[DeTomaso] The Beast goes down at Willow Springs

[MikeLDrew at aol.com]

All,

Something else worth mentioning...

One 'flaw' of the quality forged axles that Dennis Quella/Bobby Byars/Larry 
Stock sell, is that they are just a smidge too short.   This is due to the 
fact that the forge that they use isn't quite large enough, so the 
compromise is made on the axle flange end.   (Or so I was told, although that doesn't 
seem to make much sense to me, since I think they make forged axles for 
solid-axle cars which are three feet long????)

The stock axles have a small lip in the center, onto which the wheels 
index.   The wheel is centered on the axle with the lip, and is retained by the 
lug nuts.   It is NOT centered by the lug nuts.   It's almost impossible to 
truly center a wheel solely by the lug nuts.

With these aftermarket forged axles, this lip is almost entirely 
eliminated.   To deal with this problem, the axles are machined with three small 
threaded holes in the end, in the center.   This is so an aluminum axle flange 
extension can be screwed to the end of the axles.   It's sole function is to 
provide a surface for the wheel to index upon.   Surprisingly, most of the 
Pantera vendors have NO idea that this problem exists or that there is a 
ready-made solution for it.   I got mine from Dennis Quella--who has this sort of 
understanding. 

The takeaway from this is that:

1)   If you're running these forged axles, you should have the aluminum 
axle flange extensions so your wheels will center properly and be properly 
supported, and

2)   If you're running aftermarket wheels (regardless of axle type) whose 
hole is overly large, you should be running hub centric rings to make up the 
difference.

I can't remember what the OD of the hub on the car is.   Somebody can 
measure a stock axle and let us know?   Then you compare the ID of the hole in 
the center of your wheels, and if it's not a tight fit, you need a set of 
these:

http://tinyurl.com/ylhfu9n

http://tinyurl.com/yjjnejl

FWIW I had a small but noticeable vibration on my green VW Scirocco that 
bugged me for years.   I had the wheels balanced several times, to no avail.   
It is equipped with 15-inch Enkei mesh wheels.

One day I realized that the hole in the center of the wheels is noticeably 
larger than stock, and the wheel wasn't indexing on the hubs.   I went to my 
local tire shop and got a set of these rings, installed them on the hubs (I 
used silicone to glue them in place, and then coated them with oil to keep 
them from sticking to the inside of the wheels), then installed the wheels 
and went for a drive.

It *transformed* the car.   I was truly shocked at what a difference these 
stupid little things made.

Mike