Harrison builders - question on stud patterns

[sambo]

I've pretty much decided on the Harrison kit with R32 IRS. As you know this uses a Nissan (Ford?) stud pattern on the rear and VR Commodore front. When shopping for wheels does this present any problems with the mixed stud pattern? Are adapters available?

I'll be looking for replica knock-offs or similar so any offset measurements would be much appreciated. I'll probably go 16s or 17s to provide more options with high performance tyres.

Thanks,
Paul

[boxhead]

I do not have a Harrison, but my kit (Classic Revival) uses Ford rear and Jag front.
This is not an issue as the rim supplier should be able to provide the stud pattern you require.

And you will most likely be fitting different width front to rear rims so there is no point stressing about a spare that fits both front and rear.

I will be looking at getting a narrow multi fit 5 stud rim as a spare when I drive a long distance from out here at Alice.

[400TT]

Yeah, different stud patterns front and back are pretty normal on most Cobras.

Nissan stud pattern is basically the same as everything but Holden. So you can fit Nissan, Ford, Toyota & Mitsubishi 5 stud wheels.

As boxhead said, you will be ordering custom offset wheels, so getting different stud patterns will be no problem.

Best to ask Warwick Harrison about wheel offsets, he is the expert.

16" tyres really suck when it comes to tyre choices, especially wide tyre choices. Go with the 17" instead, you have endless choices. In 17", you also have some cheap wide tyres available. There is more than a couple of Harrisons rolling around with Sumitomo 315/35R17 tyres.

Plus the 17" wheels means you can upgrade your brakes down the track without worry of fouling with the wheels.

Note to Boxhead: If you are going to carry a spare make sure you can fit your rear tyre in the boot. The boot on our old Cobra would not close with the rear tyre in there, so needed to carry some tape(to stop marks) & a couple of ockey straps. It really depends how wide you go on the rear.

[07cob]

Sambo

A number of Harrison's builders (including myself) opt to get the front rotors redrilled and the studs replaced with nissan studs. This means all PCDs are the same as are the threads on the studs.

I have even gone so far as to procure a space saver wheel from a Skyline!! Although as Craig has pointed out, I am not too sure how the 10" with a flat will go in the boot!!!

I am currently in the process of purchasing wheels and the offsets I am using are 135 (rear) and 90 (front) - by advice from Warwick himself. This does not take into account the *tyre bulge* that will set these back a little further, depending on what size rim and tyre you are running. I am planning on running 225/50x16s and 255/50x16s on 8s and 10s respectively so I reckon about 10mm will be enough. Hence I have ordered offsets of 125 and 80. If you choose to run with 17 or 18s, the bulge will be less and if you want 15s, it will be a bit more I am guessing. You can run 15s on the Nissan rear end, you just need to have some mods done to move the caliper closer to the wheel centre - the recently finished Daytona has 15s all round.

Hope this helps

GeoF

[400TT]

Originally Posted by 07cob

Sambo

A number of Harrison's builders (including myself) opt to get the front rotors redrilled and the studs replaced with nissan studs. This means all PCDs are the same as are the threads on the studs.

GeoF

Geof, I didn't realise you did that. One advantage of getting same stud pattern front & rear, is that you can purchase a cheap 2nd hand set of wheels to use for racing.

On the Harrison that I built with my brother we didn't have any of these dramas. Used Skyline R32 GTR rear, with R32 Skyline aluminium uprights & hubs on the front. So run Skyline R32 rotors & calipers front & back and of course we have Nissan stud pattern front & rear. That's how we solved the problem. We also run an ABS sensor on the front and of course on the rear. Started off using oem cross-drilled GTR rotors, now using slotted DBA 4000 rotors.

[sambo]

Geoff - redrilling seems like a viable option, thanks for the info!

Craig - how much work was involved in converting Warwick's front-end to use R32 Skyline aluminium uprights & hubs? Were you using the ABS sensors for ABS, traction control, speedo...? I'd love ABS to go with a nice power steering setup.

Thanks guys