Installing CSRT8 Wheels: Let's solve the mystery

[vyper883]

Ok, all....
I think I've must've read EVERY post regarding the install of the SRT 8 wheels on a 5.7L 300C. I've just purchased a set of these wheels myself from one of the members, I just have to wait until they arrive at my door.

Anyway, a few people have reported that it was not necessary to install 5mm( 3/16 ) spacers, and have not had any problems, others, have not been so lucky, and have had to install spacers. Could this be specific to the manufacturing date of the vehicles? For instance, will they fit without problems on a 2006, but on a 2005 require spacers? Maybe those of you who have 2006's and have installed the wheels can chime in.

Another issue, for those requiring spacers, is the length of the stud. Is this safe? The effective clamp length of the wheel studs is now shorter. A general rule of thumb (so I've heard) is that you should be able to turn the lug nuts about seven full turns till finger tight. anything less is risky. Can those with shims tell us how many turns until the lugnut is snug against the wheel? If not is changing out the wheel studs an option? where would we find them? And how do we remove the old ones without risking damage to the rotors?

Spacers: Are there any mass produced high quality spacers that will not cause vibrations? Sources? Anyone with succesfull vibration-free spacers will you chime in and tell us: How fast have you gone, where did you source out your spacers, price ect.

Apparently the SRT 8 300C has a different steering knuckle that accomodates this wheel. Is this interchangable with a 5.7L 300C Steering knuckle? Has anyone tried this?
Maybe some of the very helpful, and experienced members can help out in giving us definitive answers to these questions, and we can make this a sticky to assist anyone who's planning a swap to this awesome wheel/tire combo. Thanks to anyone for their time and effort.

[Mr.DJ]

Originally Posted by vyper883

Ok, all....
I think I've must've read EVERY post regarding the install of the SRT 8 wheels on a 5.7L 300C. I've just purchased a set of these wheels myself from one of the members, I just have to wait until they arrive at my door.

Anyway, a few people have reported that it was not necessary to install 5mm( 3/16 ) spacers, and have not had any problems, others, have not been so lucky, and have had to install spacers. Could this be specific to the manufacturing date of the vehicles? For instance, will they fit without problems on a 2006, but on a 2005 require spacers? Maybe those of you who have 2006's and have installed the wheels can chime in.

Another issue, for those requiring spacers, is the length of the stud. Is this safe? The effective clamp length of the wheel studs is now shorter. A general rule of thumb (so I've heard) is that you should be able to turn the lug nuts about seven full turns till finger tight. anything less is risky. Can those with shims tell us how many turns until the lugnut is snug against the wheel? If not is changing out the wheel studs an option? where would we find them? And how do we remove the old ones without risking damage to the rotors?

Spacers: Are there any mass produced high quality spacers that will not cause vibrations? Sources? Anyone with succesfull vibration-free spacers will you chime in and tell us: How fast have you gone, where did you source out your spacers, price ect.

Apparently the SRT 8 300C has a different steering knuckle that accomodates this wheel. Is this interchangable with a 5.7L 300C Steering knuckle? Has anyone tried this?
Maybe some of the very helpful, and experienced members can help out in giving us definitive answers to these questions, and we can make this a sticky to assist anyone who's planning a swap to this awesome wheel/tire combo. Thanks to anyone for their time and effort.

A few of us with 2005 models; i.e., '300C' and '300 Touring' have not had to utilize spacers up front. On my car ('300 Touring') neither the tire's inner sidewall area nor the wheel's inner rim lip come in contact with the steering knuckle...there's about a 1/4" of space remaining. If you must utilize a 1/4" spacer up front to allow for proper fitment, then your wheel studs will still have adequate thread length remaining to ensure proper wheel nut torque/fitment.

[vyper883]

Originally Posted by Mr.DJ

A few of us with 2005 models; i.e., '300C' and '300 Touring' have not had to utilize spacers up front. On my car ('300 Touring') neither the tire's inner sidewall area nor the wheel's inner rim lip come in contact with the steering knuckle...there's about a 1/4" of space remaining. If you must utilize a 1/4" spacer up front to allow for proper fitment, then your wheel studs will still have adequate thread length remaining to ensure proper wheel nut torque/fitment.

Thanks Mr DJ.
Studs are adequate length-check.
Now how about sourcing out quality vibration free spacers? Anyone?

[Mr.DJ]

Originally Posted by vyper883

Thanks Mr DJ.
Studs are adequate length-check.
Now how about sourcing out quality vibration free spacers? Anyone?

My pleasure...check with Dave and/or with some of our other Supporting Vendors with regard to 'hub centric' spacers.

[vyper883]

OK folks here's the deal:
If you've upgraded your wheels to the 20' CSRT rim, and you get suspension interference (mainly steering knuckle). Then my advice to you, is sell the wheels, and opt for some aftermarket replacements that will fit PROPERLY. I know that a lot of good folks here will be disappointed and disagree with me, so let's look at what we have to work with:

You've mounted your SRT wheels, and they rub. The most apparent way to "fix" this would be the the use of a spacer, of about 5mm in thickness. You put it on, mount your wheels and away you go-right? WRONG! Safety hazard #1: have you checked how much hub is actually now holding the wheel centered? After looking at some pics of the hub on stop-tech's website, there appears to be only about 7-10 mm of hub face that supports the wheel. Now after inserting the spacer, you'd think that there would be enough hub left to center the wheel right? WRONG! Did you check how much chamfer the SRT 8 wheels have on the inner side of the center bore? There may actually be nothing left to hold the wheel-hub union. Did you know that it is the HUB that is the load bearing component and NOT the lug nuts, or studs? They are there to hold the wheel in place, and that's is their ONLY purpose. So by mounting the wheels like this, the least amount of your worries is vibration. What you REALLY have to worry about, is the lugs will loosen with absolute certainty due to their extra job of supporting the weight, shearing, and centrifugal forces of the vehicle-not-to mention a stud/s snapping right off. I don't know about you guys, but losing a front wheel at ANY speed would not be my idea of fun.

Is there another way to make this work? Well, let's see:
A hubcentric spacer? That works with aftermarket wheels, because the diameter of the inner wheel bore is LARGER than that of the hub, but since the SRT wheels are considered factory, the diameters match, so there is no space for hubcentric adapter. The hub's diameter is 73mm, and the factory wheels inner bore diameter is closely matched to that just shy of an interference fit, so there is not enough material to support any kind of hub extension, and in turn support the factory wheel.

How about the steering knuckle itself? Maybe a swap with an SRT8 Steering knuckle. Assuming that it will work with the existing suspension components, there is still the matter of the brakes. The calipers on the SRT 8 are factory Brembo's, and they have different mounting points, than that of the 300C, meaning that you'd have to change your brakes to OEM Brembo's to make it work. Too much involved for a wheel swap.

Another solution:
A one piece aftermarket hub, that has an extended face to accomodate both spacer, and wheel bore. No one has made one as far as I know, and depending on the demand, maybe no one will ever offer one.

As it stands, there is no way to make this work safely, in a simple manner. I know a lot of folks have used spacers, but this is very unsafe IMHO. I too would like to see a solution to this problem.

I have bought these wheels, but they are still being shipped so I'll have to wait and see what the verdict is. I also have ordered the 5mm spacers, so I will be test fitting this all together and taking pics for all to see. If they fit without spacers, great. If not, then bye-bye SRT wheels, and I'm not compromising my safety just because I think the wheels look good. If anybody disagrees and has actually found a safe solution, please chime in.
vyper883

[E55 KEV]

It will be a different style, but I would wait to see what the new 07 SRT package 20" rim looks like and what the specs are. It may be a 20x8.5?

[vyper883]

UPDATE:
The wheels/tires are here, and they look like brand spanking new, with only 300 advertised miles on them. They were packaged with round pieces of cardboard on either side, with air cushions in the center front to protect the center caps.

After the FEDEX guy left, I noticed a slit large enough for a hand to pass through on one of the cardboard backings. The shipper had mounted all the SRT lugs and wheel locks in the back of this wheel. Someone had torn a slit and removed them, presumably during border crossing inspection, and "forgot" to put them back. So now I have NO MOUNTING HARDWARE.

I notified the seller who confirmed how he packed the lugs behind one of the wheels, so now I know that someone did in fact remove the plastic bag, and did not put it back. The seller now has to make a claim according to FEDEX, and they quoted 4 to 6 weeks to resolve it.

My local dealer has quoted me $5.35 each for 16 lug nuts, and $75.00 for a set of four wheel locks, as I can't wait 4 weeks or more to receive(if I receive) the lost ones, so I can mount my wheels (IF the front ones even fit without interference) Also, they don't have them in stock, and being that were beginning the labor day weekend in Canada, I won't even get them until Tuesday. What a day.....

[vyper883]

Update:
I test fitted the SRT wheels today, and found that the 300C zinc plated open ended lug nuts actually fit until i get the SRT 8 lug nuts on Tuesday. I mounted a front wheel first. No rubbing, as I free wheeled the rim, so I decided to mount all of them. I DID notice that there really isn't a lot of space between the tire sidewall, and the steering knuckle.

After mounting was complete, I torqued all the lugs to 100 lbs/Ft, put all the tools away. Knowing about the rubbing issue in reverse at sharp turning angles from past posts on our forum, I backed out of the driveway very slowly, and vigilantly, and as the wheel reached about 3/4 of all the way to the right, I felt and heard the dreaded rubbing. If you look at the Goodyear RSA's, they have a rib around the sidewall, that protrudes over the lip of the back edge of the rim, and that's what is rubbing against the steering knuckle. However, there appears to be NO rubbing whatsoever during forward driving, across the entire travel of the steering wheel in both directions.

The question burning in my mind: The SRT8 comes with an option of a staggered set of tires, as well. They are the Goodyear F1 Supercar Tires with sizes of 245/45/ R20 for the front, and 255/45/R20 for the rear. Does THIS tire also have this rib that runs around the sidewall at the edge of the rim? Since some people have had successes with some 300C's and others have not, and apparently it's not year specific. Could this have been overlooked as the cause of the rubbing issue? Also, are there some that have had rubbing in both directions- FWD and Reverse? I seem to have no problems at all during FWD driving.

I DID order a set of 5mm spacers for ther sake of proper fitment testing, but I have to wait until they arrive at my door. I will report my findings then. I'm presuming that maybe 5mm is not needed. Possibly 3mm is all that it would take to clear the steering knuckle in reverse, which would also provide more hub surface for the wheels inner bore, which as you know (I've said it too much already) is the proper load bearing component, and NOT the studs and lug nuts. I'll post back with results soon enough. Cheers.

[vyper883]

CORRECTION:
It actually begins to rub in reverse, in the 3 to 4 O' clock position to the right, and the 9 to 8 O' clock position to the left. Sorry if I misleaded anyone, as the first time I was more concerned about the rubbing in whole, so I didn't pay close attention as to where the steering wheel was WHEN it rubbed, so I just presumed as such at first. Again, in forward travel, I could sense no rubbing.

[E55 KEV]

Originally Posted by vyper883

The question burning in my mind: The SRT8 comes with an option of a staggered set of tires, as well. They are the Goodyear F1 Supercar Tires with sizes of 245/45/ R20 for the front, and 255/45/R20 for the rear. Does THIS tire also have this rib that runs around the sidewall at the edge of the rim?

There is no rubbing on the SRT8 using SRT8 rims! The steering knucle is different on SRT8 so the issue of rubbing is not a concern. The suspension and wheels were specifically built for each other. I thought you knew that?