My baby is a '06 MCSa with the factory 17" webspokes... Wondered if anyone can give some advice.. I'd like to have the center section of each wheel painted to match the car (Royal Grey) leaving the polished outer rim. Has anyone had any experience disassembling these two piece wheels? Is it possible without running into problems? I could mask them, but I know the results will be better if they are disassembled, painted, and re-assembled... Any advice or suggestions would be appriciated!

Thanks..

Steve

 

I will be trying this on a spare set I have, Dark Silver to match my car. As soon as I find the "star" tool to remove the bolts(torx didn't work)I will let you know.

 

Cool.... I'll be interested to see how it works for you. Haven't gotten far enough with this to find the tool yet, but I'm sure it's available somewhere.

 

A very good friend of mine has a metal/machine shop, I will check with him tomorrow.
Funny seeing this thread, as I was just discussing this with my wife the other day. Body color Webspokes. I think it will look pretty cool.

 

I got a tool today to take apart my Webspokes, this is what I used...
http://www.lislecorp.com/tool_detail.cfm?detail=1080
the 8mm fits the bolts, they don't break loose too easy(a lot of blue Loctite). I let all the air out of the tire and removed all the bolts, a little tug on the center and it pops right out! I'll have Dark Silver Webspokes pretty soon!


I imagine the R90s would be the same.

 

Great! Hope you'll post a picture of the results! It should look really cool! Question, though... Did you need to deflate the tire? Looks to me like the center section is independent of the actual rim. If not, will you have issues with the reassembled unit holding air? Curious to know before I start the project....

Thanks!

 

I didn't have to deflate the tire, I just did because I was removing the whole center section, better to be safe than sorry. There will be no issues with the reassembled unit because, as you stated the center is totally separate from the outer rim, which is what the tire is mounted on.
I will have all four wheels re-balanced when I'm done.

 

Thanks.... You've got me cranked! I'll get the tool and get started... Guess I'll reassemble using loctite, and follow a tightning sequence crossing the diameter, and in increased torque steps.

Thanks again, and keep us posted!

 

in for results...sounds like a cool project

 

Cool project, but you need to find out the torque specs to make sure your wheels go back together properly..

Also, they should be bolted back together in the same location as the came apart..

IMO, this should all be done only by a pro.. A wheel coming apart is something that could be very ugly..

 

I had thought of doing this as well! Only I was thinking of powdercoating the web part black....Keep us posted on the results!

 

I will see what the torque is to break the bolts loose on the next wheel.

You can only put the Webspoke back together one way, by lining up the valve stem.

Indeed, very ugly.

 

I just want to make sure no one does this as a quick DIY...

Also, I understand that the wheels can only go together one way.. I was trying to say make sure that the centers are not mixed up between wheels..

I think Ronal makes the webspokes ask them what the torque spec is on a two pc wheel..

Good luck and make sure you are safe !

 

Definitely not a quick DIY.
Thank you, Passat774 for stressing that point as I did not in my previous posts.

Also, for anyone wanting to do this, please take your time and make sure you are comfortable enough to disassemble and reassemble your wheels correctly. As stated before, a wheel that comes apart can be very ugly. I would hate to see someone get hurt because a wheel came apart that was not put back together correctly.

If you're not sure about doing it, find someone that is.

 

So... Partsman... Have you had a go yet on the webspoke project?

 

i was just looking at my own webspokes and wondering the same thing...

 

Any luck on determining the torque??? I spoke to Ronal USA, but they couldn't assist, said I should try Ronal Germany, so I am awaiting an email reply from them.

 

I'm going to try to get something going maybe next week with them, I was busy getting my car ready for Lime Rock last week. I also am working on some brackets for Shoe's engine damper so it can be mounted on the early cars with no drilling or issues. I am also building an intercooler.
I will swap my 16s on this weekend and get the Webspokes apart to be prepped.

 

It doesn't surprise me that they couldn't help, the wheels are probably assembled with the use of a machine that is pre-set to the proper torque.
There is only so much torque you can put on a bolt of a certain size. A good friend who has a metal/machine shop, where I do all the work on my car, has a chart that tells you the max torque for a certain size bolt. There is a lot of blue loctite on the bolts when you remove them, so be sure to put that back on.

 

Got my "Black" webspokes put on my car this morning. I had them professionally powder coated if anyone is curious. Found out the torque spec from Ronal Germany this past Monday, it's "32 + 3/0 Nm" or very close to 24 ft/pounds. Check them out in my Gallery if you like.

 

Dude, those look awesome!




Now I have to get my a$$ going on it. Nice job!!

 

Wow looks great ! Makes me want to do my R90's !

 

FYI - we build all OZ multi-piece wheels for OZ North America in house here in South Bend. We have an extremely expensive (15k+) computer controlled torque wrench just for assembly.

Its so sensitive it can tell if the asembly bolts have been torqued before.

Many of these assembly bolts should be replaced once torqued - they get streched - and don't torque down as they did before after they been streched.

Alex

 

Thank you for helping an providing an additional safety warning

 

what do you guys think of getting it black with white lip to match a astroblack and white roof?