I agree with Bob about cutting the center of the vega
wheels for racing conditions. I saw first hand, people
at the track in SCCA road racing with modified vega
wheels that failed (centers tore out and wheel came
off). The vega wheels I used was in an autocross only
situation. Also it was back in the early 70's when
tires were not as sticky as even some of today's high
performance street tires. So if you modify your vega
wheels evauluate your actual stiuation and proceed
accordingly.
John Holliday
--- Bob Spruck <bspruck@mindspring.com> wrote:
> Regarding the recent thread on tires and wheels, I
> have just acquired a set
> of 5" Vega wheels (not GT). I had intended to use
> them on my SWA ' 67
> Midget vintage race car. I've raced with HSR and
> SVRA for the past 10 years
> on Hoosier A70s and Western 5.5" alloy wheels. I
> recently started also
> racing with VDCA and they don't allow non-period
> equipment, so the sticky
> Hoosiers and the wide wheels are not allowed in
> their events. I have been
> trying to find 5.0" wheels with the correct
> dimensions to mount the
> Continental 175/70-13s I'm using as "race" tires.
> They are currently
> mounted on stock newer Rostyle wheels that I am not
> happy with.
>
> The Vega wheels have so many inherent problems on my
> application that they
> are for sale. First of all, with a SWA car, the
> backspacing is critical.
> The Vega wheels are 2 5/8", the Rostyles are 3 3/8
> ", the Westerns are 4
> 3/8 ". Even with the rear fenders pushed out as far
> as I dared go and a
> Panhard bar, the Vega wheels stick out past the
> sheetmetal. This wouldn't
> be a problem on a RWA car. Secondly, the center hole
> is definitely too
> small for both the front hub and the rear axle.
> Spacers are required. I
> tried1/4 " spacers and they solve the clearance
> problem, but the SWA
> sheetmetal kills me again. I have had three people
> who's opinions I regard
> very highly tell me never to cut the center hole
> larger. Most of the
> wheel's strength is in the center web. Many wheels
> that crack and fail do
> so in the area of the bolt holes and the center
> hole. Vega wheels are also
> notorious for being heavy yet weak. Additionally,
> even though I am using
> 7/16 studs all around, the Vega bolt holes are too
> large. They seem to be
> 1/2" diameter and I don't want that much slop being
> taken up by the bevel
> on the nuts and the wheel. Also realize that the
> British bevel and American
> bevel are different. With American 7/16 " studs and
> Rostyle wheels, I
> couldn't use the American 7/16 " nuts because the
> bevels don't match and
> there is only about 1/16 " contact between the nut
> and the wheel. In order
> to use the Rostyle wheels on the 7/16 " studs, I
> took the standard Rostyle
> long wheel nuts, drilled them out and tapped them
> for the 7/16x14 threads.
> While I was at it, I drilled and tapped them all
> the way through, making
> them into open nuts so the studs do not bottom out
> inside the nuts. This
> makes the tech inspectors much happier.
>
> To make a long story short, the Vega wheels would
> work well on a RWA car
> with spacers. I am really disappointed they don't
> fit my car because I
> really like the look of them. They don't have that
> ubiquitous Rostyle or
> Panasport look. If I didn't have wire wheels on my '
> 72 RWA street car, I'd
> use the Vega wheels in a heartbeat.
>
> If anybody wants the Vega wheels, they are for sale,
> cheap! If anybody has
> some 5.0 " with backspace of 3 3/8" to 4 3/8" I'm
> interested in them.
>
> Since I've become such an "expert" on Spridget
> wheels in the last few
> months, here's what I have been able to measure:
>
> Style Width Backspace
>
> Solid Steel 3 1/2 3.0
> Wire 4.0 3.0
> Rostyle, early (8 slots) 4 1/2 3 3/8
> Rostyle, late (4 spokes) 4 1/2 3 3/8
> Bugeye, round holes ? ?
> Vega, (12 slots) 5.0 2 5/8
> Vega GT, (4 spokes) 6.0 ?
> Western Alloy (8 spoke) 5.5 4 3/8
> Panasport 5.0 3 1/2
>
>
>
> Regards,
>
> Bob Spruck
> Sharpsburg, GA
> ' 67 Midget Vintage Racer
> ' '72 Midget Weekend Car
> 4 parts cars in the woods
>
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