Some of you may remember waaaay back in November I bought a set of Center Line Hell Cats for my truck from National Tire & Wheel. They were absolutely the cobbiest wheels I've ever owned. Full of porosity, polished by an amateur's amateur and so much back spacing (5") the wheel weights were marking the steering knuckles.

Well, I tried over and over to get something to replace them from NT&W with zero success. Only because they were limited in their selection. Mark was the fellow I dealt with through e-mails and phone calls. I must say he did make an honest effort. I finally asked him to send a call tag to pick these up. He did, and said he would credit my card when he received the wheels. Which, I thought was fair.

I ordered a set of Weld Sidewinders with the optional cone caps from 4wheel Parts Wholesalers. They arrived today. There is absolutely no comparison. I paid about $225 a wheel when you add in the caps. $50 more per wheel than the Hell Cats, and couldn't be happier! Using the Sidewinders as a guage and assuming they are worth what I paid. I would have to say the Hell Cats are worth about $60 each. And I'm being nice.

Apparently NT&W is going to have to eat the Center Lines. The people at Center Line were being real jerks. They effectively refused to even try to make things right. But that's OK. I'll be "advertizing" for them every chance I get! It's a good thing for me NT&W didn't have the same attitude. Or else, I could see this thing dragging out for a much longer period of time.

So anyway, I'm happy as a clam. I'll try to get some pics on my site soon. I'll probably wait 'til after the truck is painted at the first of June, so it will look extra spiffy! Of course, I plan on leaving the pics of the Hell Craps, I mean Hell Cats on there for everyone to see.

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98 F-150 XLT 4X4 ORP Super Cab Short Bed, 4.6, Auto, 4.10's, Mag-Hytec diff. cover, Magnacharger supercharger, K&N FIPK, Superchip, Gibson single cat-back, 80/100w German head lamps, 80w amber fog lamps, Warn HS9500i winch with semi hidden mount, Wrangler dual battery kit with red & yellow top Optima batteries, 285/75R16 Goodyear MT/R's, 16x8 Center Line Hell Cats (JUNK WHEELS), Rancho RSX shocks, B&M deep aluminum trans pan, Rhino bedliner. Needs one more door.
http://hometown.aol.com/ninetyeightfword

 

Great choice of new wheels!!! This is my second set of Welds and have always been happy with them. Just keep them clean and waxed.

Scott

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97 F-150 Black, 4x4 XLT ext.cab,sb,w/Offroad Package,
4" Suspension lift, 3" body lift,
4.56 gears w/LS,
Flowmaster 50 Series w/ duals out rear,
36x14.5x16 Parnelli Jones Dirt Grip tires,
16x10 Weld Sidewinder wheels,
Pre-Runner Bumper w/KC Daylighters & PIAA 520 Driving Lights,
Steel Horse Billet Upper and Lower Grilles,
Kodiak Sidewinder Steps,
Pro-Comp Front Skid Plate,
Summit Aluminum Diff cover,
Rancho 9000's w/in-cab remote,
Lift Lips,
Lighted FORD logo,
K&N Filter,
Superchip,
Bosch Platinum +4,
TransGo Shift kit,
Clear corner lenses,
Altezza style Tailight covers,
Bug shield,Tinted windows
Sony ES Mobile head unit,Sony ES Mobile changer,MTX Thunderform sub,Boston Acoustic Pro-Series up front, Polk in rear,PPI & Coustic Amps,Alpine Alarm

Check it out at:

<A HREF="http://www.f150world.com/Squanto804" TARGET=_blank>
http://www.f150world.com/squanto804</A>

http://hometown.aol.com/squanto804/scottwebpage.html

 

Howdy!

Squanto804,

2nd sets?! Yikes! What happened to the 1st ones? Side hit??

Have a flushed day.

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My ride:

Basics:
- '99 XLT F-150

Under hood and back:
- Ram air (Don't ask me how )
- AiRaid intake
- Flowmaster DF 50 Series
- 24x3.5" Stainless steel slashed tips (Yes! Solid polished SS, no cheesy chrome-plated)
...

Outside:
- Precision polished billet grille and plate holders
- American Racing 17x8s polished Pythons (Flushed front AND back)
- Goodyear.. something tires (Expensive is all I know. LOL. No Firestone firecrackers for me either)
- Rhino liner
- Ford nerf bars
- Ford bed rails
...

Inside:
- My girlfriend!
...

Fun stuff:
- Dual sirens Black Widow alarm system/keyless entry (Enough decibels to go deaf in a garage )
- Custom driving lights (Just a cool blue)
- 2 High-Watt lights behind grille (For people who cut me off )
- Dual horns (For people who, again, cut me off)
- Dual wheel locks (So I won't be driving home on bricks!)
- Spare wheel lock (So I won't have to use a brick as a spare )
...

Best of all:
- Texas A&M University aTm front plate! Gig'em Aggies!!

Stephlan

 

Hi, Squanto.

I had seen adds for them in magazines and on the net and had been thinking of ordering a set. I must admit. After seeing your truck on this board, I knew those were the ones I wanted to replace the Hell Craps with. In case I haven't told you before, you have a great looking truck.

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98 F-150 XLT 4X4 ORP Super Cab Short Bed, 4.6, Auto, 4.10's, Mag-Hytec diff. cover, Magnacharger supercharger, K&N FIPK, Superchip, Gibson single cat-back, 80/100w German head lamps, 80w amber fog lamps, Warn HS9500i winch with semi hidden mount, Wrangler dual battery kit with red & yellow top Optima batteries, 285/75R16 Goodyear MT/R's, 16x8 Center Line Hell Cats (JUNK WHEELS), Rancho RSX shocks, B&M deep aluminum trans pan, Rhino bedliner. Needs one more door.
http://hometown.aol.com/ninetyeightfword

 

98Fword...I've kept up with your Centerline dilemma since the first part of the year. Congratulations on your Weld purchase! I had the Weld Roadhawks on my 99 SuperDuty and went right back with Welds on my new ride.

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2001.5 Lariat SCrew 4x4
Bright Red
Medium Graphite Leather
5.4
3.55 Limited Slip
Sliding Rear Window
Trailer Tow Pkg.
Off Road Package
Captains Chairs
6 Disc CD Changer
Rear Seat Entertainment
16x8 Weld Typhoon wheels
285 Bridgestone AT's
Valentine One

Waiting to be Installed:
Borla Stainless Catback

On order from F150Online Store: K&N FIPK

 

I always thought Centerline was totally wrong in this. They sound like a compnay who thinks they are too big to worry about one little guy. You can bet I'll never buy Centerlines now and will advise all against it as well. Hell the $100 a rim AR's on my old truck were perfect.

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2000 F150 XLT 4x4 Short Bed. Amazon Green, 5.4L, SuperCab, ORP, Tow Package, Sliding Rear Window, Electronic Shift, Keyless Entry, LT265-70-17 Tires, Clarion Pro Audio, Herculiner Bedliner, Air Silencer Removed.

1994 SVT Mustang Cobra. #1032 of 6009. Black coupe with black leather int., 3.73 rear, Bassani Exhaust, Aluminum D/S, Bridgestone RE-71 255-45-ZR17

My Home Page

 

Glad you got it handled. American Racing wheels have been good to me, about to have my third set (one set on my last truck, and now about to be my second set on this truck). Great wheels, but time for a change of apperance, those Altas rims look good to me.

You said you are getting the truck repainted? What happened?

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98 Black F150 S/C 4x4 ORP 5.4

4" Rancho lift, 14 KC lights, lots of other goodies. Check out www.F150World.com/Mudder for pics and all the info.

 

Hi, Mudder.

I've heard alot of good comments on American Racing wheels. Only, I couldn't find a style that was just right for me.

Yeah, I took the truck to my dealer's paint shop to have them look at the roof cracks and some acid rain etching before my 3/36 was up. (I made a more detailed post in the Other Body forum on this.) Before I left, I was getting the whole truck painted. It was their call. And he said it's covered under warranty. So, at the end of the month it's going in. I just can't decide whether to have them replace the ORP decals on the sides of the bed, or leave them off. I was also thinking of having them paint the grill to match the truck while their at it. What do you think?

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98 F-150 XLT 4X4 ORP Super Cab Short Bed, 4.6, Auto, 4.10's, Mag-Hytec diff. cover, Magnacharger supercharger, K&N FIPK, Superchip, Gibson single cat-back, 80/100w German head lamps, 80w amber fog lamps, Warn HS9500i winch with semi hidden mount, Wrangler dual battery kit with red & yellow top Optima batteries, 285/75R16 Goodyear MT/R's, 16x8 Center Line Hell Cats (JUNK WHEELS), Rancho RSX shocks, B&M deep aluminum trans pan, Rhino bedliner. Needs one more door.
http://hometown.aol.com/ninetyeightfword

 

Hey 98fword! I would like to talk to you regarding your wheel/tire setup. Do you ever get on AIM? My ID is theone246
I would love to chat!

theone

 

On my truck I went with Welds Super Single II last November, but I was wondering why Weld Racing rims do not get mentioned much. I love the way mine look.

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98 5.4L, 4" Rancho Suspension with 33" BFG on 16" Weld Racing Rims, Chrome Brush Guard, Stainless Stell Steps, Alpine Stereo with 4 5X7 MB Quards run by an Alpine approx. 400 watt amp and 4 He2 Rockford's 10" subs run by a 800 watt Rockford amp, and CB and Scanner

 

LeanNcut, My first set of Welds were
Scorpio V's. I had them on my 16.5 tires that I ran. Then went to Eagle 589's, then to the Weld Sidewinders.

98fword, thanks for the compliment! You will be very happy with the new wheels.

I think you don't hear that much about Weld because of the cost. You see quite a bit of less expensive wheels like Eagles, and American Racing wheels. I know you can get much more expensive wheels for the 2 wheel drive trucks but as far as 4wd's, I think Welds are about the best you can get.

Scott

[This message has been edited by Squanto804 (edited 05-23-2001).]

 

Ok I have had enough! I have had nothing but great customer service with Centerline. My 97 XL side exhaust pitted the right rear wheel and Centerline gladly replaced it. Then I started to feel a vibration and Luis at Centline said "send it in, if its out of round, we will fix it or replace it" (3 years after I purchased them!) When asked, Luis at Centline also sends me a fresh set of hex bolts for the caps on a yearly basis free of charge. The Prowlers are labor intensive to polish but beautiful wheels.

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1999 SC ORP F150 Medium Toreador Red 5.4l CSPSR (built 12/13/99) K&N 17" Centerline Prowlers

 

I never dealt with Center Line directly. All I know is, I sent word through NT&W that I would like a new set of properly cast, machined and polished wheels and Center Line declined. Center Line did say at one point they were going to try fully polishing a set for me. Guess what? They couldn't get that right either. So they quit trying. They were only willing to put out a small amount of effort to try and resolve the issue. I guess after that they felt it wasn't worth the loss. I'm not going to stretch the truth here. But, I will let anyone and everyone who cares to listen, know exactly what kind of experience I had with them. They make a **** poor product and charge a premium price for it. I believe in the end it will cost them more than one set of wheels for one insignificant customer. Which is exactly my impression of their attitude toward this whole ordeal.

I really tried to get a good set of that design. I did like the design alot. They looked good. But, only if you were standing about twenty feet away. I can almost see the scene at the shop now. "Hey man, after I get done with this joint, let me polish for a while!"

BTW: Center Line doesn't make their own wheels, and haven't for some time. They farm them out to the lowest bidder and put their name on them. They are riding on the coat tail of a previous reputation. Hopefully one of two things will happen in the future. They will continue to make inferior products and drive themselves out of business or tighten up and start giving their customers the quality of wheels they're paying for.

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98 F-150 XLT 4X4 ORP Super Cab Short Bed, 4.6, Auto, 4.10's, Mag-Hytec diff. cover, Magnacharger supercharger, K&N FIPK, Superchip, Gibson single cat-back, 80/100w German head lamps, 80w amber fog lamps, Warn HS9500i winch with semi hidden mount, Wrangler dual battery kit with red & yellow top Optima batteries, 285/75R16 Goodyear MT/R's, 16x8 Center Line Hell Cats (JUNK WHEELS), Rancho RSX shocks, B&M deep aluminum trans pan, Rhino bedliner. Needs one more door.
http://hometown.aol.com/ninetyeightfword