Well based on that, I'd recommend the Tireman stems all over the Borgs, whereas before I had the impression they were of similar good design. Geez, 1/2"? I still wonder if they had lined them up to the marks properly, since when my buddy's Tireman stems were not lined up to the marks (thanks, tire shop ) they did not fit, and when he took them back and they re-did them correctly to the marks, then suddenly all was fine and the simulators fit perfectly.
When I said Tireman bent mine I'm talking like 1/16" -- on the rear ones that are fairly long.
(I'm not sure whether or not someone has taken over selling the Tireman stems since he passed away.)
Well, maybe it is not 1/2 inch, sorry. It is more accurate to say they bent a little bit more than the diameter of the stem, so maybe 1/4?
I don't think it is the alignment of the install. The inner one is straight, so no matter how you rotate it, it will go thru the same path. The outer stem is orientated radial to the axle, so there is no way it was meant to be installed differently. My understanding is that both the inner and outer stems needs to be bend for my case for me to put the simulators back on. If I had my simulators with me when they installed it, they would had done the bending (I was in the waiting room the whole time), and none of us would know anything about this issue. I had left my simulators in my garage, thinking it will be less hassle for them to do the installation.
Without the simulators, the stems were installed and came out of the hand holes right in the middle, and it looks very proper and nice. I want to put my simulator on there but it would be perfect for otherwise.
2000 Concourse dinette, on 1999 6.8L Ford E350 Triton V-10 Chassis
So maybe the Borgs are a bit different. Just in case anyone is interested, here are the instructions for the Tireman stems -- I outlined in red the part that explains the lining up mark. I see now it is just for the inside stem (longer straighter one). I think it has a slight angle near the rim? I did install the front stems on new rims myself (before bringing to tire shop), so I did follow the instructions once. As I remember it they had that slight angle too, and also a mark (these instructions don't include the front wheel stems). But maybe the Borgs don't have the marks or aren't exactly the same that way.
When my buddy had the Tireman ones installed *not* to the marks (tire shop snafu), they were way off. They re-did them with the red lines facing the tire and all was well. Although they do still come "straight" out, there is some variation (hence the marks).
Next time I run across my Borg set (friend sold rig, gave me unused set of Borg rear stems), I will see if they have any marks. I had been thinking they were pretty much straight copies, but chromed.
) they did not fit, and when he took them back and they re-did them correctly to the marks, then suddenly all was fine and the simulators fit perfectly.