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REBUILD, RESTORE, REFINISH, CONVERT
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SENSEI 6 DO YOU BELIEVE THERE ARE ANY SAFETY CONCERNS WITH RUNNING AN OLDER SET OF WHEELS? If the wheel is old, there’s a high chance that it has been used many times in the past, which is likely to show damage, like bends and cracks towards the barrel. If that is the case, we would always recommend replacing them with new ones. Centers can also be warped or cracked from road hazards or simply metal fatigue, which can be repaired if they are bent, but cannot be repaired if they’re cracked.
WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON BRINGING OLD WHEELS BACK TO LIFE OVER BUYING A NEW SET? IS THERE A BIG COST DIFFERENCE? Good question! There’s a common misconception that buying a rebuilt used set of wheels is always going to be cheaper than buying a new set. That is not always the case. Yes, certain simple rebuilds may be cost efficient, but the more complicated the build is, the more expensive it will become since more work is required. With a new set of wheels, everything is set from the very beginning, so sometimes it’s actually cheaper to just order brand new, if they’re still in production.
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JB MAF
@jb_maf JB-MaF JB MaF
JB MAF STANDS FOR “JASON BOS MACHINING AND FABRICATION,” AND THE MAN BEHIND THE ONE-PERSON BUSINESS HAS MADE QUITE THE NAME FOR HIMSELF WHEN IT COMES TO CUSTOM WHEEL WORK. What started as a need to make custom parts for his own car transformed into a full-on fabrication service for fellow car enthusiasts. JB MaF isn’t Bos’ nine-to-five, it’s his spare time passion. Some may know him for his crazy hand-shaped metal widebody Golf GTI, while others may have seen his custom threepiece Enkei RPF1s break the internet.
TELL US ABOUT HOW YOU GOT INTO CONVERTING WHEELS TO FIT CARS THEY’RE NOT SUPPOSED TO. WHEN DID THIS ALL START? The whole “wheel modifying” thing began over three years ago when I was in search of the right set of wheels for my project car: a Mark IV Golf GTI widebody. Since then, I’ve been responsible for countless sets of unique wheels that I’ve made compatible to cars that would be otherwise unable to run them. What it really comes down to is math and machining/fabrication principles: Can they fit, and what’s it going to take to make them work?
WHAT SERVICES DO YOU OFFER, OR DO YOU FIND YOURSELF DOING MORE THAN OTHERS? The services that I offer people with respect to wheels specifically include: fill and drill (welding up of old bolt pattern and machining new bolt pattern), which includes five- to four-bolt conversions, or other way around, off-set bolt pattern re-drill, which maintains original pattern and offers a second set of holes, or re-drill to new bolt pattern using large bushing-style inserts. These inserts work great when lug holes on wheel faces are too deep to fill with weld, or when trying to hide the re-drill, bore enlargement, back-face milling to adjust wheel offset to achieve fitment, and custom billet center caps, depending on the wheels. My duties extend beyond that, but these have been my main go-tos for people as of late.
TUNING ESSENTIALS // 2018 STYLE BOOK // 5TH EDITION
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2018-05-15 1:59 PM
