Centramatics, split purchase

[Zeppelinium]

Anyone else out there want to split a set of 300-556 Centramatics? My Caravel only needs two of the 4. Maybe someone has two left over for the same reason?

[Torii]

Careful.... they won't fit the stock rims on my 75 Tradewind. I bought a pair and now am waiting to upgrade to aluminum wheels... (was going to anyway)

-T

[bake315]

Led,

I'll be needing 2 more to go with a set of 4 for my tri-axle, but I won't be ready to make a purchase for another month or so. I'll check with you then to see if you still have 'em.

[Zeppelinium]

Originally Posted by T Man

Careful.... they won't fit the stock rims on my 75 Tradewind. I bought a pair and now am waiting to upgrade to aluminum wheels... (was going to anyway)

-T

I have zero-offset 15" aluminum wheels with an inside diameter of 14.25". I hope that's sufficient. It does concern me that your stock rims are steel (?) and therefore would be thinner and have an even larger inside diameter.
What is the inside diameter of your rims?

[Torii]

Originally Posted by Zeppelinium

I have zero-offset 15" aluminum wheels with an inside diameter of 14.25". I hope that's sufficient. It does concern me that your stock rims are steel (?) and therefore would be thinner and have an even larger inside diameter.
What is the inside diameter of your rims?

Led

Actually, it's the shape of the wheel that is the problem... The inside Diameter is more than enough to accommodate the balancers. The profile of the wheels have sort of an 'S' shape which I guess adds strength? That protruding shape is what interfere's with the balancers...

-T

[davidz71]

When you buy the Centramatics make sure you talk with them first if you haven't already. The 300-556 come with two "A" balancers and two "B" balancers. One set has a flat side and the other set is offset to clear the front calipers of vehicles. You need 4 of one set or the other, I can't remember which ones. Neither fit the Rockwell wheels manufactured in Brazil on my '86 Sovereign.

[Zeppelinium]

I posted this on the "new axis axle" thread, but it really belongs here! So don't be confused by remarks that fit that other thread.
------------
I got the Centramatics. I was surprised to see that there were two different types (I ordered before I saw Davidz71's post). The one with the offset is to allow for disc brake caliper clearance. Either style fits nicely inside my 15" X 7 alloy wheels, even with two layers of weights on the inner surface (the other wheel had three layers, but I had the mechanic move the third layer). Three layers was just too close, although it may have barely fit (no contact between Centramatic and wheel is allowed--I interpret that to be "or anything on the wheel"). The Centramatics can go on the hub "face out" or "face in". I think this might be important if you have steel wheels, but the alloys all seem to have the right depression of the "spokes" (the flange part of the wheel) that allow plenty of room.

What's the down side. Well, none.

Except for me, that is. Remember my axle was manufactured for a lower weight rating than needed, so the the swing arms are up a couple of degrees? This put the shock near its upper limit, so I ordered the 555002 (about 2" shorter) to make sure the shocks didn't bottom out if the axle did. I only intended to use these shorter shocks until I got back to Colorado from Vegas. When I got home, I discovered the shorter shock didn't allow the swing arm to swing all the way down, so I had interference when trying to remove the wheel--had to pull the wheel off, then the wheel got caught on the top of the Centramatic, so had to hold the wheel up a little and wiggle the Centramatic off the studs. Not a big deal, just an aggravation. This won't happen with the normal shock, since the arm will swing down far enough to allow easy removal of the wheel.