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Wed Sep 11, 2024 5:24 am

MsTaboo wrote: How much do the new 16" Rhein weigh?

I have a set of the first run FAS 15" Rhein, very beautiful wheel, well made, but kinda heavy compared to the forged wheels like the CLKs.

This wheel will not be as light as a forged wheel. Forged wheels are very expensive to produce. While we may entertain the possibility of doing a forged wheel in the future, a flow formed wheel will be the next best thing. I don't know the exact weight as of today, but the samples should be in my hands very soon, so I can let you know the exact weight then. I expect them to be in the low to mid 20s.

Wed Sep 11, 2024 6:02 am

Gnarlodious wrote: Don't get too excited about this, I've been waiting for 6 months on an engine install kit. They seem to have a severe problem delivering.

I'm sorry that you are having that experience with the engine related stuff. However, I can tell you that I'm the one in charge of heading up the wheel program, and while I can't promise you an exact date that the wheels will land at my feet, I can tell you that it IS happening and that we expect the wheel to be ready to ship near the end of 2024.

Wed Sep 11, 2024 6:03 am

I forgot what these wheels are. Hopefully someone else can chime in with the name. I looked for like a year for a set. No dice.

I think a 16x7 rally style wheel would be awesome. Compomotive TH or whatever the cooler looking one above is.

Wed Sep 11, 2024 6:54 am

4Gears4Tires wrote: I forgot what these wheels are. Hopefully someone else can chime in with the name. I looked for like a year for a set. No dice.

Zender Turbos...

4Gears4Tires wrote: I think a 16x7 rally style wheel would be awesome. Compomotive TH or whatever the cooler looking one above is.

I agree!

Wed Sep 11, 2024 7:27 am

If we’re talking great-looking retro wheels for a Vanagon, Minilites:
https://rimmerbros.com/Item--i-LL2109ANT--Selected...gL0nPD_BwE

Wed Sep 11, 2024 7:49 am

Christopher Schimke wrote: 4Gears4Tires wrote: I forgot what these wheels are. Hopefully someone else can chime in with the name. I looked for like a year for a set. No dice.

Zender Turbos...

That's it. Thanks.

I am not interested in the design of the Rhein Wheels, but I am glad you are making them. However, if you come out with some rally style wheels with flat faces I would be very interested. I don't like GW's option because the faces are so rounded, and they only come in black I think.

Wed Sep 11, 2024 11:25 am

T3 and FAS, way to go!! Good to see this, and thank you.

The past few years I have been collecting various Mercedes rims. I have two sets of your spacers and fasteners.

How will these new rims be fastened? (hope I am not asking a redundant question) I mean, will they require the full fastener kit I've been used to purchasing to get my Merc's to work?

Also, I know Rhein are the original go-to 'cool' rims, and that is sweet, but I would push up '98-'00 CLK's to top of list for many of us.

Thank you so much for all the help and the great products you have been bringing to us!!!

-bobby

Wed Sep 11, 2024 11:43 am

4Gears4Tires wrote: I don't like GW's option because the faces are so rounded, and they only come in black I think.

They are ASA Type 9. ASA used to make them in a slew of colors; GW sold 3 of them: silver, bronze (shown below), and black. I was set to buy the 16" silver version of those wheels a couple years ago when I needed new tires, but saw that they were no longer available. ASA is only producing the black version. :cry: Dumb; a lot of folks out there, like myself, have a profound hatred for all-black wheels.

If T3 produces a similar rally-style wheel to those in silver, I'm in! :D Next tire replacement, my van will need to upgrade to 16" due to clearance issues in the front with the 15" alloys and I want something different from the standard Mercedes knock-offs.

Wed Sep 11, 2024 12:04 pm

kamzcab86 wrote:

These are copies of the method 502 wheel

Wed Sep 11, 2024 12:55 pm

syncrodoka wrote: These are copies of the method 502 wheel

Ah, yes! And Method still has the other colors available, albeit titanium rather than silver. But only black has a slew of size options. :(

https://www.methodracewheels.com/products/502-rally-titanium?variant=40558707966013

Wed Sep 11, 2024 2:08 pm

This a large undertaking, and fantastic news.

I hope this is considered related, but what brand of tires are available in 16" with proper load rating that suit the power of the 2.1?

LT rating, I'm aware of only the K02.
Is XL acceptable? A heavily loaded Westfalia will have trouble with large tires, and the gear box is already stressed.

Yes, I've seen the sticky, "what tires fit", but I think that most of the tires are discontinued so the info is outdated.

Thu Sep 12, 2024 9:07 am

I'm running FALKEN WILDPEAK A/T TRAIL tires size 215/65R16 102H XL on my 2WD Westy Camper 1.5 in lift. I've ran these tires in a different size on my other car for some time. Both ride well, decent mpg, sound (mild low hum at speeds) and has good load rating, performance, grip. Checks all of the boxes for me.

Sat Sep 14, 2024 8:36 am

I was recently in the market for a set of Rhein wheels and contacted FAS to see if they still had any stock. They did not, but they mentioned this upcoming reproduction in 16". I have a set of Michelin Agilis CrossClimate tires that are under recall and eligible for replacement until October, so I couldn't wait for these reproduction 16" wheels. I opted for a set of used Rheins in excellent condition. If this new reproduction is the same quality, they'll be beautiful. I'm also curious what the price point will be.

Sat Sep 14, 2024 11:16 am

Wellington wrote:

I hope this is considered related, but what brand of tires are available in 16" with proper load rating that suit the power of the 2.1?

Nokian makes a few models such as the WRG5 and the new Nordman Solstice4. Unfortunately, it looks the the WRC3 has been discontinued in 16" sizes suitable for the Vanagon.

https://nokiantyres.studio.crasman.cloud/pub/web/a...US_web.pdf

Sat Sep 14, 2024 8:32 pm

Thread has now been cleaned up by two different moderators.

Going forward, please keep discussion to T3's new wheel production. Thank you!

Sun Sep 15, 2024 5:53 am

Thank you for all of the positive input. We have received lots of great input on both the current Rhein 2.0 wheel as well as future wheel designs, etc. Please keep the input coming we are definitely listening to you and your input will help shape the current and future wheel offerings.

If you haven't already, please go to the following link and vote on your preferred wheel color. We value your input whether you plan to buy wheels or not. https://t3technique.com/pages/rhein-wheels

In addition, as others have done here on this thread, please share what you would like to see offered in the future regarding alloy wheels. If you have a favorite wheel design, let us know. If you have a specific fitment concern you would like to see addressed, let us know that too. I can't promise that every person's wishes can be fulfilled, but we will certainly try to cover as many as possible as we get further into this.

Sun Sep 15, 2024 7:02 am

maybe different than most, but my main beef with what's available is the width. no way is a 7" wide wheel going to fit in the clamshell--especially a 16. i don't care about reins, CLKS, BBS or big brakes. i just want a spare that fits in the clamshell and for that reason, i've stuck with factory 14s.

Sun Sep 15, 2024 7:35 am

^^^ This *is* an inconvenience for sure.

We have 16s with a 14” spare, but considering the rarity of flats it’s not enough inconvenience to not benefit from using 16s. We recall four over 4,100 days’ travel.

Chris, voted. For what it’s worth, not having all the colors shown will indeed skew results towards the ones that are shown… which are both *really beautiful*.

Mon Sep 16, 2024 5:41 am

E1 wrote:
Chris, voted. For what it’s worth, not having all the colors shown will indeed skew results towards the ones that are shown… which are both *really beautiful*.

Thanks for the vote. Yes, I completely agree with you here. Unfortunately, we only have the samples in the colors shown. Additional samples in other colors cost way too much, so it is what it is at this point. We are just trying to gauge what people would like to see. And this is only for the initial run of wheels. Future runs can be done in other colors.

Wed Sep 25, 2024 7:06 pm