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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 (170 Views) | |
| CityConnection | Feb 21 2010, 01:48 AM Post #1 |
Sick of your crap
  ![]](http://209.85.62.24/static/1/pip_r.png)
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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 |
"Mullet of Ox"
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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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Sick of your crap
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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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7:32 PM Mar 11
