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KiwiWesty84 Samba Member
Joined: May 01, 2020 Posts: 8 Location: New Zealand
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Posted: Sun Oct 25, 2020 12:13 am Post subject: Re: "What wheels fit?" The ultimate wheel post. |
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Has anyone tried the BRM wheels that are a replica of Fuchs?
https://www2.cip1.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=ACC%2DC10%2D6628
They are available in NZ now.
Size: 15 X 5.5
Stud Pattern: 5X112
Offset: 12
Finish: Finished in Black with Machine face.
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WillRB Samba Member
Joined: October 23, 2020 Posts: 183 Location: Ohio
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Posted: Sat Nov 07, 2020 5:40 pm Post subject: Re: "What wheels fit?" The ultimate wheel post. |
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I see a lot of wheels suggested from vehicles like Volkswagen passenger type cars (Passat,etc) as a potential option for 16” wheels on a Vanagon (with mods of course). When I look up these wheels their rated load capacities wouldn’t seem to jive with Vanagon use. Am I missing something here? Is a rim load rating not as important as a tire for instance?
Thanks. |
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Jake de Villiers Samba Member
Joined: October 24, 2007 Posts: 5911 Location: Tsawwassen, BC
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Posted: Sun Nov 08, 2020 11:49 am Post subject: Re: "What wheels fit?" The ultimate wheel post. |
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WillRB wrote: |
I see a lot of wheels suggested from vehicles like Volkswagen passenger type cars (Passat,etc) as a potential option for 16” wheels on a Vanagon (with mods of course). When I look up these wheels their rated load capacities wouldn’t seem to jive with Vanagon use. Am I missing something here? Is a rim load rating not as important as a tire for instance?
Thanks. |
Yes indeed, that's why I'm using Mercedes and not VW car wheels: much bigger, faster cars with stronger wheels. A 5000 lb Mercedes at 180 km/hr needs strong wheels! _________________ '84 Vanagon GL 1.9 WBX
'86 Westy Weekender Poptop/2.5 Subaru/5 Speed Posi/Audi Front Brakes/16 x 7 Mercedes Wheels - answers to 'Dixie'
@jakedevilliersmusic1
http://sites.google.com/site/subyjake/mydixiedarlin%27
www.crescentbeachguitar.com
www.thebassspa.com |
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andy52 Samba Member
Joined: December 17, 2019 Posts: 98 Location: Barcelona
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vanonimous Samba Member
Joined: October 19, 2013 Posts: 362 Location: Burien, Center of the Universe
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Posted: Sat Dec 12, 2020 2:08 pm Post subject: Re: "What wheels fit?" The ultimate wheel post. |
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Experimenting with Chrysler Crossfire wheels, has anyone else done this yet?
These wheels bolt on without spacers but front greese cap won’t clear the wheel center cap. I had some 15mm spacers laying around and with those they clear.
Fronts could be tucked in some more, I have some ideas waiting for a day off. Sliding door opens but rubs and needs to be moved out a bit.
Currently front:
18 x 7.5 ET35 5x112 and 66.6mm centerbore
15mm spacers, M14x1.5x60mm small radius lug bolts
Nokian 225/50R18 99W XL 26.9” diameter. 215s will fit but they don’t come higher than 95 load rating.
Rear:
19 x 9 ET22 5x112 66.6mm centerbore
No spacers, 56mm studs and M14x1.5 small radius lug nuts
Pirelli Sottozero 255/40R19 104W XL 27” diameter.
_________________ If happiness is being a mechanic, owning a Vanagon is nirvana.
Lighting upgrades: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=578291 |
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hinterlands Samba Member
Joined: September 06, 2020 Posts: 12 Location: BC, Canada
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Posted: Sun Dec 13, 2020 11:24 am Post subject: Re: "What wheels fit?" The ultimate wheel post. |
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Hello, it feels like Im pretty late to this huge thread of wheel sizing. I cant post photos yet , maybe because I'm new to The Samba? I found these at my local wrecking yard:
https://www.myturbodiesel.com/d2/1000q/wheels/15-16-audi-wheels-5x112.htm
The first rim at the top of the page is what I have, a Ronal 15x7 with ET 45 , 5 x 112 bolt pattern at a 58mm bore. My van is a stock suspension 1987 Westy w a subaru 2.2. These rims are a 8-spoke from late 90s Audi A4 and maybe certain Passats?
From what I understand reading this thread I would need a 20mm spacer on all 4 corners? And maybe have to bore out the centre also? I haven't found anyone running these exact rims on this thread - doesn't bode well.
But my real question is I cant seem to find a good heavy rated sidewall tire smaller than 215 75 15 (BFG KO). I dont think I can run this combo with stock suspension and Im not ready to swap all of that suspension out and also the taller height etc. So maybe these pristine Ronals are not worth much of anything for my van? (He wants $100 for 4) - thank you for your advice.
I am located far away from any speciality stores and such, so shipping a set of nice rims from VanCafe etc is not an option for me.
PS the rims on my van now are some kind of 15" white basket weave type and I think they look horrible. Maybe they are from an early 80s BMW or Audi? |
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hinterlands Samba Member
Joined: September 06, 2020 Posts: 12 Location: BC, Canada
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Posted: Sun Dec 13, 2020 11:33 am Post subject: Re: "What wheels fit?" The ultimate wheel post. |
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OK so I can post photos! So the white basket weave I have on now and they have to go I really dont like them (the van is white btw). I'm interested to fit the 8 spoke Ronals I describe above. |
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vanonimous Samba Member
Joined: October 19, 2013 Posts: 362 Location: Burien, Center of the Universe
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Posted: Sun Dec 13, 2020 9:52 pm Post subject: Re: "What wheels fit?" The ultimate wheel post. |
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hinterlands wrote: |
The first rim at the top of the page is what I have, a Ronal 15x7 with ET 45 , 5 x 112 bolt pattern at a 58mm bore. My van is a stock suspension 1987 Westy w a subaru 2.2. These rims are a 8-spoke from late 90s Audi A4 and maybe certain Passats?
From what I understand reading this thread I would need a 20mm spacer on all 4 corners? And maybe have to bore out the centre also? I haven't found anyone running these exact rims on this thread - doesn't bode well.
But my real question is I cant seem to find a good heavy rated sidewall tire smaller than 215 75 15 (BFG KO). I dont think I can run this combo with stock suspension and Im not ready to swap all of that suspension out and also the taller height etc. So maybe these pristine Ronals are not worth much of anything for my van? (He wants $100 for 4) - thank you for your advice.
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I had BFG K/Os 215/75-15s on Carat suspension as well as on Westy springs (see picture) and they cleared everywhere with proper spacing. I had those tires on 15x7 rims, ET45 and 15mm spacers on the front, no spacers on the rear.
As for the Ronals you'd have to bore the centers which is a hassle unless you have a lathe or good machinist. I once gave a set of forged Audi S4 aluminum wheels to my machinist and he broke his tooling cutting them. Those in your picture are probably cast but nevertheless, additional work needed.
After boring them you would need to bring fronts out 10 or 15mm with spacers. Then you'll need to measure wheel thickness, add spacer and add 15mm to get the length of the new lug bolt. Lug bolt has to have the correct seat, probably conical for Ronals.
For the rears my guess is you can mount them with just longer studs. Adding a spacer is optional.
If you don't have the determination the guy who started this thread can provide you with all this in exchange for some energy in form of money. _________________ If happiness is being a mechanic, owning a Vanagon is nirvana.
Lighting upgrades: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=578291 |
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a2wolfsburggli Samba Member
Joined: October 30, 2018 Posts: 279 Location: WI
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Posted: Fri Dec 18, 2020 10:53 am Post subject: Re: "What wheels fit?" The ultimate wheel post. |
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vanonimous wrote: |
Experimenting with Chrysler Crossfire wheels, has anyone else done this yet?
These wheels bolt on without spacers but front greese cap won’t clear the wheel center cap. I had some 15mm spacers laying around and with those they clear.
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You can shorten / cut the caps down about 5mm with a dremmel. I had to do that with mine, not so much for the length, but to remove the cap's raised ridge. (go back a couple pages or search for my username.) _________________ Current: '87 Westfalia | '16 Audi Q5 3.0T S-Line w/sport package.
Past: '09 CC 3.6L 4motion "R36 wannabe" | '02 Audi TT "ALMS Edition" | '84 Jetta GLI with Autotech Supercharger | '89 Helios Jetta GLI 16v's (x2) | '95.5 URS6 | and the list goes on.
Never underestimate the entertainment value of OCD overruling Common Sense |
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vanonimous Samba Member
Joined: October 19, 2013 Posts: 362 Location: Burien, Center of the Universe
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Posted: Thu Dec 24, 2020 12:46 am Post subject: Re: "What wheels fit?" The ultimate wheel post. |
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a2wolfsburggli wrote: |
You can shorten / cut the caps down about 5mm with a dremmel. I had to do that with mine, not so much for the length, but to remove the cap's raised ridge. (go back a couple pages or search for my username.) |
Thanks for that suggestion, I think minimum needed to clear the inside of the hole where the center caps latch on is about 10-12mm. What's really needed is a conical shaped grease cap or something to that effect. _________________ If happiness is being a mechanic, owning a Vanagon is nirvana.
Lighting upgrades: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=578291 |
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MuzzcoVW Samba Member
Joined: February 21, 2018 Posts: 1475 Location: Westfield, MA.
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Posted: Sun Jan 31, 2021 8:27 am Post subject: Re: "What wheels fit?" The ultimate wheel post. |
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vanonimous wrote: |
hinterlands wrote: |
The first rim at the top of the page is what I have, a Ronal 15x7 with ET 45 , 5 x 112 bolt pattern at a 58mm bore. My van is a stock suspension 1987 Westy w a subaru 2.2. These rims are a 8-spoke from late 90s Audi A4 and maybe certain Passats?
From what I understand reading this thread I would need a 20mm spacer on all 4 corners? And maybe have to bore out the centre also? I haven't found anyone running these exact rims on this thread - doesn't bode well.
But my real question is I cant seem to find a good heavy rated sidewall tire smaller than 215 75 15 (BFG KO). I dont think I can run this combo with stock suspension and Im not ready to swap all of that suspension out and also the taller height etc. So maybe these pristine Ronals are not worth much of anything for my van? (He wants $100 for 4) - thank you for your advice.
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I had BFG K/Os 215/75-15s on Carat suspension as well as on Westy springs (see picture) and they cleared everywhere with proper spacing. I had those tires on 15x7 rims, ET45 and 15mm spacers on the front, no spacers on the rear.
As for the Ronals you'd have to bore the centers which is a hassle unless you have a lathe or good machinist. I once gave a set of forged Audi S4 aluminum wheels to my machinist and he broke his tooling cutting them. Those in your picture are probably cast but nevertheless, additional work needed.
After boring them you would need to bring fronts out 10 or 15mm with spacers. Then you'll need to measure wheel thickness, add spacer and add 15mm to get the length of the new lug bolt. Lug bolt has to have the correct seat, probably conical for Ronals.
For the rears my guess is you can mount them with just longer studs. Adding a spacer is optional.
If you don't have the determination the guy who started this thread can provide you with all this in exchange for some energy in form of money. |
Could you elaborate on what westy springs you used? Thats the stance I'm after with my non westy tin top |
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vanonimous Samba Member
Joined: October 19, 2013 Posts: 362 Location: Burien, Center of the Universe
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Posted: Sat Feb 06, 2021 10:15 pm Post subject: Re: "What wheels fit?" The ultimate wheel post. |
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unitedracing wrote: |
Could you elaborate on what westy springs you used? Thats the stance I'm after with my non westy tin top |
I had at one point installed a set of GoWesty's Hevy Duty Zero Lift springs on a 1987 Westy in an attempt to equalize the "kitchen lean". Then I proceeded to install the removed stock Westy springs in the silver tin top shown above. It worked great.
Funny thing is the kitchen lean remained but West drove MUCH better.
I have also at one point tried the GW HD zero lift springs on the tin top and it was too harsh of a ride. _________________ If happiness is being a mechanic, owning a Vanagon is nirvana.
Lighting upgrades: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=578291 |
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ppiche Samba Member
Joined: February 07, 2021 Posts: 2
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campism Samba Member
Joined: September 07, 2007 Posts: 4492 Location: Richmond VA
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Posted: Mon Feb 08, 2021 6:00 am Post subject: Re: "What wheels fit?" The ultimate wheel post. |
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Welcome! 112mm bolt circle looks right but the centerbore might be too small and at 48mm offset they'll need spacers to clear, and maybe longer bolts/studs. _________________ '87 Westy in Wolfram Grey Metallic |
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ppiche Samba Member
Joined: February 07, 2021 Posts: 2
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Posted: Tue Feb 09, 2021 4:24 pm Post subject: Re: "What wheels fit?" The ultimate wheel post. |
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campism wrote: |
Welcome! 112mm bolt circle looks right but the centerbore might be too small and at 48mm offset they'll need spacers to clear, and maybe longer bolts/studs. |
Ok, I'll need to verify the specs of the centrebore... I can see now that some have been enlarged or fitted with a spacer, but can't find the original centre bore specs. |
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Christopher Schimke Samba Member
Joined: August 03, 2005 Posts: 5391 Location: PNW
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Posted: Tue Feb 09, 2021 5:53 pm Post subject: Re: "What wheels fit?" The ultimate wheel post. |
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ppiche wrote: |
campism wrote: |
Welcome! 112mm bolt circle looks right but the centerbore might be too small and at 48mm offset they'll need spacers to clear, and maybe longer bolts/studs. |
Ok, I'll need to verify the specs of the centrebore... I can see now that some have been enlarged or fitted with a spacer, but can't find the original centre bore specs. |
The center bore of those Beetle wheels is 57.1mm. You would need to open them up to 66.56mm, even with the use of spacers. _________________ "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] |
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Schnippzle Samba Member
Joined: February 04, 2021 Posts: 288 Location: Swede in London, UK
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Posted: Wed Feb 17, 2021 8:51 am Post subject: Re: "What wheels fit?" The ultimate wheel post. |
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Had a bit of a search but couldn't find an answer, so:
Has anyone fitted Black Rhino wheels on their T25/Vanagon? https://www.blackrhinowheels.com/
If so, which wheels and how? |
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kaeferman Samba Member
Joined: April 04, 2012 Posts: 115 Location: Sylva, NC
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Posted: Mon Feb 22, 2021 8:00 am Post subject: Re: "What wheels fit?" The ultimate wheel post. |
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Here are another set of Mercedes wheels adapted to Vanagon:
16inch x 7 1/2 with an ET 46
I got from a Mercedes specialty shop for $25 each with rubber on them (which i couldn ‘t use of course).
I fitted Hankook 205 60/R16 rubber to them and the bus is transformed. The ride is way better than my stock westy and feels much more responsive in the steering. Just reducing the sidewall roll has been the biggest improvement in handling.
The Process:
The struggle began with finding studs and bolts and spacers to deal with that nasty 46 ET and thick MDZ wheel. I ended up settling on 17mm hubcentric billet aluminum spacers up front and similar 15mm spacers in back. The key to spacer selection was making test spacers from hardwood on a tablesaw, shot together with a bradnailer and holding the wheel on with Quickgrip claps to check for clearance issues.
The biggest hassle was the rear studs. I had to machine the 10 studs i found for the rear hubs myself using a bench grinder and a caliper to allow the truck studs that were long enough to work, to then seat properly in the vanagon’s funny shouldered hub design. See pics below; In other words for the studs i found the head was too big to seat flat and i needed it smaller. Then the hub itself had to be drilled to match my stud knurl size. Took 2 tries to get the correct bit size in hand (and length!!-found out what ‘jobber’ means). Lastly, i had to grind the lip off the bearing caps up front too.
Hindsight lessons:
Spend time finding the easiest wheel to adapt that you can stand to look at. And do lots of research on T3 website so you can do it correctly and safely. Don t think adapting wheels will be cheap, fast or easy. All of this is to say that the project was a weeks long slog fest of determination, so my advice would be to stick to easy to fit wheels unless you like the hard way ‘round, which many of you do obviously, since you’re not driving a Honda.. Enjoy.
PS. Much gratitude to Chris of T3 Techniques for technical assistance and inspiration as well as everyone else who helped me get there along the way..
Tommy’s Auto and Fab, Singletons’s Tire, Mike and Todd
Stock top, 2nd down a Fail-way too short, third down unmolested truck stud, Bottom grinding started...
B _________________ 83 Westfalia wbx “Idaho”
84 Tintop “Vanamos”
formerly
71 Squareback sold
70 Westfalia lost to fire by new owner
71 Super Beetle rolled/scrapped |
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twinscrewcaddy Samba Member
Joined: September 06, 2007 Posts: 2 Location: TopDeadCentral PA
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Posted: Wed Mar 03, 2021 10:40 pm Post subject: Re: "What wheels fit?" The ultimate wheel post. |
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ppiche wrote: |
campism wrote: |
Welcome! 112mm bolt circle looks right but the centerbore might be too small and at 48mm offset they'll need spacers to clear, and maybe longer bolts/studs. |
Ok, I'll need to verify the specs of the centrebore... I can see now that some have been enlarged or fitted with a spacer, but can't find the original centre bore specs. |
Centerbore is small. I have these wheels and am currently working on the mods to make them fit my '82 Westy. |
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Longboardluv Samba Member
Joined: September 23, 2014 Posts: 934 Location: Austin TX
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Posted: Thu Mar 04, 2021 7:06 am Post subject: |
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BoneMachine wrote: |
The Ronal R28 wheels are a direct fit and imho, look pretty nice.
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aret eh Ronal R28 the same as these?>...
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