4 hole vs. 8 hole

Dutch_12078 wrote:

IAMICHABOD wrote:

What you want is solid extenders,The best on the market,that are the original,are Tire Man.

The Tire-Man products are replacement valve stems like the Dually Valves, not "extenders". The tires must be removed from the RV and broken loose from the rims to install them.

So sorry professor,the semantics were wrong! it should read,solid extended Valve Stems I have changed it for you :B

IAMICHABOD wrote:

What you want is solid extenders,The best on the market,that are the original,are Tire Man.

The Tire-Man products are replacement valve stems like the Dually Valves, not "extenders". The tires must be removed from the RV and broken loose from the rims to install them.

The 8 hole was introduced in 1992 and later.

Do Not use braided extenders they will leak and if they fail it can lead to catastrophic tire loss.

What you want is solid extended Valve Stems,The best on the market,that are the original,are Tire Man.

Chuck is the original designer of these an he has been around for years. If you have any questions just give him a call, he is always happy to help. Any others are just cheap reproductions of the original.

The kit looks like This it is for all 6 wheels,they also come with flow-thru valve caps so you don't even need to take then off to check the pressure.

Here is a list of all the products he sells.

They are compatible with all Tire monitor systems.

I don't think there's a functional difference. I think 8's came in with the 1992 re-style, and I think only MoHo's got them. They're called "hand holes" for things like air service. The 4's will allow a little access by many adults. The 8's might allow an infant to reach in there, but then what's s/he going to do in there. Fleets would't accept them. Somebody figured 8's either looked better or MoHo buyers wouldn't miss the functionality of 4's.
I think Ford had a beef with the suppliers of 8's and simply dropped them, putting 4's on everything.
Either way, just install Dually Valves. Much nicer with 4's and essential with 8's. They work with or without caps/covers/simulators.

Removing my wheel covers adds at most a minute to any tire work where they're in the way. Like many, they're only held in place by two stud extenders threaded on the portion of two opposing wheel lugs that extend beyond the actual wheel lug. The 'T'-bar wrench for the covers that came with the coach spins the two chrome capped nuts off quickly, followed by the adapters after the covers are pulled off. Of course, if the "shiny covers" are too difficult to manage, you could always leave them off.

I have the four holes. The tire shop where I got new back tires has only one guy in their gang that has small enough hands to get his in there. (I don't know if all tire shops make sure they have at least one guy who can do that--or hire women to do it)

The manager said they hate MHs because of the shiny wheel cover on the back with the holes that are too small. Of course "they" made it so the shiny cover uses the same lugs as the actual wheels, so you can't just remove the shiny cover. Those wheel lugs are no fun.

Another time, I had an extension with a crack in it and the inner tire went flat. What a time that was. I found out all about dealing with MH duallies with a flat up close and personal.
Phooey on that. :(

Styling. Same reason wheels for similar size vehicles come in 4 spoke, 5 spoke, 6 spoke, and more spoke designs.

Yes, the open holes in the side of the rim, not the lug nut holes.

I believe Tarnold is asking about the open holes in the rim, not the stud holes.
I don’t have the answer, but I see some 18 wheelers running rims with just 2 holes, on 22.5 rims

tarnold wrote:
Ok, let's just skip the obvious. What is the difference in Ford 16" steel wheels that have 4 larger holes vs 8 holes. Airing? Running braided extenders?

The difference in the number of holes and sizes of holes in wheels has to do with the weight the axle is carrying vs the torque the engineer decided should be used holding the wheel onto that axle.

The more the nuts there are, the lower the torque there can be on each individual lug nut. It's a design trade off in many cases. Meaning it could go either way.

So the designer wasn't to much concerned about airing the tire or extensions for airing but rather weight the wheel could safely carry and overall road safety.