Re-drilled wheels what are you thoughts?

[— Madaboutmx5s —]

I have seen a set of SSR wheels for that that I'm considering buying. The specs are:

PCD 4x114.3 re-drilled so can be 4x100 too
7j Fronts 8j Rears x 15'
73.1 Centre Bore and come with spigot rings to suit mx5s
Offset: Fronts +27 Rears +22

What do you think of re-drilled wheels. Lots of different opinions out there. Are they safe? Does it ruin the value of the wheels?

[Demon I Am]

i wouldn't. Just looks cheap, and wouldn't trust the structural integrity

[mx54life]

I am interested to know too.

If the wheels are cast alloy, is it safe to plug weld the holes and then redress with new PCD?

[— Madaboutmx5s —]

On the photos they still look alright. They are the MK1 version. The seller is having a hard time shifting them and says he has run them for 2 years like this on his MK2. Price wise they are around 1/3 cheaper then if expect them to be.

As mentioned above though I'm concerned on the structural strength but have seen other wheels done like this.

[HarryB]

In general, wheel structures (ribs etc.) are designed to stay unmodified. If these are drilled in a critical area, they might eventually fail. I would not be surprised if they don't fail at once, rather as a result of fatigue. Also, plug-welding (in general welding for that matter) cast materials is not the best of ideas...

[— Madaboutmx5s —]

Thanks for the input. These are the wheels concerned.

[— kung fu jesus —]

I wish I had definitive answers, but the best I have is to look on some of the BMW e30 forums. It is pretty common there. They usually refer to it as "drill and fill".

I am ambivalent, leaning towards leery about the long term safety of doing it

[— fwdtamiya —]

I personally don't like running muti-pattern or re-drilled wheels because I think it looks ugly. Let me call my buddy who's an expert on re-drilled wheels



As long as the back side of the wheel is a solid pad, not like the hollow TE37 knockoff below, you're generally alright.



It looks like the back of your MKI's are a solid pad, but the two casting indentations where the extra holes would be drilled could create an uneven mounting surface and pressure may be exerted on a part of the pad that's not even contacting the brake rotor/hub, which could lead to damage to the wheel or the backing out of a nut. I'll give you $3.50.

[— Madaboutmx5s —]

Thanks for the info. I have asked the seller for some additional info. I shall see what comes back.