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| 13" wheel upgrade (the easy way); for 89-94 Metros that came with 12" wheels | |
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| Topic Started: Feb 21 2010, 01:48 AM (1,478 Views) | |
| CityConnection | Feb 21 2010, 01:48 AM Post #1 |
This is you, so you must be online
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OK, so you need tires but found out that 12" tires have gotten scarce and expensive. You could upgrade the brakes to those from a convertible... but you're lazy. So this is what you do: Source yourself a set of 13" wheels (check the junk yards, you can find stock 13" wheels on convertibles and 95+ Metros/Swifts) Get a set of lug nuts. Why? The stock lug nuts are just too small for the larger bolt holes on the 13" wheel. You are going to need lug nuts sized 10mm X 1.25. These can be bought online or even at a local tire store (call first because they are a little rare).  Gorilla Automotive makes a nice acorn nut that fits perfectly. Part number is: 71117 DO NOT buy 2 piece lug nuts! Over time the chrome cover can come loose and pop off completely. This means that the wrench you normally carry in the car to remove the lug nuts won't fit the now smaller size. On that note, remember to get a matching wrench for your new lug nuts. Nothing worse then getting a flat and finding out that you can't remove the lug nuts on the side of the road! The size needed for my new lug nuts was 22mm, yours might be different. When tightening the new lug nuts you will need to center the tapered end in the bolt hole of the wheel. This is easiest if you get one lug nut centered and slightly tight, then do the same for the lug nut across from it. After that the others should fall into place nicely.  Example: While supporting the wheel, tighten the red lug nut till it starts to seat in the bolt hole. Then adjust the wheel so the green lug nut can be snugged into the bolt hole. Then tighten all the lug nuts in a criss-cross pattern to 44 ft-lbs. Do not over tighten! These are 10mm studs! It should be noted that when you change the tire size to a larger overall diameter on the vehicle 2 things will happen. The first is that it will have the effect of changing the final drive gearing. This means that the RPMs will be lower at any given speed/gear than they were before. This will lower the RPMs at cruise giving slightly better highway mileage at the cost of in town acceleration. The second is that the speedometer will now read slower than what you are actually traveling at. In my case the car was originally equipped with 145/80R12 tires and now it has 155/80R13 tires. This is a difference of 7.7%. So if the speedometer shows I'm traveling at 60MPH I'm actually going just under 65MPH. The speedometer can be fixed if you swap out the gear on the cable with one that came from a 13" wheel equipped car. When all is said and done I was able to buy 13" wheels, lug nuts and tires for less than the cost of 12" tires by themselves! And an added bonus is that when I need to buy tires I don't have to hunt all over town for 12" ones. Not bad, not bad at all.  It's obvious but I feel I should mention it, the ride height of the vehicle will be raised almost 1" with 155/80R13 tires. Edited by CityConnection, Feb 22 2010, 01:56 AM.
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| Johnny Mullet | Feb 21 2010, 01:23 PM Post #2 |
"Geo Whisperer"
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Do not forget that the torque on 10MM studs id 44 Ft lbs. Do not overtighten! |
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| Caddotx | Feb 22 2010, 02:48 PM Post #3 |
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New Member
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So does this mean I would have to carry a torque wrench with me in case of a flat? |
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| CityConnection | Feb 22 2010, 06:08 PM Post #4 |
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This is you, so you must be online
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I would either grab a wrench out of a trunk in the salvage yard that matched the new lug nuts or if you couldn't find one than an old fashioned cross wrench that has one wrench that works would be fine. |
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| Bad Bent | Feb 23 2010, 12:09 AM Post #5 |
Facetious Educated Donkey
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It's not a bad idea.  ...or I would check the torque ASAP.I always carry an inexpensive Harbor Freight torque wrench with me in a bag with other tools. Sockets, screwdrivers etc. old cars and no AAA membership. 
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| CityConnection | Mar 13 2010, 05:47 AM Post #6 |
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This is you, so you must be online
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At this time I cannot advocate 44ft lbs of torque on the lug nuts. Today I almost had the left front wheel leave the vehicle while driving. All the lug nuts had backed off on that wheel and every other one on the car was loose. Until I can track down the problem to either improper torque or bad lug nuts I say proceed with caution. At the first hint of noise from the wheels, check those lug nuts. Better to be safe than sorry! |
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| bogs | Mar 13 2010, 12:09 PM Post #7 |
Duct tape heals all wounds
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I dunno, back in the old days, we used to tighten in the cross pattern, then go around 2 more times to make sure they were actually seated properly. Did something change between then and now? |
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| CityConnection | Mar 13 2010, 03:04 PM Post #8 |
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This is you, so you must be online
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Nope. That's still the same. Always snug down your lug nuts with your wrench in a criss-cross pattern (no mater if you have 4,5,6,8,0r 10 lugs). Then tighten them to proper torque with a torque wrench in the same pattern. After that, take your torque wrench that you just tightened with and go around the wheel in a circle starting from the top. This way you can insure that you didn't miss any lug nut (this is helpful when dealing with more than 4 lugs). NEVER USE YOUR TORQUE WRENCH AS A BREAKER BAR!!! This can damage the wrench and make it read improperly. This is important because many torque wrenches only operate in one direction (righty tighty) and using them in the other can damage them. It's tempting, but use a much cheaper breaker bar for these jobs and leave your expensive torque wrench the jobs it was designed for. *EDIT* Too self righteous for me. Why did I even write all that drivel? Edited by CityConnection, Mar 13 2010, 08:07 PM.
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| bogs | Mar 13 2010, 06:52 PM Post #9 |
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Duct tape heals all wounds
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Ok, was just checking  Congrats on the upcoming (thinking ahead) BA and put it to good use. Always glad to hear someone got ahead and did their time 
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| c140flyer | Apr 11 2010, 01:40 AM Post #10 |
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Advanced Member
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Hi City, I want to do the conversion on my '92. I have the wheels/tires from my '96. I just want to make sure I don't have the same problem of wheels coming loose (could spoil your whole day!). When you torqued to 44 ft.lbs. Was your torque wrench calibrated? Did you re-torque them to a higher #? Did the lug nuts cause the problem? Would changing the studs to a larger size work better? Thanks for your help, Larry |
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| CityConnection | Apr 11 2010, 01:53 AM Post #11 |
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This is you, so you must be online
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I think the fact that the lug nuts are not standard to the vehicle and the torque is so low it caused the problems I had... I also should have checked the torque again a few days later but I didn't  After torquing them to 55ft lbs I haven't had a problem. |
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| Woodie | Apr 11 2010, 07:18 AM Post #12 |
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No question, changing to the proper (larger) size is the best way to go, but lots of folks have just gotten the bigger lug nuts and not had a problem. Re-torquing after driving a couple of miles is critical, especially if the recommended torque is so low. Also, you should tighten all the lugs up finger tight while wiggling the wheel to make sure everything is centered between the lug nut and the cone area on the wheel before starting with any socket or torque wrench. |
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| nerys | Apr 11 2010, 12:16 PM Post #13 |
Grr
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Basically the way I do lugs is this. I tighten by hand. if it takes more than 50-100% of a full turn to full tighten you have a problem. ie you should be able to get it 99% tight with your fingers. If I can not I replace the lug nut or replace the stud. Sometimes just using the nut on a different stud solves the issue. |
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| mcmancuso | Apr 12 2010, 12:47 AM Post #14 |
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The easiest method of changing out 12's for 13's is to just trash that hatchback and go get a vert. It comes with 13's
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| z34-5speed | Apr 12 2010, 12:49 AM Post #15 |
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OFF WITH HIS HEAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 
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