Wheel Drum Specs (Another Alloy Wheels Topic)

Hi,

Long time lurker but first ever post. I have a 2007 Piaggio Porter and after various bit and pieces done, I finally got around to Alloy Wheels.

I saw a set of 5 x RX7 Mazda Toyo Koygo wheels, in good condition, grip still on tyres, all in for £50 on ebay. I've seen older Mazda alloys mentioned here before but before buying, I still did a bit of checking and found three different blog posts where people had these alloys on Hijets, so I thought at that price, with pickup location close, I had to buy them, since it seems nearly impossible to find alloys that fit Hijets/Porters. The only thing I did see was that for the people that had them on their vans, they all said that they had to get the front rims bores machined from 60mm to 67mm, to fit over the front wheel brake drum. Apparently the back wheel doesn't need machining, according to these guys who have done it before. (the photobucket pics are blurry if you don't use chrome):

https://forum.themicromachines.com/t/the-mazhatsu-rotajet/65
https://minitrucktalk.com/threads/how-to-installing-mazda-rx7-rims-on-a-hijet.13797/

So I phoned the local mechanic I've used for years, and he said no issue, we have a machine shop around the corner, we'll do you a good deal. Now when I went to actually get it done, he said he just wanted to check the back wheel does fit OK without machining. That's where the problem comes in. Technically, the alloys do fit on the van. However, the drum bolts are really low down, so you can just about bolt them up, but he said that an MOT station would probably fail it, if the bolt positions were noticed. The guy on the blog link above did mention this (photo below) but my mechanic said he's not really sure how that guy's vehicle was fine with MOTs.

Now, my mechanic is a stand up guy. He didn't charge me for any of that. He said that if I can find the exact specs for the drum wheel bolts on a Hijet/Porter, he can put longer wheel bolts into the drum and that will get the alloys on the van in an MOT friendly way. He has never dealt with these vans though, and his parts app doesn't list Piaggio Porter, throwing him back to general Diahatsu Hijet, with a long list of model variations. Sounds right - whenever I've worked on bits and pieces on the van and ordered parts, that usually happens to me too. So, if I can do the groundwork in my own time and get the exact drum bolt lengths for a 2007 Porter (which is a 90's Hijet too), he'll fix me up.

Thing is, having now seen that one alloy on my van, it has tugged my heart strings. I really want those wheels on. They look so Freakin cool!! It'll break my heart if I can't get them on. And it seems impossible to find cheap alloys that actually, perfectly fit these vans, when I am so close here.

So... any suggestions? I found a pdf maintenance manual online for the Porter/Hiject, scanned quickly but couldn't see a spec. I also tried on Piaggio and Daihatsu customer support, but they haven't got back to me. Sorry for the long message, any help appreciated.

These are the exact wheels I have, on the blog guy's pickup Hijet. The second pic, from one of the guys blogs, shows the same drum bolt positions that we had when we fitted the back wheel (that the mechanic said is too dodgy, even though you can get the lug nuts on).



******EDIT UPDATE******

I put google translate on for an Italian Piaggio parts supplier and I think it said the hub wheel studs are 46mm, M12x1.5. So is 46mm the correct length?

This is the actual part on ebay, Daihatsu part number 90049-12055.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Daihatsu-Hi-Jet-Wheel-Stud-Fits-Piaggio-Porter-90049-12055/274051935211?hash=item3fcec4abeb:g:XWIAAOSwk-BdpJUO

Can anyone confirm the length as 46mm? I can then go searching for a wheel hub bolt for this same size thread, but around 60-70mm long.

So I looked I got hold of a Hijet Wheel stud and measured it up. The knurl spline length is 14.1mm and the knurl height is 5.53mm. Here's a pic with measurements on.




Apparently, the arp race bolts part #100-7715 fit exactly on the Hiject and give you bolt lengths long enough to take any of the early mazda alloy sport wheels. They are cheap to buy in the states but really expensive to buy here in the UK.



There are lots of cheap, long studs, if you go for a knurl width of 14.0 or 14.3mm and height around 11mm. Like this. So, if anyone has banged in the wheel studs into the Hijet Drum before, is there any give and take? Does the knurl fit 100% only into the drum with the 14.1mm and 5.53 knurl width/height, or would something very close still knock into it?

Cheers

Sorry, no idea, steelies on my vans. Welcome, though.

PFM wrote:Sorry, no idea, steelies on my vans. Welcome, though.

Yes, I like the steelies, but I wouldn't mind the wider alloys. Especially as I had one on, and it looked really good. Only if it's not too expensive, I'm not that bothered about them.

The early Daihatsu Cuore Alloys seem to be the only ones that perfectly fit. I sometimes see pics of Hijets with various alloys, but I guess this topic comes up over and over because there isn't a list of Alloy makes/model numbers anywhere where you could start from. So, as far as I know, apart from Cuore, early Mazda's are the only ones that exactly fit 4x110, M12x1.5, if you can get wider wheel studs to fit (which you can cheaply, if you are in the States and can order ARP parts).

Hopefully, this thread may become useful to others. Making a list of workable alloys here would be nice, if anyone has had success, and can remember their alloy make/model numbers. If I get some working studs, I'll update here, as the Mazdas could be a reasonably cheap and easy way to definitely get 13" nice alloys onto your van. If you like that kind of thing.

******EDIT UPDATE******

Mechanic on another forum told me that you are generally fine upto a 0.3mm size difference, they will still bang in OK. So my next plan of action is to see if the machine shop will turn the spline collar length down from the regular 11mm to the unique 5.53mm of Daihatsu Hijets/Porters (I think some older Subarus and Lexus used similar smaller Knurl sizes on their bolts too). The only proviso I was given is not to use the zinc coated bolts but the black, tempered steel type, when trying this stuff. I've seen some youtubers turning their drills with Grinder attachments into homemade lathes on bolt collars, so if it's too expensive, I'll see if that works out, I have the tools to do it, at hand. But I know I will probably end up buying the ARPs eventually.

Why don't you order them from the US? The shipping isn't that much. So long as you're patient.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1320-Performance-Extended-Wheel-Stud-Fits-IS300-12x1-5-558-Knurl-10-PCS-7715/223710533592?hash=item34162fd7d8:g:UN4AAOSwO-RdqVhD

gogopiaggio wrote:Why don't you order them from the US? The shipping isn't that much. So long as you're patient.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1320-Performance-Extended-Wheel-Stud-Fits-IS300-12x1-5-558-Knurl-10-PCS-7715/223710533592?hash=item34162fd7d8:g:UN4AAOSwO-RdqVhD

I didn't see that before - I was getting quoted 60.00 per four pack by UK stockists. In the end, the machine shop guy lathed some toyota bolts for me, cost 20.00 for 20 and another 20 to machine. Wheels now on, all worked out.

Glad I did it but I think the easiest route is to get hold of some Team Dynamics Alloy wheels. They make a lot of different multi-fit alloys, so you can find some models second-hand with 4x110 bolt pattern and 70mm bore size, so will fit without much troubles, as they are usually thin type alloys that easily fit Hijet/Porter short stud sizes. And they make lots of really nice looking rims. Just a tip for anyone else looking for alloys.

The advantage to fitting longer studs is that you can get the really fat, roadster type alloys, like the older Mazda RX7 wheels, that look very cool on a Hijet. Even if it's a bit of hassle doing it.

https://www.wheel-size.com

This is a good site to get info about wheels, if you see some on ebay, etc., and want to research if they will fit. Generally, go for the thin, low profile, type, as they will fit short studs (if you don't want the hassle to put long studs on the van). Obviously, 4x110 pcd is crucial. You'll have most luck finding multifit, 4x100/4x110 pcd, 15" after market alloys. Team Dynamic I have confirmed 100% on another forum (if you get the right model), but you may have luck with BSA and Wulf multifits. ET is the other thing to get roughly right. You can be a little out but if you are really wrong, the backspace on the wheel will be too big and rub up against the steering on the front. So look for alloys where the centre of the wheel goes back inside the wheel. Porter/Daihastu wheel is ET40, so if you look at them, the bolts at the centre of the wheel are almost level with the front rim of the wheel and stick out forwards. So when the centre goes inside the wheel a bit on other alloys, you get a bit more leeway with wider wheels not getting too close to the van body inside. The other guy's Team Dynamics have a ET14 or so - so that 26mm offset difference on the alloy wheels allows to fit, without getting too close to the van body on 195/50/15 tyres/alloys (195mm wide). Ideally, zero ET or even negative ET will give you the best chance, on really wide wheels. Obviously, if you find multifits that came off a small car like fiesta, corsa, mini, etc., they will be really likely to fit (if the other multifit pattern is 4x110, of course). Some of the specs for older Daihatsu wheels look like they would fit (not just cuore) but check on the site first. But as you can get multifits cheap on ebay etc., I'd say that's the way to go.

And final note, you need to watch how far out wide wheels poke from the van. In most countries, more than 30mm will not fail your annual road test but isn't road legal, so cops can fine you, or give you points on the license (though 99% of the time it's ignored). The way you fix that is fitting wheel arch trims - you can apparently squeeze on classic mini replica arches or there are a cheapish set on Amazon/ebay you can find that fit Hijets/Porters (I paid $60 for a set from China that took about 4 weeks to arrive, fit pretty well with a bit of wrestling. Just search "piaggio porter wheel arches" on ebay and you'll find them. The very small, round ones, that claim to fit VW Polo too).