. The spacers are Gorilla SP603 floaters. The lug nuts I chose are an extended shank that go down into the wheel nicely. I'm getting at least 10 full turns on all my lug nuts. The lug nuts are Gorilla 68187 and Gorilla 68681N. I got everything at Summit for around $120. Also, you can find someone to take off the lead weights on your wheels and replace them with sticky weights so you won't knock off your wheel weights if they are on the inside of the wheel. Looks a lot cleaner too. Just be sure to have them clean the adhering sections of the wheel with ethanol or acetone before sticking on the weights. They work great if done properly. I hope this can help you or someone else out there.

Aluminum Wheels with 4" backspacing, spacer and shank flared lugs

lonesouth

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crankman

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Tito

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toomanymachines

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deltarat

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