04gtoryder

I've been researching like crazy for the past few weeks regarding a lightweight, good looking, and decently affordable 18" wheel selection for my summer set. I was set on going with the enkei nt03+m wheels (8.5" + 38 front 245 tire, 9.5" +40 rear 275 tire), but then I discovered the weds tc105n (8.5" + 32 front 245 tire, 9.5" + 35 rear 275 tire). The tc105n's weight 16.5lb front and 17.6lb rear, which is about 3lbs per wheel less than the nt03+m and look better with a perfect offest(though about $700 more expensive per set). I love these wheels and want to pull the trigger but the weds center caps do not fit on them when fitted with hub rings which i will need (not comfortable putting wheels on lug centric). Has anyone had experience with a similar situation and found a solution for center caps? Alternately, has anyone cleaned/dressed up the exposed hub center/axle nut with pics and a write up of how they did it? I can't drop all this money and have a rusty axle nut as the centerpiece of these beauties. Any and all feedback greatly appreciated.

As an aside, Josh at getyourwheels.com has been really helpful in this quest.

blnewt

iTrader: (13)

Is there any room on the cap to shave it down to give you more clearance? Or is there another Weds Cap that may have more room that will still fit in that center? My Wedsport caps have a fair amount of area in the plastic prongs that could be shaved back if its only a few mm that's needed.

04gtoryder

blnewt

iTrader: (13)

Does Josh have the centercaps on hand, if you could see the design it might yield some solution perhaps???

IMfam0us

iTrader: (1)

try getting in touch with that company and perhaps they can make a one off set for you. They already have the design on file so would just need to alter it to fit a nissan 66.1 hub

04gtoryder

He suggested possibly shaving down the hub ring. I don't feel too confident in that approach though. Weds always makes a point to say that no center caps will fit on a tc105n with hub rings.

Great point, just sent them an email.

bPChaos

Hey, it's my car!

A quick google search seems to indicate that the center caps fit from the back - which is pretty weird. I think that simplest way is to have a local machine shop mill down the top of the centering rings, just enough so that the flange of the center cap fits in there along with the rings. I understand why Weds would say that it would not fit, but that's more a legal thing than a "there is no solution to this problem" thing.

The rings only serve to center the wheels, so after you've torqued them down, even with them being a bit thinner it shouldn't matter. Also the lugs help to center, so that in addition to your thinned ring it should be enough to prevent any problems.

For what it's worth, the NT03+Ms' center caps are actually bolted to the wheel from the front, with 5 small hex bolts.

04gtoryder

Ha I love the way your car looks. I got into the Nt03 wheels from one of your posts. Do you have a good side shot of your car? I actually looked through your posts when I was set on the Nt03 but all your shots are on a decent angle. Are you still happy with the wheels and their quality?

Regarding the weds, I don't understand what you mean by "fits from the back". Regarding the solution of a machine shop milling the rings down, it sounds like it could work but that's really a last resort as I wouldn't want to go through that trouble and buy the center caps only to find out it doesn't work. The mounting area on the weds wheel is very thin. I wonder if i can just get some generic center caps that fits the inner diameter of the hub rings? Would the axle stick out beyond the edge of the hub?

blnewt

iTrader: (13)

Might be able to use the Wedsport caps since they come out from the hub area to clear the axle nut (if the center cap bore is the same), you could shave the tabs down and use silicone to secure the cap. Here's the pic of the caps I have

bPChaos

This is probably the only photo I have of my car, side on.



I sold the wheels a while back because 1. I disliked how I had to run a spacer for it to clear the front brakes, and 2. because I wanted to go wider. I love the design, price point, and weight/strength of these wheels (honestly, for the dollar you spend, they're almost as light and almost as strong as a TE37 or equivalent forged wheel). Gonna try to stuff the 18x10.5 +30 NT03s in there when I have a chance.

As for the center caps, from what I understand, the TC105N center caps are inserted from the back of the wheel when unmounted. And they take up the space that would otherwise be taken up by the centering ring around the hub bore.

You could measure the hole in the front and try to find something that would friction/tab fit in there, but other than that I really have no experience otherwise since I don't actually run hub caps on any of my wheels...

04gtoryder

Given the slim mounting area the hub ring takes up the full area. I would need to shave down the rings and apply a sealant and it still might not fit. Trust me, I'd love to have that cap but it just seems like to much work and risk for expensive caps that likely wont fit or end up being stuck on. I think I'll just try to order some cheap caps that have a clip ring that matches the inner diameter of the hub ring and see how that goes.

As stated above I'm gonna try that suggestion of some generic center caps that match in size. Theres a bunch for $10 or so online.

Car looks great by the way, has a very sporty look with the wheels and black grille.

bPChaos

Thanks

Post pictures when you get them on the car! the TC105s were on my short list of performance wheels to get, and I love how they look. They're also super light.

blnewt

iTrader: (13)

Hope you find a solution that works for you, great wheels, look forward to pics!