i went out to the wrecking yard to look for some more B3 front struts and found a pair, so i will probably have some struts converted to 5 lug tonight and be waiting for installation

derracuda wrote:ok! big update. after someone pooh pooh'd me on AOL saying that people have been using A4 hubs for years, appearantly since before i was born... to do 5 lug swaps on B3's, a new solution for my 5 lug swaps has been uncovered to me,
B3 struts that use the 75mm wheel bearing
5ktq hub
4kq rear wheel bearing
this will kill many birds with one stone.
#1. swap to 5lugs
#2. allow use of a strut with an easily obtainable 19mm ball joint
#3. allow use of the older through spline axles with the larger axle shaft and inner CV
#4. allow me to keep about 10mm of wheel clearance since the B3 strut doesn't have so much offset.
#5. allow me to retain the stock 4kq steering arms.
#6. the b3 strut housing is a good deal lighter than the 5ktq
as for brakes, i bolted the A4 rotor and caliper to the B3 strut and they fit beautifully, so the brakes are covered![]()
this is soo cool because i either haven't been looking in the right places or something. but this whole 5lug swap just got easier,cheaper, and giving more tire/wheel space!

derracuda wrote:ok, there's a new catch. the 5ktq hub doesn't have the exact same offset as the 75mm bearing'd B3 hub.... so the hub sits further in...hmm, gonna have to play with this some more. now the 5ktq hub almost touches the spindle and the rotor now sits further in by what appears to be about 5mm *scratches head*









now the hub sits back out about where it should be.








a4kquattro wrote:lol, I like the 'washers' under your lug bolts :-P
that's a trick my dad taught me a long time ago. it saves threading the wheel bolts all the way in whether you're doing a test or trying to get the rotor to stay in place while you get the caliper/carrier back in place if it's been taken off.