I'm interested in changing my car to a Commodore stud pattern so that I can swap wheels with 15-19-inch HSV etc etc. Has anybody done this? I can measure up, but does anybody already know if the offsets etc are similar? My car uses T3 brakes using DBA slotted rotors - I guess I'd need to convert to a captive stud...

I was at a show and a guy was selling a set of adaptors that bolted on vw 4 to commodor 5 i am looking foe the same only for a ford early modal good luck and measure the ofset and take a walk around a wrecker

bay window 5 stud kombis are simple to change between ford/holden/porsche etc. Redrill the rear hubs and slot the drums. Front you make up adapter plates. Any machine shop can easily make up adapter plates. Just take the 2 PCD's and what size holes you want and they can whip them up in an hour.

So long as you dont want to change the number of holes things will be sweet.

When you go and buy aftermarket wheels cant you order whatever PCD you want or do they just say OK we will make this for a ford, this for a honda etc.

hmmm all those camping trips and I have only got 1 picture with the wheels in it. They are too far away to see properly. They are just flat and look heaps better than in the pic. The falcon pcd is slightly larger than kombi so the holes need to be moved, but its pretty simple to do.

so there ya go. kombi 14 inch steel, porsche 15x7 cookies, ford 15X? early XR6, and commodore steelies I think :P

[Edited on 28-2-2003 by amazer]

Greedy - you should be aware that I have never seen wheel adapters that would be legal to use. The increase in track usually kills that. Their lack of balance and their propensity for self-destruction should also give you some thought.

As for having the rotors (or drums) re-drilled, you would need to have a professional do it anyway - no backyard mechanic could ever do it accurately enough. Then there's the problem of the offset being incorrect...

Sorry, Hoodjacks: You're going to need a bucket-load of cash; if not for the engineer's certificate, you'll need it to replace the car after the accident...

thats a complete load of crap. See that kombi thats my avatar? You could barely find a more abused kombi. I'm still alive. Raced it at bathurst, amaroo, wakefield, huntley, oran park. Speed tested to AT LEAST 180kmh.

On the rear I had the drive flanges redrilled. Stick them in a lathe and mark out the PCD. Get a set of dividers and mark 5 hole positions. Put a centre drill in the drill press and start the holes. Then your final hole size (whatever was needed to press in standard kombi studs - fronts I think cos they're longer) Press in the studs. With a texta mark the drums, grab a round file and go for it. Nothing too critical there.

Front get some 12mm plate cut it same size as disc hub, cut hole in centre for hub. Back in the lathe and machine it true n pretty. mark the 2 PCD's. remove the front studs and tap the holes for countersunk unbrako bolts. drill and press studs in adapters as before. Windens your track 1 inch.

You may be correct in that its not legal. I'm not a lawyer. But dont tell me its not safe. They are are still on the car today 10 years later after 2 more owners. Its now a landscapers van so its carrying a fair bit of weight too.

ANY machine shop with a lathe can ask their first yr apprentice to do this.

the Porsch 944 rear end on my 62 bug came with spacers as standard so the law is obviously a bit flexiable. +spacers/adapters are legal if they are part of the hub....so A) drill tap and bolt them on or B) do a dodgy like Brad and tack it on problem solved

Spacers were used as stock by some manufacturers; Austin 1800's came with them in some years. They were just a piece of 1/4" plate cut to size with holes drilled to suit the studs, and slipped over the studs between the drum and the wheel. Obviously they did not adversely affect the strength of the wheel-mounting.

I have never heard of any manufacturer offerring wheel stud adapters. These are quite different to spacers and are definitely illegal (As they should be).

Redrill your hubs as amazer suggested, even if you have to pay someone to do it 'right'.

Thanks for the feedback, lads. Money's not a problem, legality is. I'm aware of the fact that technically by law, I have to get an engineers certificate, like for the the bodyshell swap, seats, engine, lights, steering wheel and brakes, too! I'm more concerned with the fact the type 3 rear drive plates and front rotors have four cast reinforcing ribs on thier backsides that correspond to the placement of the wheel bolt holes, and that drilling a five PCD arrangement of any size over a four PCD arrangement means the holes/studs won't line up with the reinforcing. That may lead to stress fractures.. It's okay on a Kombi, I reckon, because it's five-over-five. Offset is less of a concern - I have seen a set of Commodore 'cop' steelies on a Superbug and everything fit under the guards just perfect. BTW, is Kombi PCD the same as Commodore/BMW? Both German origin...

Oh, and spacers are legal ONLY on cars that are supplied OE with them, such as some Porsches. There's no way I'd trust some dodgy adpater from Huaundong Province Good Technical Factory Pty Ltd...!

no commodore are different to kombi.

leave the stock pattern. kombi pattern is the same as some audi and merc.

check out these audi wheel specs: www.antera.it/eng/pdf/Audi.pdf