rim/tire dilema

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to start off i have a 72 with 5 lug wheels. i need to know what bolt pattern i have. i would like to upgrade to a 15" rim or maybe 16. what is a fairly wide tire that wont rub and what kinda offset should i get. i am very new to this so please excuse my ignorance. is there some kinda site with this info already on it? also do empi eight spokes come in 5 lug? thanks in advance josh

[58Type2]

8 spokes are only 4 lug, that I am aware of. Bolt pattern, if the lugs are close, like those on a porsche, 3, maybe 4 inch distance from extreme left to extreme right of lugs, you have close 5. if the lugs are near 8-10 inches, they are wide 5's. 4 lug is all the same that I know of. You most likely have close 5 for the age of your bus. You can basically go to whatever rim you want inch wise. My friend has 14s on his and I know a bug that has 17s and another even with 20s. Offset, I am not sure, I will check my sources as I can't remmy what I have on mine. For that 8 spoke question, they make an adapter so you can run those 4 lug rims on a 5 lug bus/bug.
Again, I will look into the offset, I can't recall at the moment.

Jax

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thanks. i would actually rather go with a not so average vw rim but since i dont know exactly what the pattern is like 4 on 5.5 or what ever i cant find what other rims i can get i like 205 55 16 i actually took one off my buddys talon and sat it next to my bus it looks like it would fit height wise but i am worried about the width and turning

[Paul Knight]

i've got 7x17's on my bay with 205/40/17's and they fit perfectly with no rubbing etc. even on lock (and my van is lowered).
they have a 36mm offset and are the same rolling radius as the stock rims
there is a pic here
http://www.volkszone.co.uk/scripts/ubb/Forum1/HTML/000532.html

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Josh,

Your bolt pattern, assuming you have not changed the factory pattern is 5 X 112mm. for comparison puroposes, 4 lug (aircooled cars) use 4 X 130mm. Porsches use 5 X 130mm in various offsets.

Your best bet is to get Mercedes wheels in the et23 offset to fit your bus. Some Audi 5-lugs will also fit. Some of these wheels will need clearancing in either the bolt holes and/or the centerbore. Send me an emai if you need further assistance.

One more thing to keep in mind is your bus is a light truck. It weighs a lot more than most passenger cars. As such any wheel or tire used should be rated for it's fully laden weight.

BenT

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BTW, I forgot to mention that you can also have wheels redrilled to the correct pattern at about $100 per set. I have Porsche polished Fuchs on my 87 Vanagon w/o the use of wheel adapters. Consider tire width and offset to make sure they clear your rear door. I have also used steel adapters to mount wheels on heavy buses.

Go to the wheels section of my webpage for more info. Oh yeah, you can see pics of my 16"Syncro Double Cab. In one pic, there is a shot of the front with Mercedes ML320 monster wheels on it.

http://hometown.aol.com/bentbtstr8/myhomepage/index.html

BenT