Pumpkin Low Rider - Wheel options

[StrokerBoy 772]

So my local model shop wasn't any use, he didn't get what I was trying to do, didn't know what offset was and could only sell me a pair of dayglo pink buggy wheels.

I bought a pair of those HPI Vintage wheels/tyres online to see what they looked like.  They widen the track nicely and the wheel design is definitely more appropriate, but they're slightly bigger diameter than stock and not dished enough for me.  Note that I just bought one pair of 31mm (6mm offset) and have fitted them to both front and rear in this pic - if you like this style then you should probably go for 26mm wide on the front.

I'm not writing them off yet, but this isn't the look I was aiming for and I'll keep searching for something else.

[GregM 1109]

I wonder how the TT-01 Team Hahn Racing Truck wheels would look on the Pumpkin Low Rider?

[berman 5315]

They do look slightly large unfortunately.  Any chance of a 3/4 shot to get a better idea of fitment? I always thought maybe the +6mm 26 rear and 3 or 0 front (I forget what offsets are offered with the vintage 5 spoke) would look good if they fit, staggered fitment always looks great

[StrokerBoy 772]

I think this style of wheel is only available in 26mm 0-offset and 31mm 6-offset.  Other HPI wheels offer a choice of 0,3,6 or 9mm offset.

There's scope to space the wheels out further, especially on the back, if I can find some long hexes (it's a shallow hex socket on the HPI wheels so washers will only manage 1mm).  I'm hoping to fix the ridiculous toe-in on the rear too.

Ironically for a Lowrider, it actually looks more proportional on these wheels with the shell moved up on the posts (2 at the rear, 1 at the front) :

[berman 5315]

Just looking at your pics and the hpi wheel/tyre pics on the previous page, it kind of looks like your tyres aren't sitting on the bead properly, which should make the wheel appear smaller and the tyre have more sidewall. I think you could get smaller hexes and get the wheels to sit in slightly further (moreso the front than rear) and you would be golden with what you got.

I may order the same wheels. Agree on the toe in, also the pumpkin body is out in the front, I am going to space the front wheels a few mm forward.

[StrokerBoy 772]

1 hour ago, berman said:

I think you could get smaller hexes and get the wheels to sit in slightly further (moreso the front than rear)

I want them further out, not in ! Can't be too wide for me. You'll want 26mm on the front though I reckon.

I'll check the tyre seating. They're asymmetrical, rims are different diameter inside and out.

[berman 5315]

Oh ok. You won't have much suspension travel unless you raise the body then.

I can highly recommend the M chassis damper set, you will need the spare shafts from inside the lowride kit, but they make a night and day difference to the handling of the M06.

 

Those 31mm don't look bad on the front, is there much clearance?

[StrokerBoy 772]

The 31mm fronts won't work without trimming and/or raising the shell a bit. Here's a pic with the standard wheels on the left and the HPI's on the right.

[Dojo Dave 889]

Here are the hpi rims on my Parma 53 ford in black. 26mm on front and 31mm on the back my favorite rims 50% of my road cars use them 

[StrokerBoy 772]

Can't believe how much time I've spent researching wheels/tyres for this thing, and still no solution.  I can't just keep buying stuff until I find some that work.

HPI Cup Racer 4-spokes (9mm offset) looked worth a try, but can't get the matt chrome ones any more and all the MX60 tyres (that I can find) are slicks.

32mm wide 2-piece Tamiya mesh wheels (Porsche GT2 rear) might work too (switchable offset) but again there are no treaded tyres available.

Been looking at M-Chassis wheels (obviously) and even F104 and Tamtech wheels.  Can't find the right combination of very wide wheel (or massive offset) with a small-ish diameter.

I thought this was going to be fun.  If I'd realised it would be this difficult I wouldn't have bought the kit.

I've got the hop-up uprights that should let me correct the rear toe-in now, and they come with fat hexes which give me options.  But I think I need to park this kit for a while.

[StrokerBoy 772]

On 6/6/2016 at 2:23 PM, StrokerBoy said:

I know what I want it to look like, and it's not the usual huge-diameter rims stuffed up inside the arches, I think that looks awful.  I want almost the opposite look - low-profile tyres stretched over super-wide deep-dish wheels that are the widest part of the vehicle.

This guy gets it.  

I've got some time off this week so I'll have another go.

[StrokerBoy 772]

I had another play at the weekend.  Fitted the Hop-Up uprights and the wide hexes that come with them, this corrects the rear toe-in and widens the track.  Also swapped the rear gold springs for silver ones which are slightly longer.  Front is standard apart from a spacer next to each hex (like a half-width plastic bushing).  Wheels are HPI MX60 4-spokes (3mm o/s front, 6mm rear) with the standard kit tyres and foams on - they shouldn't fit but they do.  Shell is on standard mounts and will need just a fraction trimming from the arch bottoms for clearance.  I've fitted the servo, ESC, Rx and battery now so it's driveable.

This still isn't the look I wanted when I bought the kit, but I'm gonna start the shell and see if I like it when it's done.

[StrokerBoy 772]

I parked this build as it wasn't really doing it for me.  Recently I got sick of seeing it sat in pieces all over the garage, so I've thrown it all together.  It still doesn't look like it did in my head, but I need to move on.  It'll do for the shelf for now.

Spec is standard Lowride Pumpkin, apart from cheap big-offset BBS-ish drift wheels/tyres, hop-up rear uprights and wider hexes, silver springs on rear, and additional thin spacer on front wheels.  Body has slightly trimmed front arches, extra holes filled, the rollbar mounts removed, cut-down posts, proper FORD tailgate and V8 grille from my 1989 spares, Shapeways 3D-printed rear lights and a wooden bed.  Obviously the big front bumper went in the same bin as the standard kit wheels.

I so wanted it to work with the HPI Vintage wheels but they just don't sit right, even with various permutations of spacers.

[TurnipJF 9192]

Not what you'd planned perhaps, but it looks great all the same!