Hub on wheels from China

[Ickabod Crane]

I just purchased a couple sets of wheels from our local hobby store. The "Official"wheels do not have the step on the outer hub. They also have a terrible run out and the bore ID is on the small side. Run out is .007 Are all China wheels this way?

[Speedster]

I would guess, Yes. The axles are nice though, aren't they?

[rpcarpe]

Keep the axles, throw out those wheels. Use the regular BSA wheels that come in the kit, or spend $2 to get the replacement wheels and axles at the Scout store.

And yes, apparently the chinese wheels are ALL like that.

[Ickabod Crane]

Shame I wasted $7.00 on junk wheels. I was thinking that the hub prep would be easier until I seen the run out. I don't have a lathe.

[chromegsx]

Curious... Is it just the bad run-out that causes these wheels to be "junk" or is there more about them that makes you want to throw 'em out? I might be looking for some donor wheels in the near future for testing removing run-out without a lathe.

Also what does bore I.D. on the small side mean? have you pin gaged them?

[Ickabod Crane]

I built a FS inspired tire gauge to check run out. The wheels are very tight on a #41 drill shank. This told me the bore was on the small side. I'm trying to round the wheels for use on a play car for one of my boys. Need the practice and cannot afford a lathe. So far I have got them to .002, down from the oringinal .007.

I do not have pin gauges. Where is the best place to find them?

[Speedster]

The China wheels are consistently heavier. For those instructed "Light sanding only", Not Good. The China wheels weigh 2.75, 2.80, 2.85 out of 12 wheels. The USA wheels seem consistent at 2.55 on my scales. The bore seems wider on the outside and smaller on the inside on the USA wheel. The China wheel seems reversed. Does that mean anything as far as racing goes? All the China wheels have an outer step but it is not as deep as the wheel made in the U.S. I ran many China wheels on the wheel balancer we're all familiar with. Some of the China wheels wobble all over the place and some are fairly straight. This is true of U.S. wheels also. The bores are definitely smaller on the China wheel. Some of them I could barely get the pin through. The pin goes through all the U.S. wheels and there still leaves a little slop. The balancer pin measures .093. Maybe this is an advantage for the China wheel. Perhaps the China wheel could be machined to be better then a U.S. wheel. For scout racing with "light sanding only" I think the China wheel is at a disadvantage. With 4 on the ground there would be .8 grams, or more, difference. The OD on the China wheel seems to stay close to 1.187. The OD on the US wheel jumps around a bit. That's about all I can report.

[FatSebastian]

I do not have pin gauges. Where is the best place to find them?

Vermont Gage.