Audi 5000 wheels on Vanagon (using center hubcaps on rear)

[Sodo]

I've had these wheels for 9 years (in 2007). I thought they were a great deal at $25 each. Then after buying them discovered I'd need a few $$dollars on spacers & longer studs and stuff. Adding the cost of the spacers, special nuts, studs, the $25/wheel wasn't such a great deal anymore. Then learning about offsets and that an ET45 wheel needs 15mm of spacers to get to ET30.... But I already had the tires all mounted & balanced before I even knew about theSamba.

Before reading thru this wheel-fight, here's a couple notes I learned later in life, which pretty much negates all this other stuff.
1) They require about 15mm of spacers for proper offset.
2) With 15mm spacers, the center hubcaps will fit with no modifications.

My current plan is to dispense with them at tire-time and get different wheels with the proper offset. Unless the proper spacers and studs fall into my lap. Still up in the air. But it's winter and the forum activity is dropping so here's the blow-by-blow. And not to mention the horror of chamfering castellations. Happy Halloween!

Had to grind a small chamfer on the front Syncro hubs. If I had $8/pair 8mm spacers + longer studs at the time, this too would have been unnecessary. Then yesterday (9 years later) decided to get the rear hubcaps to fit. I chamfered the rear nut castellations & added 8mm spacers. The spacers were $8 pair. And sil are not the right offset for the van. But it works. Here's pics if anyone's interested.

This is how the axle nut looks on a van with disc brakes. The center hub covers have to engage the wheel in that space between the nut castellations and the wheel. They can't.

The rear brake disc is about 8mm thick. I don't know how much thinner a drum brake is.

Here's how far the wheel cover sticks out when it interferes with the axle nut; about 10mm.

Here's drilling+tapping the disc to hold the 8mm spacer on centered.

Countersink the holes on the spacer, held on with M4x10mm screws.

Here's the nut castellations chamfered.

Space for the hubcap to engage the wheel.

I have hubcaps after 9 years! I have 45,000 miles on this set of 5 rotated BFGs and they're not dead yet. I want different wheels with proper offsets so its just "simple". And so I can run cable-chains if necessary; but haven't yet found what I want. All in all, I would NOT advise someone to go down the path of using these low-cost Audi wheels. But in case anyone want's ta know thats involved, both "how-to" and a "why its NOT a great wheel" ....here it is, on the forum, with a google-able title. HOWEVER, I'm liking the look of them more now that I have hubcaps....

Pretty sure I'm staying with the BFG 215/75R15 size because it fits in the modified clamshell. Prob getting the K2. Got my eyes/ears open for wheels, if anybody's sellin' or has suggestions.
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'90 Westy EJ25, 2Peloquins, 3knobs, pressure-oiled GT mainshaft, filtered, cooled gearbox
'87 Tintop w 47k 53k, '12 SmallCar EJ25, cooled filtered gearbox
....KTMs, GasGas, SPOT mtb

[msinabottle]

We took very different approaches. I love my set:

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=219816

If you really do want to ditch those, we could talk.

Best!
_________________
'Winston,' '84 1.9 WBX Westy
Vanagon Poet Laureate: "I have suffered in
many ways, but never, never, never in silence."

[Sodo]

OK I remember that. Magnets latching onto each stud. I was thinking is there something from preventing the cover from "sliding' off the studs? Well anyway I saw it and forgot it. But all's good now.

Heres what the tires look like at 45,400 miles. I've rotated the spare in so they're all 5 about the same. These have been good tires.
_________________


'90 Westy EJ25, 2Peloquins, 3knobs, pressure-oiled GT mainshaft, filtered, cooled gearbox
'87 Tintop w 47k 53k, '12 SmallCar EJ25, cooled filtered gearbox
....KTMs, GasGas, SPOT mtb

[jberger]

I would offer that slightly better wheel spacers are available on amazon for 5x112 that are lug centric at near that same cost. I have to open up the center hole to use on the front of my syncro but they should fit the rear without an issue. How did you "center" the ones you bought?

[Sodo]

[rubbachicken]

i made caliper adapters many years ago, needing to perfectly center the adapters oversize holes onto bolts, the best way i found was to wrap tape around the bolts, bringing it up to the size of the hole, very easy to do