VS-KF Build
For awhile I’ve been wanting dished wheels again but the problem was that I wanted to stay 17/18 stagger for fitment/clearance reasons and also because it looks gangster.
The main issue with me wanting 17/18 dish was that I had bought GTR Brembos which ruled out any 17” Dished wheel with a step lip.
After a bit of googling, forum trawling (I miss when forums were active) and YJ hunting/Evan ebaying I ended up with VS-KF’s.
They have a flat lip which means that there’ll be enough diameter clearance for GTR brembos in 17” and the R disk face will provide enough clearance for the face of the calipers.
I originally bought one set of 18” vskfs and then Evan found me a 17” pair so I could keep my 17/18 stagger.
Here they are in their not so great specs.
18x9+38 A disk
18x8+51 A disk
17x8+30 R disk
My original plans were to relip the 17x8 and 18x8 pair then sell off the 18x9 pair but I gave up on trying to sell it so I also decided to relip them as well to have exact matching skidders. In order for this to all happen we firstly need to disassemble them.
The 18” VS-KF’s needed a M7 Triple Square Socket and the 17” pair needed a T45 Torx for the front bolts. On the back was your standard 6 point 8mm nut. If you’re disassembling them then make sure you loosen the 8mm nut on the back with a 6 point socket (reduce the chances of rounding the nut), not the bolts on the face otherwise you’ll most likely strip them.
Annoyingly VS-KF are welded so you’ll firstly need to cut off the silicone to expose the weld. I used a plastic caulk cutting tool left over from my unfinished bathroom renovation to cut the bulk of it out then used a wirewheel on a drill to get rid of a bit more so the weld was clearly exposed. The remaining silicone I wirewheeled off prior to assembly when I was preparing the surfaces.
There’s a few different methods for cutting the weld on these to split them. You can use (or drop them off to someone with) a lathe, tyre changing machine and angle grinder or let the car run in gear on jackstands with a blade clamped in place with a vice on the ground.
Annoyingly VS-KF are welded so you’ll firstly need to cut off the silicone to expose the weld. I used a plastic caulk cutting tool left over from my unfinished bathroom renovation to cut the bulk of it out then used a wirewheel on a drill to get rid of a bit more so the weld was clearly exposed. The remaining silicone I wirewheeled off prior to assembly when I was preparing the surfaces.
There’s a few different methods for cutting the weld on these to split them. You can use (or drop them off to someone with) a lathe, tyre changing machine and angle grinder or let the car run in gear on jackstands with a blade clamped in place with a vice on the ground.
I opted to get Tin God Solutions out in Yarra Valley professionally split them and machine off the weld with their lathe. Bonus was this cute few week old puppy there.
I ordered 4 new lips and 4 red centre caps from threepiece.us as I originally planned on only building a set.
I ordered 4 new lips and 4 red centre caps from threepiece.us as I originally planned on only building a set.
A few weeks after these arrived they had a flash sale and I gave up hope on trying to sell the 18x9 pair so I decided to build an extra pair for matching skidders as I’m currently using a banged up pair or AVS Model 5’s.
4.5” of polished lip goodness. Too bad the face takes up some of that lip.
You vs the guy she tells you to not worry about.
4.5” of polished lip goodness. Too bad the face takes up some of that lip.
You vs the guy she tells you to not worry about.
Also make sure to clean off the rest of the silicone before assembly with the wire wheel then scuff the lip and barrel with scotchbrite/sandpaper where the sealant will go then give it a good clean with solvent.
Final specs:
Final specs:
Before->After
18x8+51 A disk (2” lip) -> 18x10.5+19 (4.5” lip)
18x9+38 A disk (3” lip) -> 18x10.5+19 (4.5” lip) *To be built soon*
17x8+30 A disk -> 17x9+18 (3” lip)
If you’re going to reuse hardware like I did, I recommend polishing the head of the bolt as it’ll be easier, however removing the old thread locker is a must. I polished the head and cleaned the thread locker off by placing a few drops of metal polish onto a cloth and spinning it.
With all of the bolts polished, it was time for assembly. I recommend taping up your tools to avoid scratching the lip. Also use thread locker on the end of the bolt to prevent the nuts backing off (just a drop on the end is enough).
If you’re going to reuse hardware like I did, I recommend polishing the head of the bolt as it’ll be easier, however removing the old thread locker is a must. I polished the head and cleaned the thread locker off by placing a few drops of metal polish onto a cloth and spinning it.
With all of the bolts polished, it was time for assembly. I recommend taping up your tools to avoid scratching the lip. Also use thread locker on the end of the bolt to prevent the nuts backing off (just a drop on the end is enough).
The steps that I followed to assemble it were:
1. Place some tape along the sections/near the bolt holes so you can mark what’s been tightened as you go along.
2. Place one bolt in each of the five sections and then lightly tighten enough so the face presses in flat.
3. One bolt per section at a time in a star pattern, place a drop of thread locker on the end of the bolt then carefully tighten via the head of the bolt to 18ft/lb. Repeat until all the bolts are in.
4. Go back over the bolts in a star pattern (marking along the tape with a texta as you go to help not lose track) and torque them to 20ft/lb
5. Repeat again until all bolts are at 22ft-lb
6. Reward yourself with a beverage.
As much dish as I can sort of fit with my stock body rear guards, 0 degree camber and a face to clear the GTR rear brembos.
I was recommended the trick of using masking tape to help achieve a clean bead. A messy bead is more likely to fail and leave you with a flat tyre. Also note I didn’t weld the wheels back together. Up to you if you want to or not.
Don’t forget to pop on a classic movie while assembling everything.
Ta da. Nice and clean bead. I used Sikaflex 227 black as I also needed it for sticking my indicator back onto my fender.
And done. Let it cure for 24h before getting tyres fitted.
Some photos mounted up.
The fitment is quite tight but everything still seems to clear even under squat. The edge of the tyre was juuuust rubbing the fender, but once that was gone it was all good. I stuck with my usual tyre sizes of 215/40/17 and 235/40/18.
This post ended up with more words than expected which I also wrote at 4am so hopefully it’s not too painful to read.
As much dish as I can sort of fit with my stock body rear guards, 0 degree camber and a face to clear the GTR rear brembos.
I was recommended the trick of using masking tape to help achieve a clean bead. A messy bead is more likely to fail and leave you with a flat tyre. Also note I didn’t weld the wheels back together. Up to you if you want to or not.
Don’t forget to pop on a classic movie while assembling everything.
Ta da. Nice and clean bead. I used Sikaflex 227 black as I also needed it for sticking my indicator back onto my fender.
And done. Let it cure for 24h before getting tyres fitted.
Some photos mounted up.
The fitment is quite tight but everything still seems to clear even under squat. The edge of the tyre was juuuust rubbing the fender, but once that was gone it was all good. I stuck with my usual tyre sizes of 215/40/17 and 235/40/18.
This post ended up with more words than expected which I also wrote at 4am so hopefully it’s not too painful to read.
Dope.. About to tackle the same job for my VSKF's...
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