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TheBlueTurtle
Samba Member
Joined: July 03, 2007
Posts: 353
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 Posted: Sun Aug 19, 2007 6:47 pm Post subject: So..you've changed your wheels. and used spacers..HOW IS IT? |
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IM CURIOUS..
to all the people that have changed wheels and had to use spacers/longer lugs....
are you satisfied with the result?
do you notice any performance issues?
is it fragile?
has anyone used this setup in off-road conditions?
why did you do this instead of buying the rims that fit?
i would really like some input about your results..
thanks.
_________________
84 Westfalia (Goldie)
GoWesty 2.2 |
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scobax
Samba Member
Joined: July 27, 2007
Posts: 236
Location: Bend, Oregon
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| Posted: Mon Aug 20, 2007 10:33 am Post subject: |
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I used spacers with the 15" Audi 5000 Turbo wheels, on a '87 Syncro Westy. It's been 1 year and 6000 miles, and I have had no issues with them at all. Tire wear is normal, good handling, no tire or slider rub, etc.
Since then I have used the van in some mild to moderate 4wd situations with no problems.
I chose to use spacers because I need to do things in the most difficult way possible...actually, at the time I had more time than money to spend. I saved a few bucks, and made up a few new words.
Overall, I am very happy with the results.
The description of this adventure is on page 11 of the 'Ultimate Wheel Post' - http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=203519 |
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pete000
Samba Member
Joined: July 29, 2004
Posts: 642
Location: Ocala FL
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| Posted: Mon Aug 20, 2007 6:11 pm Post subject: |
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Works Great
_________________
1990 Vanagon RS 2.1
1967 Deluxe 21 window
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Koni Shocks
H & R Red Springs
Addco Sway Bars Front-Rear
18 X 7.5 and 18 X 8 OEM Porsche Wheels
Recaro Power-Heated seats |
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Bern
Samba Member
Joined: March 08, 2004
Posts: 152
Location: Issaquah, WA
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| Posted: Mon Aug 20, 2007 6:32 pm Post subject: |
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I currently run 15mm spacers on the front, but will be going to 20mm soon, and longer wheel bolts from ECS.
The rear...well, long story short: at the end of the week it will be anotherh 20mm wider and longer studs, but it'll be because of the disc brake conversion i'm building, not necessarily spacers.
I have taken mine into some offroad situations, and its been airborn before. Its held up very well. I do recomend retorqueing your lugs after a week or so if you use spacers.
Depending on spacer size and wheels, you can see some quicker wear on the wheelbearings, but unless you're going to the extreme, it won't be noticeable.
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VR6 Vanagon. Yup, it vrooms and stuff. |
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Petervw
Samba Member
Joined: July 04, 2005
Posts: 1020
Location: Sarnia Ont. Canada
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| Posted: Mon Aug 20, 2007 6:56 pm Post subject: |
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| Bern wrote: |
Depending on spacer size and wheels, you can see some quicker wear on the wheelbearings, but unless you're going to the extreme, it won't be noticeable. |
that extreme might apply too the Ronal wheels with ET20 or less..even with 215 tires, the sliding door will just touch the tire when open |
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weatherbill
Samba Member
Joined: May 15, 2007
Posts: 366
Location: Nashville
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| Posted: Mon Aug 20, 2007 7:01 pm Post subject: |
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I have 16" wheels using the long lug nuts....no problems at all.
I like 16" wheels on my VW. Gives me much more choice when i go to get tires, than 14" tires.
They say if you increase the diameter of your tires, it helps to give more RPM room as well. |
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Bern
Samba Member
Joined: March 08, 2004
Posts: 152
Location: Issaquah, WA
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| Posted: Mon Aug 20, 2007 7:29 pm Post subject: |
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| weatherbill wrote: |
They say if you increase the diameter of your tires, it helps to give more RPM room as well. |
Increasing your tire diameter is essentially regearing your van. Bigger tires basically equals taller gears, so your cruising speed will be higher and/or a lower RPM. It doesn't really change your RPM "range" as that has more to do with the motor than the gearing.
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VR6 Vanagon. Yup, it vrooms and stuff. |
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msinabottle
Samba Member
Joined: September 20, 2005
Posts: 3492
Location: Denver Area, Colorado
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| Posted: Mon Aug 20, 2007 11:16 pm Post subject: Winston: Spacers, Conversion Studs |
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You can read what I did... On the whole, he runs very well and smoothly. Every now and then I hit a stretch of road that makes Winston vibrate and get nervous, but I think that's just the ghastly state of Colorado roads and the fact that the Michelin Agilis tires he has on him now are more road-sensitive.
They did fine off road, they roll very well, and I'm getting 22mpg. I'll check my torque on the new nuts soon, but they were all fine the first time I did it, and no sign at all of chafing on the insides of the tires.
Best!
_________________
'Winston,' '84 1.9 WBX Westy
Vanagon Poet Laureate: "I have suffered in
many ways, but never, never, never in silence." |
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vwlovr
Samba Member
Joined: May 21, 2006
Posts: 1122
Location: on the road
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| Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2007 12:17 am Post subject: |
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| Bern wrote: |
I currently run 15mm spacers on the front, but will be going to 20mm soon, and longer wheel bolts from ECS.
The rear...well, long story short: at the end of the week it will be anotherh 20mm wider and longer studs, but it'll be because of the disc brake conversion i'm building, not necessarily spacers.
I have taken mine into some offroad situations, and its been airborn before. Its held up very well. I do recomend retorqueing your lugs after a week or so if you use spacers.
Depending on spacer size and wheels, you can see some quicker wear on the wheelbearings, but unless you're going to the extreme, it won't be noticeable. |
what rims are those? |
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Van-go108
Samba Member
Joined: November 23, 2006
Posts: 2995
Location: Southwestern, NM
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| Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2007 7:35 am Post subject: |
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I have not completed my own transformation. Should work out fine. I just haven't decided what my overall plan with tires yet. The rims are Passat 5x112 (fit without adapters) the adapters act as spacers. The apapter/spacers are wider for the rear to flush out the wheels to the body.
Some old pics when I did a test bolt-up.
The issue was no clearance on the front-end and needed longer studs in the rear. I wanted the wheels to be further out anyway.  This method seemed less dangerous and stronger to me.
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"Okay, so there's 6 beers and 5 of us. You know what this means don't you? 4 of you are going to have to leave."
1973 Thing
1957 Continental Mark II Click to view image |
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Christopher Schimke
Samba Member
Joined: August 03, 2005
Posts: 5390
Location: PNW
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| Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2007 8:42 am Post subject: |
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| Van-go108 wrote: |
| This method seemed less dangerous and stronger to me. |
I would agree with this to a point. I personally have run cars with all different thickness's of spacers. The problem is that the thinnest Adapter/spacers (like Van-go has on his) are 20mm thick. If you only need a 5mm spacer, you pretty much stuck.
Here's a scenerio. Say you have a wheel with a 35mm offset and you really need a 30mm offset to make it fit properly. If you decided to run a 20mm thick adapter/spacer, your offset would end up being 15mm which bad. Running a quality 5mm spacer with longer studs/bolts is a much better solution in this case.
But, given another scenerio where the wheels you want to run have a 45mm offset, a 20mm adapter/spacer makes sense because your effective offset becomes 25mm which is much closer to reasonable.
I personally feel comfortable running a spacer up to 20mm thick provided the spacers are of good quality as well as the wheel hardware (which I feel is more important than the spacer). Once you get past 20mm thick spacers, you would be much better off running adapter/spacers.
I have 18mm thick spacers on the rear of my Bus right now and they have been there for years. No problems!
_________________
"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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Christopher Schimke
Samba Member
Joined: August 03, 2005
Posts: 5390
Location: PNW
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| Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2007 8:58 am Post subject: |
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Van-go, what is the offset of your Passat wheels and how thick are your adapter/spacers (if you don't mind me asking)?
_________________
"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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Christopher Schimke
Samba Member
Joined: August 03, 2005
Posts: 5390
Location: PNW
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| Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2007 9:28 am Post subject: |
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Jeez, I guess that I should try to answer your questions directly.
| Quote: |
| are you satisfied with the result? |
Yes! The spacers and long studs in the rear accomplished exactly what I needed them to.
| Quote: |
| do you notice any performance issues? |
If by "issues" you mean trouble, no! The only time you might have trouble with the spacers or longer wheels hardware is when they are not used or installed properly or are of poor quality.
No! If quality products are used, the combination is just as sound as the factory set-up.
| Quote: |
| has anyone used this setup in off-road conditions? |
I personally have not but have read many, many accounts of people who have. It goes back to the above question, as long as quality hardware is used throughout and it is installed properly, you have nothing to worry about.
| Quote: |
| why did you do this instead of buying the rims that fit? |
In general, there are very few wheels that are direct bolt on's. Of those wheels, a fair number are not as good as they could be in terms of offset. Take for instance some of the Ronals and the GoWesty/AT Ilitia wheels. Neither of these have an ideal offset for the Vanagon but they fit and people run them without many issues.
I personally feel that it is better to have a wheel that fits as well as possible even if that means spacers or adapters versus a wheel that bolts on with no spacers or adapters but has the wrong offset.
_________________
"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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TheBlueTurtle
Samba Member
Joined: July 03, 2007
Posts: 353
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| Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2007 10:01 am Post subject: |
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wow. that was great thanks for all the response guys.
so . i dont have to be weldy or crafty to make this happen? i can just buy parts to bolt on?
also.. ONE MORE question.
somebody ..( i forget which shop has a pair of 15'' 5x112 30mm steel wheels.. i think their considered south african steel wheels?
for $89 each..... know anything about these?
_________________
84 Westfalia (Goldie)
GoWesty 2.2 |
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funagon
Samba Member
Joined: March 09, 2006
Posts: 1308
Location: SLC, UT
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| Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2007 10:17 am Post subject: |
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| The steel rims may prevent you from upgrading to larger front brake rotors/calipers. |
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Van-go108
Samba Member
Joined: November 23, 2006
Posts: 2995
Location: Southwestern, NM
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| Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2007 1:53 pm Post subject: |
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| loogy wrote: |
| Van-go, what is the offset of your Passat wheels and how thick are your adapter/spacers (if you don't mind me asking)? |
Hey Loogy, Those wheels are 45mm offset. The adapter dem.? I'll have to measure em' up. (in the 20mm to 25mm range though)
_________________
"Okay, so there's 6 beers and 5 of us. You know what this means don't you? 4 of you are going to have to leave."
1973 Thing
1957 Continental Mark II Click to view image |
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weatherbill
Samba Member
Joined: May 15, 2007
Posts: 366
Location: Nashville
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| Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2007 2:50 pm Post subject: |
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Bern
Samba Member
Joined: March 08, 2004
Posts: 152
Location: Issaquah, WA
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| Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2007 8:25 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| what rims are those? |
audi 5kQT
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VR6 Vanagon. Yup, it vrooms and stuff. |
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Petervw
Samba Member
Joined: July 04, 2005
Posts: 1020
Location: Sarnia Ont. Canada
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| Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2007 9:33 pm Post subject: |
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| TheBlueTurtle wrote: |
wow. that was great thanks for all the response guys.
so . i dont have to be weldy or crafty to make this happen? i can just buy parts to bolt on?
also.. ONE MORE question.
somebody ..( i forget which shop has a pair of 15'' 5x112 30mm steel wheels.. i think their considered south african steel wheels?
for $89 each..... know anything about these? |
you may have difficulty trying to find a shop that has these wheels in stock...they seem to always be on back order |
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homeydn2nome
Samba Member
Joined: December 12, 2007
Posts: 2
Location: Venice, Ca.
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| Posted: Thu Dec 13, 2007 8:21 pm Post subject: 89 Carat with '07 16" jetta wheels |
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I want to know if I need 20mm, is it OK to use 1" adapters all the way aound. that brings the wheels out 1/4" more.
I plan to use lug bolts on the front and nuts on the rear to attach the adapters. Then use lug nuts only all the way around to attach the wheels to the studs.
can I just shoot them on with an impact gun? or is torque something which should be measured?
if anyone has done this, please inform me how much fear I should be in.
wheel shops don't want to touch them.
DH |
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