'87 Westy: 15" wheel conversion

[Fhak915]

I hear from people who struggle with this every day. For anyone who is reading this, buy from me or not, I'm always happy to help people figure the ins and outs of installing wheels. I have one customer who has sent me links to probably 25-30 different wheel sets so far in an effort to find wheels that suit his needs/wants. He sends me the links and I return a brief punch list of the requirements for those wheels. Assuming he finally finds a set that suit him and his needs, we will then go into the details that it takes to install them. [/quote]

I must say Chris is very helpful. He knew exactly what wheel I had and the parts were a perfect fit. Thanks for your help Chris. I ordered some spacers back in december and finally upgraded the brakes and suspension. I am loving the way my van looks. I should take back the comment that it was a "waste of time." I like having a van doesn't have the same GW or VC wheels you see on so many vanagons. Something a little different is nice.

Frank

[vanagonjr]

[Christopher Schimke]

You know, joetiger's assessment of the situation is exactly why I do what I do. I hear from people who struggle with this every day. For anyone who is reading this, buy from me or not, I'm always happy to help people figure the ins and outs of installing wheels. I have one customer who has sent me links to probably 25-30 different wheel sets so far in an effort to find wheels that suit his needs/wants. He sends me the links and I return a brief punch list of the requirements for those wheels. Assuming he finally finds a set that suit him and his needs, we will then go into the details that it takes to install them.

Some people do come to the conclusion that it's easier for them to just buy wheels from a common source. However, the majority who push through the process of finding and installing a set of wheels from a Mercedes or Audi/VW end up saving money (no matter whether it's a little or a lot). It takes patience and perseverance to go your own route versus just buying a ready made wheel set, but the results can be rewarding and can often times solve needs, wants and problems that simply cannot be covered by the ready made wheels.

Please don't take any of this the wrong way. I am all for people doing whatever works for them. Yes, it's part of how I make a little bit of money, but I just wanted people to know that I am always willing to help them out in any way possible...money or not.
_________________
"Sometimes you have to build a box to think outside of." - Bruce (not Springsteen)

*Custom wheel hardware for Audi/VW, Porsche and Mercedes wheels - Urethane Suspension Bushings*
T3Technique.com or contact me at [email protected]

[Robw_z]

Hope this isn't going overboard with applause for Joetiger, but his articulation of my search for 15" wheels for my 2wd was so accurate I gave up and accepted that I am just going to buy new tires for my 14" alloys. Thanks!

-Rob

[teej]

Joe T: well said, great essay.
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1986+ Wolfsburg Weekender Pop-Top 2.3 WBX Manual Trans

[joetiger]

[edgood1]

I guess I got lucky. I did my research and found a set of rims that fit the syncro with just longer studs on the rear. $100 on craigslist.
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'87 Syncro :: Subaru eng
'63 Samba Conversion ::(photo album)
'65 Westfalia
'65 Bug

[buildyourown]

Yeah, that hits pretty close to home.
I am also Type B. I will stick to my DIY insticts even if it costs me more money. I was raised this way. I honestly don't really know how to hire people to do things.


MBZ S500 wheels, 16x7.5, ET46. 16mm spacers in the front and 11mm in the rear. Front stud conversion kit and long Porche studs for the back.

Then, I upgraded the brakes so it all changed again.

Overall I'm in about $700-750 with expensive tires.

[dawna82]

Thanks for giving it to me straight .. exactly what i need

[campism]

[Jake de Villiers]

[Fhak915]

P

[floggingmolly]

Joe is right, it takes time and you don't save much by DIY, ask me how I know. That being said, I like the look of mine (from an E420) and I get a lot of compliments. I didn't want what everybody had (although now sometimes GoWesty offers a very similar wheel) and I actually enjoyed the hunt. My cost came very close to $1,000 when I figured the cost for the wheels ($200 off craigslist), the tires, spacers, proper bolts, and proper studs (plus $135 for pressing the studs in the rear wheels).

So you might save a little by looking high and low for the right offset, etc. but not much. If you find a set you like, go for it!
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'85 Wolfsburg Weekender

[joetiger]

Thanks Jake, I recently watched another Vanagon owner go through the whole ordeal and felt like it needed to be added to the record for posterity!
_________________
Joe T.

'86 NAHT Vanagon GL Syncro/ supercharged ABA 2.0 "Pigpen"
'91 Wolfsburg Carat "Barchetta"
'02 Baja-ish Beetle "Bubbles"

"get metaphysical with it. if it's simply a means to get to and from places, it will let you down. if it becomes your zen, it can't fail you." -dabaron

"Still, it's good to be afield."--VWagabond

Justice for Megan: https://linktr.ee/justiceformegantrussell

[Jake de Villiers]

[joetiger]

You basically have two choices.

Option 1:

You'll search high and low for a good deal on some wheels that may or may not fit. You'll research fitment, and after a SOLID week in the "wheels and tires" thread, will find that they're so close but need machining, spacers, longer lugs/studs, lug holes drilled out, or any combination of these toils. You'll remember seeing a post somewhere about which Porsche studs some guy used on his '81 Westy but you just can't pinpoint where it was. You'll search. You'll search again. You'll use a million terms but where the hell was that POST?

While compiling this information, you'll be looking for tires. Tirerack.com, tireseasy, tirecrawler, etc. You'll then need to research whether the tires you like meet the load requirements of the Vanagon and you'll search thread after thread for others' reviews of said tire. You'll find that the tires that are a great deal just barely won't do it, and you'll end up finding, after days of reading about BFG Long Trails on Pathfinders and about whether or not Continental Vancos really do suck in the snow that the proper tires just plain cost money.

In the meantime, you'll be doing the math. You'll find that the wheels you were getting a great deal on will, after much research, definitely require modifications to either the wheel, your lugs/studs, center hole bore, or all three, which will nullify that great deal you were thought you were getting.

The end result? After your hours and days of sleepless research and lost work time and lost play time in which friends and family will think you've spectacularly lost your marbles, you will add it all up and find that the modified wheels and the tires (after shipping and mounting/balancing) come out to right around $1100.


Option 2:

Buy a wheel/tire set from one of the vendors for right around $1100.


What you'll do:


Initially, you'll choose Option 1. We all do. (We're rugged individualist Vanagon drivers, for heaven's sake.) But then when it's time to pull the trigger, your true personality will reveal itself:

Personality A:

You'll realize that Option 2 was there all along. You're an efficient person who likes to make sharp decisions based on all data available. You're eager to solve this problem and move on to the next one. You'll save yourself a lot of headaches by choosing Option 2, and you'll have correct-fitting, properly-rated wheels and tires in a snap. You'll sleep well in the knowledge that you checked all avenues but in the end, you trusted the professionals and went with a very solid choice. Your friends, family, and peers will laud your decision, and you will continue on your path to Vanagon Happiness.

(And then you'll naturally move on to "engine conversion vs. rebuild" research.)

Personality B:

You'll see Option 2 out there and know that it's there for the taking, but you're stubborn and a bit prideful. You won't want your days of red-eyed research to be for naught. You'll stick with Option 1 and fight tooth and nail until you get the very specific tires you want on the very specific rims you want. It might take massive shipping costs. It could require the extreme modifications mentioned above, along with a nice sprinkling of blood, sweat, and tears. None of this matters. You will not be thwarted in the quest for your own singular version of Vanagon Wheels and Tires. They will be a badge of honor upon your Vanagon. Sure, that guy over there withn the cherry '87 Weekender has awesome Mefro Steelies and Nokians and they look great, fit perfectly, and do everything they're supposed to, but did he suffer for them the way you did for yours? Hell no.

You will leave a trail of destroyed friendships in your wake. Your family will consider an intervention. But it won't matter, none of it will matter, because regardless of what they think, they'll never have the ability to see an Audi A6 rolling down the street and think to themselves:

"5x112 15x7.5 ET45, 57MM centerbore, 12mm lug holes. 15mm spacers front. Centerbore holes drilled to 66mm. Lug holes drilled to 14mm. Longer lugs in front, longer studs in rear."

Or pull up to the grocery store and see a 1992 Mercedes C Class:

"5x112 15/6.5, ET 41. Or maybe ET37. 5mm spacers up front. Lug holes drilled from 12mm to 14mm."

Or perhaps see a Jag with cool wheels and think,

"5x114.5. Won't fit."

Or always keep an eye out at the U-pull-it yard for Merkur Scorpios, which you KNOW are nonexistent, but which came with extremely unique 5x112 wheels that could...maybe...fit....

So there are your choices. Nobody can make these decisions for you. It is a path upon which we all have walked and occasionally stumbled, but in the end, it's all part of your initiation. Some, myself included, have walked the path several times. I think it's a form of cleansing, really, like wandering into the desert and fasting.

Those Audi wheels you want? 15mm spacers. Centerbore holed drilled to 66mm. Longer lugs and studs.

Welcome to hell, my friend.

As far as your brakes, make sure they're serviced and working well. 15" wheels and tires, as long as you don't go too big with your tires, it shouldn't affect performance too badly.

Signed,
Ronal R9 15/7.5 ET23 66MM centerbore 14mm lug holes (conical seat) wrapped in Yokohama Geolandar 215/70/15's.
_________________
Joe T.

'86 NAHT Vanagon GL Syncro/ supercharged ABA 2.0 "Pigpen"
'91 Wolfsburg Carat "Barchetta"
'02 Baja-ish Beetle "Bubbles"

"get metaphysical with it. if it's simply a means to get to and from places, it will let you down. if it becomes your zen, it can't fail you." -dabaron

"Still, it's good to be afield."--VWagabond

Justice for Megan: https://linktr.ee/justiceformegantrussell

[dawna82]

Hi,
So i need new tires. i have a short attention span and i have tried and tried to read alllll the posts about tires. but i just cant take the research anymore!


I have an 82 westy with what looks to be the original tires, unfortunately.
I desperately need new brakes.. is this something i need to do different if i am end up getting a 15" set-up? Brakes before new tires would be the smartest thing anyway..


what do you all think about these?

"Factory Audi 15" Speedline alloys 5x112 with tires. rims are 15"x7"... 5x112 bolt pattern, offset is 45. 8 spoke mini light style"
someone near me is sellin em.

thanks!

[Dant]

link to some pics:

http://picasaweb.google.com/dant58
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90 Carat
97 Jetta GLX
87 GL (nobody wanted it)
91 Syncro (Stripped,Plain Jane,fixed vent windows,no tach) also rusty. Hurray for me!

[Dant]

Rusty Syncro

[img]http://lh6.google.com/dant58/R_rT48EcvOI/AAAAAAAAAFg/6wKYZ157dqo/s144/DSCF0478.JPG.jpg"[/img]
_________________
90 Carat
97 Jetta GLX
87 GL (nobody wanted it)
91 Syncro (Stripped,Plain Jane,fixed vent windows,no tach) also rusty. Hurray for me!

[Dant]

What a rookie, sorry
_________________
90 Carat
97 Jetta GLX
87 GL (nobody wanted it)
91 Syncro (Stripped,Plain Jane,fixed vent windows,no tach) also rusty. Hurray for me!