Hello,

I'm in the process of dismantling my wheels to clean and change the color of the centers and am unsure of the torque specs for the little bolts to put them back together. Could someone who has done this please shed some light on this for me or if you use any special techniques.


Thanks!

 

You could probably call Rishie at AutoRnD or pm him. Or VR motoring could probably tell you. Or maybe give ye olde wheel shop a call (410) 796-8400 they are in Elkridge MD.

 

Thanks dude, I ended up just calling ye olde wheel shop. They said that I want to use 25lbs at most.

 

 

If you really want to double-check, I can run a calculation on it. I'd need to know the pitch of the bolts and materials (e.g. M8 steel bolts and aluminum rim sections). This way you can be more certain that you won't crush the aluminum by overtorquing the bolts.

On a related note Mazdacomp could probably help, but only if you're a Mazdacomp member. I'm going to move this to the wheel/tire forum to gain additional expertise.

David

 

Do some Googling on it. They're just 3-piece wheels at the end of the day, there's nothing special about them being made by Mazdaspeed.

Biggie when separating 3-piece wheels is re-sealing them so they'll properly hold air. When I did my wheels, I found caulking at Lowes that is specifically designed to bond to aluminum. I used a thin layer between the halves, then assembled and tightened the bolts to spec. Then, I put a bead of the silicone between the wheel halves on the inside, let that cure, then did another bead and let that cure. I smeared the beads in with my finger so it made a flat layer of silicone. Did this 2-3 years ago, no air leaks or problems.

Of course, you'll want to use Loctite on the bolt threads.

This is a time consuming project, don't get in a rush. Wheels need to be put back together carefully and right so they balance well, don't leak, and don't come apart .

Dale