Most steel Spridget wheels are bent. That’s why Minilite-style wheels makes a lot of sense. Even if you prefer the stock styling of the original wheel, if you want to drive your car over 30MPH, you need wheels that are round (and most of the originals aren’t).
Imagine for a minute the life of a steel Spridget rim. It has been in circulation for up to 63 years and seen pot hole or two. And when the lever shocks fail, it has suffered life without a dampener to support it. When modern tire machines are used to clamp their centers, these machines can also bend the rim. So is it any wonder that many of the wheels we see look like the one in the video below?
Lots of people “put the bent ones on the back” but of course that can still lead to bad vibration at highway speed. (The rim in the video is too far gone and should only be put in the dumpster.)
The best solution is to find some better original rims or get new alloy rims. We have a large selection of used rims in our warehouse. They are all a little bent, but if you have a horrible one like what is shown in the video, then we can send you something much better.
Minilites are a dream, because they are round, strong, and new. You can also powdercoat them any color you like to add some uniqueness to your build. We’ve shown a few custom colors in this post.
Minilights will scrape your front tie rod ends when you first put them on your car, so you will need to grind off just a touch of your car to get the front minilights to spin.
Next time you have your car up in the air, give your wheels a spin to check for roundness! Hopefully you won’t find anything as scary as what is shown here.
