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Thu Apr 12, 2007 12:26 pm

i know this topic has probably been beat to death, but I was wondering what peoples' thoughts were on a 16" wheel with a ET of 25. Am I going to run into any problems running this wheel? I read van-cafe site and they said an ET of 30 is about as far as a person should go. So what do you all think on here. any information would be great.

Thu Apr 12, 2007 12:42 pm

It's fine. The GoWesty Wheels are ET 23, I think.

But go read about scrub radius. I think you cross the line with ET less than 30.

Thu Apr 12, 2007 12:43 pm

You just need a spacer, maybe longer studs/lugs.
There are two issues, clearance for the rotors/brakes, and having the tire center where VW intended it to be.

I put 16" MBZ rims on my '85 with an 'et' of 45, I just made spacers to 'fix' the wheel placement. i mocked up the rims with washers to get the clearance distance, then machined spacers (see below).

Lots of spacers available like you need, just make sure the spacer actually contacts the wheel, some wheels have a webbing where it mates the hub, I had to make solid aluminum spacers for the Benz rims. I also had to get longer studs fro front and rear.

VanCafe has long studs, so does most Porsche aftermarkets suppliers, not cheap, but the wheels are on there correctly.

Thu Apr 12, 2007 1:00 pm

[img]http://s171.photobucket.com/albums/u298/morganfarmer/[/img]

Thu Apr 12, 2007 1:05 pm

[/img]http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u298/morganfarmer/VanagonWheels003.jpg[img][/img]

I give up.....

Thu Apr 12, 2007 1:10 pm

fixed it for ya.. nice wheels!

Thu Apr 12, 2007 1:16 pm

Thu Apr 12, 2007 1:50 pm

I've got an ET of 0 all the way around on mine, drives just fine, no tire wear etc. many overloaded highway miles under my belt as well, but in really extreme conditions I can get the tire to make contact with the arch!

Whats your rim width?

Thu Apr 12, 2007 2:05 pm

the rim width would be 6.5"
To continue with questions. I figured that an ET of greater number could be offset by spacers but an ET of lesser amounts (less than 30) spacers couldnt help cuz you are going in the wrong direction. Is this line of reasoning ok or am I just really confused?

Thu Apr 12, 2007 2:21 pm

ohioplatt wrote: the rim width would be 6.5"
To continue with questions. I figured that an ET of greater number could be offset by spacers but an ET of lesser amounts (less than 30) spacers couldnt help cuz you are going in the wrong direction. Is this line of reasoning ok or am I just really confused?

No, you're correct. If you had an ET45, you would need a 15mm spacer to change the offset to ET30, unless of course, I'M confused!

Thu Apr 12, 2007 2:37 pm

can anybody help? where did i see that great thing about scrub radius?

Thu Apr 12, 2007 4:05 pm

Sorry to post-jack, but I am also looking at upgrading to 15 or 16 inch and I could not find a good thread for some beginners info. What is ET? And what modifications need to be made to any wheels to fit my 85 vanagon? Is there a good thread or link I'm not aware of where this has already been discussed?

Thu Apr 12, 2007 4:32 pm

google the brick yard, a brit site that explains ET way better than i ever could. good luck there is way too much information out there and it becomes a daunting task to make a decision and thin/know it is the right one for you

Thu Apr 12, 2007 4:40 pm

The scrub radius is worth worrying about if this were a design perfect application. The most important factor (IMHO) is to have the load from the front feeding (nearly) to the center of the tire. If you made an imaginary line from the top ball joint, through the lower ball joint the line should hit the ground at the center of the tire. Fat tires will gain width to the outside since you cannot center the width on the steering axis due to interference with the ball joint/caliper..etc.

So what happens if you have more itre outside of this perfect design, well your tires wear quicker, you load the wheeel bearings more.

If it bothers you, find some 5 inch rims and put them on. I put on 7 inch rims, If I have tire wear, I'll buy new tires. Bearing issues, buy new bearings. These vehicles are overbuilt, it'll be OK, It not like we are running 20 inch rims offset to let with the tires hanging out in the breeze, way past the fenders, like I see some folks doing regularly.

On the rear, the tire center should fall directly below the axle bearing (thats why wheels have a 'dish'. Too much outside of center, you are loading the axle bearings more than VW's design, same issue, bearing wear, some extra tire wear (less in the rear).

Actually, in the rear I ended up with nearly centered tires, in the front, I have the tire out about 1/2 inch over center.... not bad.

I'm not loosing any sleep over it.

Thu Apr 12, 2007 4:43 pm

The ET or offset of the wheel will be different for different widths. The ET 30 that most people talk about is for a 6-6.5" width. ET 23 is ideal for 7-7.5 I found a great wheel size calculator on the subaru/vanagon forum. You might want to be careful buying a 16X6.5 wheel. You will be limited on your tire selection. Here is the link:

http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/subaruvanagon/files/Tire%20Size%20and%20Gearing%20Caculators/

They also have a gear to tire ratio calculator that will give you a good estimate for speed vs. RPMs.

Good luck on you tire search!

Thu Apr 12, 2007 4:46 pm

thanks for the info i am looking to up grade and looks like i am going to get the wheels i am considering
i am trying to get my van together for a cross country trip at the end of summer so the anxiety runs high with every little thing i do. it has got to come together by the end of july with as close to perfection as i can make it
thanks again

Thu Apr 12, 2007 5:55 pm

Thu Apr 12, 2007 5:58 pm

You can sight the tires, pretty much centered on the origional location, fronts are 1/2 in to the outside by comparision.

These are wide rims.

Mon Sep 17, 2007 6:46 pm

Why is the front higher than the back?

Mon Sep 17, 2007 7:05 pm

ohioplatt wrote: can anybody help? where did i see that great thing about scrub radius?

I know that you asked over a month ago, but there is some good information on scrub radius beginning at the second to last post (made by r39o) on the first page of ***THIS*** thread.