Datsun Roadster Forum-311s.org

I know this has been discussed before. I couldn't find the tread doing a search. I have to run a small spacer, about 1/8" thick in order to get my Panasports to clear the thickness of the front hub. So, do I take material off of the hub, or the wheels? If I do the wheels, I would have to do all four to compensate for rotation. Is there enough material on the hub to grind away? If grinding the hub, do I need to worry much about heating up the hub too much? What have others done? Some folks don't have any issues, and others do. I really don't want to run the spacer. I can get two or three more threads on the lugs without them.

Thanks,
Kyle

I have the same problem... Dean at Datsunparts.com used to sell these wheel cap spacers. I remember them being terribly expensive - $80.00 for a couple of stainless steal rings. And they were specifically for Panasports. I have 15 x 6 wheels and I cant get the center caps to go on the front hub. Anyway, I saved the URL cause I also need to get these but just haven't gotten around to doing it. And apparently the URL doesn't work anymore. But I know he used to carry them.

Here's the old URL: http://www.datsunparts.com/1930" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Let me know if you end up finding another solution other than grinding the hubs.

Jess

Perhaps he or another vendor will make some up out of aluminum. That should be more cost effective.

Kyle, would longer stud bolts work? that would be alot cheaper and easy to swap out.

I know it's a bit late for you Kyle but Les at Classic Datsun Motorsports has the inside scoop for Panasports so when you purchase the wheels from him they are ready to roll as is. No mods needed to make the center caps fit and his prices seem to be right there with everyone else. That being said, I am pretty sure that Gerardo was cutting the adaptors from billet aluminum so you may want to give him a call?

Jon

1) Kyle, where did you get the panasports from and what are the specs?
Offset, center bore size are key here.
What does your box say on the side?


2) Jfunk is talking about a completely separate issue. The roadster hub "sticks out" too far on certain offset wheels, this prevents you from using the "hex" style center cap. The "ribbed" style or black caps fit fine without spacers on the typical 14x6 and 15x6 +15 offset, roadster center bore wheels.

Hex caps require a spacer up front, and these are available from vendors now.

yes, those are my gnarly fingers


Other caps fit without them:
Black

Ribbed





So to clarify:
1) the correct Panasport fitment for a Datsun roadster does not need hub clearancing of any kind. It simply means that you got a wheel for a different application.
2) If you want to run a "hex" style cap(on a standard fitment wheel) then you need a spacer.
The other style caps will fit fine

Hope this helps

caraddict wrote:. No mods needed to make the center caps fit

Jon

again this applies to the black and "ribbed" center caps.
The "hex" style caps will not clear the front hubs, and require a spacer.

Is the problem fitting the caps? Or that the wheel won't fit over the front hub? In his original post Kyle doesn't mention anything about the cap, so I think the problem is that he has to use the spacers to get the wheel to fully seat. Aren't our wheels lug-centric rather than hub-centric? I think they must center on the lugs because there is no other location device on the rears.

I think that valid arguments can be made for modifying the hubs versus modifying the wheels, but if I were in that position, I wouldn't take any material off the hub. I would remove it off the wheels. If he needs only a 1/8" spacer to fit the wheels on the hubs, it must be close to fitting. In my unlearned opinion, I would think some time with a Dremel or other such tool would work. Would removing weight that close to the center of rotation even affect the balance?

I would modify the wheels, then have them all rebalanced, just to be sure. To me, the best way to modify the hubs would be to take everything off them, have them turned on a lathe, and reassembled. Or you could spend some time with a grinder or a burr. Either way I would make sure everything was CLEAN before going further.

Hmm. Maybe the spacer is the best way to go.

p.s. Kyle, when I saw your car before, it looked like you were doing it "right". Congrats!

Bucky, you are right on target. The problem is with the width of the hub itself. The hub is just a bit too thick/wide for the wheel to center. And, you are correct, these are lug centric. I did think about the wheel balance if taking from the wheel. How is your project coming along?

Alvin, I have the ribbed center caps. They will not clear the thickness of the hub either. I will post a pic later today. My Nephew manages a discount tire dealer. He ordered the Panasports for me a couple years ago. I don't have the boxes. They listed the Datsun SRL311 as the correct application. I wonder, are the newer hubs "thinner" by chance?

Maybe I'm just making a big deal out of nothing? I just have never been a fan of having to run spacers. How much would a 1/4 inch change the vehicles geometry? I bet not much.

Kyle

I'd err on the side of a Panasport center being wrong, rather than the roadster hub having varying thickness issues.
Kyle, when you say the center caps won't clear the thickness of the hub, are you saying the the cap diameter is too small?
That tells you that you have the wrong wheel center bore/center cap

in the pic i posted above it should say center cap 70mm
http://rides.webshots.com/photo/1093864 ... 1295PbJnsk" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
There is nothing wrong with running a spacer or longer wheel studs, but why should you?

Send the wheels/caps back and get the correct ones that fit.

fyi I've seen panasports with 66mm center caps so maybe this is what you have?

Here is a pic of the hub. The cap, after further review is also too shallow to fit over the hub grease cap. Is that why I have seen people dent theirs? If I do get the spacers off, it will then really impact the wheel cap, as it will be almost 1/2 inch to shallow.



Kyle

Skyman wrote:Here is a pic of the hub. The cap, after further review is also too shallow to fit over the hub grease cap. Is that why I have seen people dent theirs? If I do get the spacers off, it will then really impact the wheel cap, as it will be almost 1/2 inch to shallow.



Kyle

Yes, many dent the grease cap to run a shallower center cap.
On the 14x6 +15 wheels I know the black cap clears, but the ribbed caps won't. On the 15x6 +15 the ribbed caps fit fine.

But you still have a hub clearance issue, hence the need for a wheel spacer. I really don't think this is necessary. imho I wouldn't remove material from a new hub or new wheel. Can you confirm your center bore and center cap diamters?

Do you have access to a 14x6 +15 wheel with a 70mm bore/cap?

I have an issue on one of my 5 Panasports for the Alfa. It won't accept my hub caps at all. The cap will not fit in the hole. The other 4 fit great, but the one is a no go. I haven't tried the caps in the roadster set. The one wheel will not take the caps.

Will

IIRC,
Early Panasports were not available with the correct hub center, so you needed to run a spacer or cut the wheel or hub. That problem has been corrected.

There is an additional problem with the hub sticking out the wheel and interferring with the cap that Alvin is talking about.

Phil