enlarging register holes on wheels

[Bill55AZ]

I have determined that later Ranger/Explorer wheels can be used on older Mopars to get 16" wheels without going to the aftermarket sources. The aftermarket wheels are too pricey for good ones, and the cheaper ones have lots of weights welded on the inside, telling me that the manufacturing process is sloppy if they have to balance them with a lot of weights.
The Ferd 16x7 wheels have 12mm offset which gives a 4.5" backspace, pretty much the limit for old Mopars.
Only issue is, the center hole for Ferds is 2 5/8" and Mopar is 2 3/4". JC whitney sells a ridge reamer that works in the 2" to 3" range, would that work? I asked a machine shop about this and they said that they would do aluminum but not steel.

[cowboy]

Bill if they cut the center lip out the steel wheel will crack , from the lip to the lug holes , after only a few miles , we had to do once on a boat trailer ,

[Bill55AZ]

I wonder how they do it on lip-less wheels, like steel trailer wheels.

[wideblock]

the stamped center wheels are stronger by design on trailer wheels and such. daves right, you loose the center bead your asking for trouble. i have a spare wheel here, chevy 8 lug with the center machined out to clear the dodge hub. i have hair line cracks starting to form from the one time i used it. but, i would think you could ream the hole out, and weld in a 1/8" to 1/4" lip around the hole and be alright. but a 4.5" back space is too deep. youll hit the steering arm when you turn.

[oneowner71]

2 types of wheels... hub centric and "stud-centric (?)"... anyway, some use the center hole for support and centering, some use the studs and the tapered lug nuts. I'd be careful cutting the rims, but we're not talking about a lot of materials.

[nfury8]

Lug-Centric