Alcoas

W

wayne nesbitt

New member
Mar 15, 2000
121
0
0
I think I have myself convinced to buy Alcoas. But which ones????
I am thinking of ordering seven # 160232.

Is there a better choice? I haven't checked any of them out closely nor
followed discussion on them because I didn't plan on buying.

I see on close inspection I have been riding on 1973 Firestone wheels which
it has been said are not up to par for radials but I haven't heard of a
Firestone wheel failing. I have never had cracks or air loss but for piece
of mind I guess I will change them. I am reluctant because I have three new
16.5 x 9.50 all steel tires. Two Goodyear G159 and a Bridgestone 260. All
with about 5000 mi on them from the Albuquerque rally last year. ANY ONE
INTERESTED in the tires???
These tires are balanced with EQUAL powder and run without vibration at all
speeds. They have never been run under pressured.

I would appreciate any comments on the Alcoas including the nut and finish
hardware numbers to order. What is the AL6 listed on the GMC parts site?
There isn't a picture.

Why would anyone order a # 160232 if it isn't polished? Just to save a
couple of bucks. There must be more to it than that.
TIA for all help.
I guess Southwest Wheel has the best price.
I am also looking for seven Brigestones. Are there any recent buys at a good
price. The one I bought last year in Canada cost me $ 133 US. I will
probably get my Alcoas in the US so may as well get tires shipped to me in
New York state as well.

TIA for all help.
 
I see from the various GMC sites that reference is made to two different
part nos. for Alcoa center caps -003611 & 001611.
Are they different. Is one of the nos. wrong.

Does anyone have experience with Alex Sirum's customized center caps. Fit
and appearance? It seems to me they have the GMC logo on them but It has
been years since he showed me them.
 
Wayne,

You can see the web deal at:
http://www.web-access.net/~bmassey/AlcoaWheelDeal.html Darrick knows what
you need.

I ordered the 232's myself, saved a whopping $50.00. (not the real reason)

What I was facing, is I wanted to bring my coach home, but it had an
interesting mix of steel wheels and 10 year old rotting tires on it. And I
was planning on buying Alcoa's anyways. When I called Darrick, it was a 3
week wait for 231's, but the 232's were in stock. So I figured for a can of
polish and some elbow grease, I would have the Alcoa's, 6 new steel tires,
with the coach home in less than 1 week. As it turned out, I ordered the
wheels on a Tuesday, got them on Wednesday, mounted tires on Saturday and
brought the beast home on Sunday. And in about 10 minutes of polishing, I
had nice shiny wheels!

P.S. Shipping was standard UPS ground, nice being only 180 miles from them!

YMMV!!!

Chuck Esh
74 Sequoia
Georgetown, Tx

- ----- Original Message -----
From: "Wayne Nesbitt"
To:
Sent: Thursday, July 06, 2000 7:54 PM
Subject: GMC: Alcoas

> I think I have myself convinced to buy Alcoas. But which ones????
> I am thinking of ordering seven # 160232.
>
> Is there a better choice? I haven't checked any of them out closely nor
> followed discussion on them because I didn't plan on buying.
>
> I see on close inspection I have been riding on 1973 Firestone wheels
which
> it has been said are not up to par for radials but I haven't heard of a
> Firestone wheel failing. I have never had cracks or air loss but for piece
> of mind I guess I will change them. I am reluctant because I have three
new
> 16.5 x 9.50 all steel tires. Two Goodyear G159 and a Bridgestone 260. All
> with about 5000 mi on them from the Albuquerque rally last year. ANY ONE
> INTERESTED in the tires???
> These tires are balanced with EQUAL powder and run without vibration at
all
> speeds. They have never been run under pressured.
>
> I would appreciate any comments on the Alcoas including the nut and finish
> hardware numbers to order. What is the AL6 listed on the GMC parts site?
> There isn't a picture.
>
> Why would anyone order a # 160232 if it isn't polished? Just to save a
> couple of bucks. There must be more to it than that.
> TIA for all help.
> I guess Southwest Wheel has the best price.
> I am also looking for seven Brigestones. Are there any recent buys at a
good
> price. The one I bought last year in Canada cost me $ 133 US. I will
> probably get my Alcoas in the US so may as well get tires shipped to me in
> New York state as well.
>
> TIA for all help.
>
>
 
>I see from the various GMC sites that reference is made to two different
>part nos. for Alcoa center caps -003611 & 001611.
>Are they different. Is one of the nos. wrong.
>
>Does anyone have experience with Alex Sirum's customized center caps. Fit
>and appearance? It seems to me they have the GMC logo on them but It has
>been years since he showed me them.

Wayne - I'm not sure but it might just be the color. Some have a
black Alcoa logo in the center and some have a blue logo. Some have
even pulled out the logos so that the center is chrome with no logo.

The ones that I got were 003611 and had the black logo.

Emery Stora
77 Kingsley
Santa Fe, NM
 
>I see from the various GMC sites that reference is made to two different
>part nos. for Alcoa center caps -003611 & 001611.
>Are they different. Is one of the nos. wrong.
>
>Does anyone have experience with Alex Sirum's customized center caps. Fit
>and appearance? It seems to me they have the GMC logo on them but It has
>been years since he showed me them.

Wayne - forgot to reply to the second part of your message. Alex's
caps are flat where the Alcoa's are dished out. With Alex's cap you
have to remove the dust caps from your wheel hubs. Several people
are using them but I have some concerns about water and dust getting
up into the hubs by the bearings, especially the rear wheels.

Emery Stora
77 Kingsley
Santa Fe, NM
 
Emery:

I hate to say it, but I use no caps on my rear wheels, as I prefer seeing the
"black" circle formed by the void between the inner dust cap and the Alcoa wheel
center opening. To me, it coordinates with the color of the tire sidewalls.
Fourth year since I put on the Alcoa wheels. No problems.

Paul Bartz

From: owner-gmcmotorhome
[mailto:owner-gmcmotorhome]On Behalf Of Emery L. Stora
Sent: Thursday, July 06, 2000 11:36 PM

>I see from the various GMC sites that reference is made to two different
>part nos. for Alcoa center caps -003611 & 001611.
>Are they different. Is one of the nos. wrong.
>
>Does anyone have experience with Alex Sirum's customized center caps. Fit
>and appearance? It seems to me they have the GMC logo on them but It has
>been years since he showed me them.

Wayne - forgot to reply to the second part of your message. Alex's
caps are flat where the Alcoa's are dished out. With Alex's cap you
have to remove the dust caps from your wheel hubs. Several people
are using them but I have some concerns about water and dust getting
up into the hubs by the bearings, especially the rear wheels.
 
Thanks to all those that responded directly on the subject as well as
Sirum's caps. I appreciate it.

What are the negatives with respect to Alcoas other than these:
1. Cracking recall - Hopefully no more
2. Expensive
3. A little more work to clean polish and seal.
4. Less forgiving around curbs and road debris.
5. Harder to set and keep wheel weights on. Hope to use Equal
6. Subject to pitting in tire seal area if exposed to salt.

Anything else from long time users especially.
Does anyone know if Equal is compatible with the aluminum for sure?
I have used it with my steel wheels and have been impressed.
Is there a problem with the lug nuts wearing the centre cap when they are
tightened down repeatedly with tire rotation etc.?
 
Can someone tell me how much if any of the stud protrudes from the Alcoa lug
nut when installed on the Alcoa Classic wheels. I am getting ready to set up
an appointment for installation and it has occurred to me that I had one
brake drum restuded many years ago in Phoenix where I couldn't get OEM
studs. I went with some very close but a little shorter. They are OK for the
steel wheels but it seems to me I heard the Alcoas needed more stud length.
I need to fix this first if so.
Thanks
Wayne
 
None of the stud protrudes the Alcoa lug nut. If you've got shorter than
OEM studs, install longer ones before mounting the new wheels. I'd get
about 1/4" longer than OEM if it were me.

hth
bdub

>Can someone tell me how much if any of the stud protrudes from the Alcoa lug
>nut when installed on the Alcoa Classic wheels. I am getting ready to set up
>an appointment for installation and it has occurred to me that I had one
>brake drum restuded many years ago in Phoenix where I couldn't get OEM
>studs. I went with some very close but a little shorter. They are OK for the
>steel wheels but it seems to me I heard the Alcoas needed more stud length.
>I need to fix this first if so.
>Thanks
>Wayne
 
On Wed, 12 Jul 2000 01:04:22 -0400 "Wayne Nesbitt"

> Can someone tell me how much if any of the stud protrudes from the
> Alcoa lug
> nut when installed on the Alcoa Classic wheels. I am getting ready
> to set up
> an appointment for installation and it has occurred to me that I had
> one
> brake drum restuded many years ago in Phoenix where I couldn't get
> OEM
> studs. I went with some very close but a little shorter. They are OK
> for the
> steel wheels but it seems to me I heard the Alcoas needed more stud
> length.
> I need to fix this first if so.
> Thanks
> Wayne
>
None of my studs extend beyond the nut.

David Lee Greenberg
The GMC Motorhome Registry
Dedicated To The Preservation of the Classic GMC Motorhome
http://www.GMCss.com/Registry.htm
http://www.Buskirk-RushRV/GMC-Registry/online-registry.htm
 
Here is some poop

http://www.gmcmotorhome.com/tech/alcoa_wheels/index.html

http://www.gmcmotorhome.com/tech/alcoa_wheels/index.html

http://www.california.com/~eagle/wheels.html

gene

>In a message dated 7/6/2000 7:56:54 PM Central Daylight Time,

>
> I am thinking of ordering seven # 160232.
> >>
>
>I don't have the part #'s handy, but you want the ones with the round
holes -
>not the triangles - for the GMC (about 200# more load capacity).
>
>Lanier
>Jackson, Mississippi
>FMCA # 37894
>'73 GMC Excalibur
>'29 Mercedes SSK Roadster
>'94 Geo Tracker (BN TOAD)
>
>
>He is no fool who will give
>what he cannot keep to
>gain what he cannot lose.
>
Genef -- 77PB/ore/ca
GMC MOTORHOME INFORMATION
mr.erf
http://www.california.com/~eagle/
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Get your shine on at www.cruzingear.co
Applied GMC

Share this page

Share this page
Top Bottom
Back