Unwelding disks: what is it, pros and cons, how to do it yourself. Unwelding on a VAZ - what is it and how to do it? How to make welds

It's no secret that every motorist tries to make his car bright and stand out. One way is to weld the disk yourself. Anyone can cope with this matter if they know the specifics of the operation and its purpose.

Runout is again assessed in two ways. You can do it by eye, but in this case you can only assess the presence of a beat. You can use a ruler. The amount of runout is measured - for which the ruler is applied both horizontally and vertically. If the runout does not exceed 1-2 mm, then it is considered normal. If the runout exceeds 2 mm in any of the planes, it is recommended to correct the “stamping” using special equipment.

The “stamping” that is most even is used as the basis. It is recommended to mark it immediately to avoid confusion later. As for the second “stamping”, it will become the rim.

We are starting the second stage of work. Using a grinder, I cut the outer rim from the second “stamping”. We cut the main one in the area of ​​the outer rim to the inside, preferably closer to the middle. After which the rim is removed and thrown away. It's no longer needed. As a result, the following picture is obtained: from the second “stamping” only the inner rim remains, which becomes the outer one on the base stamping.

We put the stamping base on the hub rear axle, fix it with nuts and then put on what is left of the second disk. We align the second rim relative to the first, eliminating runout. We weld in several places where the cuts were made.

Now take the joint sealant and apply it to the center of the boiled disc. This is done, of course, before painting. We wait until the sealant hardens and remove excess with sandpaper or a chisel. Then painting.

The second method of welding disks

Now let's talk about how to make welding discs using the second method. It's a little different from the first one. In this case, one “stamping” is sawn into two parts. After this, a metal strip is welded into the middle. This method is more economical than the first, because you only need one set.

A metal strip 3 mm thick must be cut evenly and its width must be selected in advance. Then the strip must be bent with special rollers. The part of the disk that remains with the hub is welded together with a metal strip.

After this, the second half of the disk from the side of the metal strip is also grabbed. All seams are thoroughly welded so that the disc does not suddenly move. If it is possible to carry out automatic welding of a rotating part, then this is better. Thus, the boiled disk will become noticeably stronger.

Now you need to clean the seams, preferably on a lathe. It is also advisable to roll the discs before painting in order to be sure of their correct geometry.

Final stage - . It is best to paint with a powder composition. On the side where the disc is hidden from view, it is better to make an additional weld for reinforcement. The disk is ready and assembled without a chamber and holds pressure perfectly. If you do install a camera, then use a drill to drill a hole in the disk for the nipple in advance. First, drill with a small drill (size 4/5 is suitable), and then the hole is enlarged to the desired size.

It is better to entrust the rolling of disks, which is mandatory, because this method tests the resistance of the disk to loads and the quality of the seam, to specialists.

Some motorists also coat it with varnish to make it look even cooler. Here it is as everyone wishes. Here everything will depend on individual preferences. We hope that this article will be useful and will allow you to weld the disks yourself without any problems.

Recently, cars with very wide wheels - unwelded wheels - have begun to appear on the roads more and more often. This invention came to us from the West, and in a short time gained popularity among domestic cars lovers.

Making such discs in specialized workshops is not a cheap pleasure. Therefore, more and more owners of domestic cars are thinking about how to make welding joints with their own hands. So, what are the newfangled “sneakers” for the car? What do you need to know to make them yourself?

What are weldings and what are they for?

Unwelding - wheels of increased width. Welding joints are made from two factory stamped disks. At the same time, the width of the shelf of such a product is practically unlimited and can reach 10-12 inches (25-30 cm). In specialized services, the production of a product is carried out by sawing a disk lengthwise and welding a strip of metal between the two halves.

As for tires, such wheels, as a rule, are fitted with standard “rubber”, installing it in a “house”. It is generally accepted that such an installation provides additional advantages to welding.

However, the real reason for installing standard tires on a widened disk usually lies in the too high cost of “rubber” suitable for welding in size. Thus, 1 cylinder of rubber for unwelding a VAZ-2106 can compete in cost with the price of the car itself. A set of such tires usually covers this cost.

When it comes to why welding is needed, fans of newfangled tuning usually say that the car is on welding:

• holds the road better;
• looks stylish;
• has better handling;
• increases in price when sold;
• Unwelding on a gazelle can be used instead of a rear “sparkling” wheel.

In reality, all of the above is quite controversial and does not stand up to expert criticism. The negative qualities of welding include:

• rapid tire wear;
• risk of destruction of welded seams when the vehicle moves;
• an increase in rolling resistance, which leads to an increase in fuel consumption and indirectly increased wear of suspension components, engine, gearbox;
• claims from technical control services and traffic police;
• increase in braking distance due to failure of the factory settings of the braking system.

Actually, everyone decides for himself the question of why welding is needed. The answer depends on what goals the car owner sets for himself. However, how to expand disks with your own hands?

Independent production of welding joints

It is not difficult to make welding joints for a VAZ with your own hands. To do this you will need a garage and a minimum set of tools:

1. Angle grinder with metal discs;
2. welding machine, preferably semi-automatic;
3. hammer;
4. tape measure or ruler;
5. 2 stamped discs for each weld.

They begin to boil the discs by sawing them in half. One of the disks is sawed along the edge of the inner shelf, removing only its edge. The second is by removing the inside and leaving the shelf intact. Next, the surfaces are ground, after which the resulting halves are connected to each other, putting one on top of the other, and welded with a continuous seam. Particular attention should be paid to the quality of the weld, otherwise the welded disk may fall apart when hitting a hole or unevenness.

Depending on the qualifications of the craftsman and the available equipment, making welds using this method can take from one to several days. There is also an analog way to make welding car rims, requiring only one “stamping” to produce one disk of increased width.

In this case, the disk is sawed along the edge of the shelf, after which a rounded strip of metal of the required width is welded into the middle. A disk made in this way is usually less reliable than one that took two “stamps” to produce.

Unwelding from a legal point of view

From the point of view of law enforcement agencies, a boiled rim on a car is a change in its design. Such changes, regardless of whether it is a Niva with welding joints or a foreign car, require technical expertise. During the latter, experts check how safe the changes made are. The likelihood that widened wheels, not supported by modified suspension and appropriate tires, will be considered safe tends to zero.

Having installed welding joints on a VAZ-2107 or any other domestic car, you should be prepared for the fact that traffic police officers will issue a fine of five hundred rubles every day or ban the operation of the problematic car.

In addition, it will be impossible to re-register or deregister your vehicle. Such changes can be hidden only if the owner changes the wheels to standard ones before visiting the traffic police department.

Unwelding refers to an increase in the size of the disk, due to which vehicle looks different, takes on a new look. You can boil ordinary factory wheels, which are known among motorists as “stampings”. To increase the size, you can use several methods to make welding discs with your own hands. The article describes the most popular ones, which are available at home with your own hands.

To make a disk with your own hands you will need grinder, seam sealant and welding machine. The process itself involves welding two rim strips to each other or by inserting a metal expansion plate.

What are the welding methods?

If you have everything at hand necessary tools, then you can easily make new disks yourself, others can turn to a specialist for help.

In addition to the two main methods of welding discs, which will be described below, car owners also use rarer ones, which are more difficult to perform and it is better to start working only if you have the necessary experience.

With the first method, you need to have not four, but eight stampings, four of which will be used as donors for expansion. The discs are cut lengthwise and then welded together again using these donors.

The second welding method involves using a metal strip, the thickness of which can be 2.5-4 millimeters.

What extension is allowed

Factory wheels have standard size- 6.5 J in width. Once the expansion is done, this figure can increase to 8-10J. The final width is not limited by anything, only by the imagination of the car owner and the characteristics of the vehicle. The resulting updated spare parts must fit into the arches under the wing of the car, this is the main condition that must be met, but even here you can cheat and roll out the arch, if this is permissible.

Important! Before making welds, it is necessary to calculate the final width and overhang, otherwise problems may arise with the subsequent installation of the product. Choosing the width is not so easy, because the rubber comes in a much narrower size, so it must be soft. It is also worth remembering that the increased width of the disk affects the track width of the vehicle, and therefore the stability of the vehicle. Particular attention should be paid to the quality of the weld, on which safety on the road and tires, which can behave unpredictably in a critical situation, will depend.

Use of "donors"

In the first case, to create a weld rims,we will need donor disks from which we will take the missing width. As a rule, used parts are used in the process.

To work at home we will need:

• welding;
• grinder with attachments;
• sealant;
• drill with drill bit 4/5 and 10/11.

Before you start welding the discs, you need to prepare the spare parts, namely, look for any irregularities and remove them. The easiest way to evaluate the ideal surface is to clamp the car hub in a vice, install the spare part on it and turn it over.

When assessing the level of runout, know that a figure in the region of two millimeters can be considered acceptable; if it is more, then the stamping must be corrected on the equipment. If he is not at home, then use the services of a specialist, but you should not neglect this stage in welding the discs, otherwise the car’s handling on the road may suffer.

After checking, the second part begins - cutting off the outer rim of the disk, which is carried out to the inner part closer to the middle. The illustrative example below shows the cutting process well schematically.

We won't need this rim, so we can remove it. The remaining rim will become the outer rim for the other part. We put it on the rear axle hub and fix it. Only after this we put on the second cut part.

It is important to properly align both halves of the welding joint relative to each other and eliminate runout. By welding we make several tacks at the places of the cuts. You can see more details about this method in the video.

Only now we will need the sealant, which is applied to the center. After complete drying, excess material is removed with sandpaper and, as a final step, painting begins.

Extension using a metal hoop

This method has several distinctive features, the main of which is the use of metal strip as an expander.

The first thing we do is saw the spare part into two equal halves. The main advantage of this welding method is its cost-effectiveness. To work, you only need one set of disks and a metal plate from which you can weld a hoop.

The thickness of the material must be at least 3 millimeters, the width is selected in advance. It is important to ensure that the strip is level. The metal is bent using a special roller.

The process of cutting into the rim is well demonstrated schematically in the figure below:

The part on which the hub will remain is connected to a strip of metal by welding.

Important! All seams must be welded thoroughly so that the car does not sway or lose control while driving. It is best to weld the parts together using automatic welding, which guarantees additional strength of the product. Additional welding seams on the side of the product where it is hidden from view will also increase the strength of the structure.

At the second stage of production, we clean the seams. It is better to have special turning equipment on hand for such work. Experts advise, before installing corrected parts on a vehicle, to do additional rolling in order to be completely sure that the geometry, which has a special impact on the quality of driving, is observed.

The last and final stage of creating a weld is painting the disc itself.. It is best to use powder formulations.

Such welding joints, created at home, are perfectly assembled and are able to withstand the required pressure. They may be without a camera, but if one is installed, then a hole for the nipple must be drilled in the design of the new disk. This should be done first with a small drill, and then enlarged to the desired size.

Rolling is a must. If you don’t know what it is and how to do it, it’s better to trust the professionals or watch the video

To make the car look even more impressive, you can coat the products with varnish over the paint.

Among tuning enthusiasts, dewelds are becoming more and more popular. It is no secret that a car with wide wheels looks more interesting and beautiful; it is this factor that forces car owners (primarily domestic ones) to resort to making wide rims. What are weldings, why and how they are made will be discussed in this publication.

Why are weldings needed?

Development is largely considered one of the components that provide an impressive result when performed, during which the car body acquires a stylish appearance, which goes well with the lowered suspension.

First of all, I would like to note that unwelding is the cheapest way to put your car on wide wheels. Unwelding can be made from a kit standard disks. Take, for example, a wheel with a width of 6.5 inches; after alteration, its width can be increased to 10 inches, and the changed size can be such that it would allow the wheel to rotate freely in the arch of the car body. In some cases, fans of extreme tuning, for the sake of wide wheels, are even ready to sacrifice car fenders, cutting them out along with the arches.

How to make welding joints with your own hands

There are a few welding technology, but before you start making them yourself, you must remember that even the smallest inaccuracy during welding rim may make it impossible to balance such a wheel in the future.

• And so, one of the options for making welding looks like this. is cut along the edges, after which a strip is welded between the sawn inner and outer parts, the width of which will depend on the planned width of the weld.
• In the second option for making welds, standard wheel rims are cut in certain places, after which these parts are welded. I would like to note that this method requires twice as many rims, but at the same time, the quality of such welding will be much higher.
• Well, the third method of making welding can be called the most expensive, which requires much more time and expense. Changes in the disk occur not only in the outer parts, but also in the inner parts. Also, with this combined method of making welding, it is possible to change the hub part of the wheel rim.

How much does it cost to make a welding

Currently, those who want to install wide wheels on their car can buy unwelding or order their production from small companies that allow the customer to realize all his fantasies regarding wheel tuning for a small fee. Manufacturing cost welding on VAZ of used 13-inch wheels will not exceed $200. Also, products can be painted in different colors for an additional fee. The price of welding discs for foreign-made cars will be slightly higher and will cost the customer at least $300. Also, at the customer’s request, the manufacturer of welding discs can produce high-quality powder coating of their products. The price for such a service will depend on the size of the wheel rim and the quality of the paint used.

Every happy owner iron horse dreams of making it better, more attractive, more functional and, in general, making it stand out among a large number of analogues. One of these methods is unwelding disks.

If you follow certain technologies, rules, know a few secrets and be patient, you can do the welding yourself, which we will talk about in this article.

1. What is welding

For those who are encountering such terminology for the first time, it’s worth sorting everything out. So, unwelding or in other words, stamping is a slang name for expanded steel wheels, with the help of which a completely new look is created for any car.

In other words, boil disk- this means increasing its width. Unweldings have this name because of the process of their manufacture. So, disks sawn and then welded, but with additional inserts. This tuning is popular with both owners domestic cars, as it is an inexpensive alternative wide wheels, and for owners of modern and exclusive cars. The latter rather use this tuning as a tribute to fashion.

2. What width should the weld be made?

In most cases, the width of the weld depends on the personal preferences and needs of the car owner. If you make the rims very wide, you will then need to roll them out, trim the wheel arches, and install special extenders.

As an example, a 13-inch disk can be maximally expanded by another 7 inches. It is also worth remembering that only steel wheels can be welded. Some stamping wheels may be suitable for cars different brands and models.

And remember that welding can be done with your own hands if you have a welding machine and a responsible approach to work. Poorly manufactured wide stampings simply will not lend themselves to further balancing.

3. Starting materials

So, in order to make welding with your own hands, you will need a certain arsenal of equipment and the ability to use it, including two steel disks, an angle grinder with replaceable disks, a welding machine and a drill with nozzles 4 or 5, 10 or 11.

Before you begin, you should additionally check the functionality of all tools. Depending on the manufacturing method, you may also need sheets of metal for welding. An additional, but optional material will be sealant.

4. Design features

Stampings are easy to manufacture and much cheaper than alloy wheels. Their main feature is their impressive weight. Also, before starting the welding process, it is worth checking the disks. It is best when they are new and exclude the presence of deformations, but most often the welds are made from used discs.

In case of irregularities, they must be eliminated, since further work depends entirely on the condition of the disk itself.

5. Security

The safety lies in the fact that driving on unwelded wheels is different from driving on standard wheels. You need to be prepared for the fact that when you fall into a hole or drive at high speed, maneuverability changes and it will take time to get used to it.

It is also worth paying attention to tires installed for unwelding. They tend to change their characteristics, so the driver needs to be careful and extremely vigilant at first.

6. Step by step procedures

Having made sure that you have everything you need and are prepared, you can begin to unweld the disk. There are several ways of such tuning.

Method No. 1. It consists in selecting the most even disk that will serve as the base (first) and the disk that will serve as the rim (second). The rim from the second disk is cut off with a grinder. Next, the first disc is cut in the place of the outer rim closer to the middle; the rim from the first disc is no longer needed. Now, it is logical that these two parts need to be connected.

The first disc is mounted on the rear axle hub and fixed. A second disk is installed on it, and it is important to align and adjust it relative to the base. Previously made cuts are welded welding machine. After welding, you can apply sealant to the seams, and then start painting.

Method number 2. This method is more economical than the first, since it only requires one disk and a sheet of metal. So, the stamping disk is cut in half. Next, we move on to preparing the metal strip (3 mm thick), and the width is also selected in advance. The strip must be cut straight and then welded to the part of the disk that is with the hub. The next step is to weld the remaining part of the disk to the metal strip. Using this method, it is better to use automatic welding. The final steps are to clean the seams, roll the wheels and start painting.

There is also a combined method, when part of the disk with the hub and the remaining part are swapped. This method is the most labor-intensive and time-consuming, but does not change the essence.

Thus, after making a few competent movements, you can make welding joints with your own hands.

7. Sealing

Sealing refers to welding seams. Firstly, it is necessary so that the disk does not allow air to pass through, and secondly, so that the seams do not damage the camera. For tubeless use, sealing is mandatory. It is necessary to seal the seam, which is located in the middle part of the weld.

Sealing occurs before painting. After the sealant has dried, unnecessary parts are removed using sandpaper. In any case, the weld seam should be smooth. The sealant itself can be purchased at any automotive supply store.

8. Painting

The final stage of making welding with your own hands is painting disk. The powder composition is considered to be the best for painting. Of course, before you start painting, you need to clean the disc and degrease its surface. After that you need to apply a primer, and only after that start applying paint. It is best to apply several layers of paint. Now you should wait until the paint is completely dry and apply a protective varnish. This way the coating will last a long time. It is important to roll the discs before painting and eliminate runout.

On the one hand, making welding with your own hands seems as easy as shelling pears and any car owner without any engineering skills can handle it. But if you look from the other side, this is a change in the factory settings of the car’s suspension. Of course, you need to do balancing after the wide rims are fully installed, but this will not change the accelerated wear of the car.

Opinions regarding the use of welds are divided into categorical “against” and the same categorical “for”. Those who are “against” believe that welding joints lose reliability, maneuverability and increase fuel consumption and load on chassis car. But those who are in favor insist that this type of disc was not so long ago used for tuning racing cars, so it cannot be unreliable and unsafe. One way or another, until you try it yourself, you probably won’t be able to find out who is right. One thing can be stated unequivocally: the main thing is to do everything wisely and “conscientiously.”