Cheap vanagon rims? Any idea where?

[Baja Pete]

I have the stock 14s on now but I'd like to got to size 15" rims and get some general grabber atx tires for it.

Of course I don't have a ton of cash. I'm located in Massachusetts. Any help would be awesome.

Pete

[djkeev]

Junk yards.

Look at the wheel thread in the FAQ section to see what wheels fit or what modifications will be needed.
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Ghia
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=392473

Vanagon
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=6315537#6315537

Beetle
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=482968&highlight=74+super+vert

[Corwyn]

Take a look at the "What wheels fit" thread and go to the local auto salvage yard . . .
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The Annual Baja Rally
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[bobbyblack]

Bunches of early Sprinter {Ram and Merc's} had nearly perfect fit steel rims. I see them in the Midwest a few times a month on the CL. Prob's a dozen in your - 20
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'87 Westy 'Flossie','86 Westy 'R1','86 tintop GL - Subi2.2 'J2','83.5 stock tintop L 'ZoomBus','74 Karmann Ghia, '63 Notch

[vanagonjr]

I believe Passat rims fit. Suggest searching on that

Edit. See https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=200354
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John - 86 Wolfsburg Westfalia "Weekender"
Flint reversed 1.8T W/Passat 5-Speed
LiMBO (late model bus club) www.limbobus.org
LiMBO is on Facebook too! https://www.facebook.com/groups/
FAQ thread: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=525798

[vanagonjr]

[danfromsyr]

passat rims would need the centers opened up.. iirc they have a 57.1mm center bore
this would move them from cheap to mid range if you took that to a shop to do.

there is no free lunch, there is rarely a reduced lunch.

Mercedes rims usually have the right larger center bore (66.6mm) and 5x112 pattern.
require the 12mm lug holes opened to 14mm with a 37/64th drill bit
https://t3technique.com/products/37-64-drill-bit

but many/most Mercedes rims are 7 or 8inches wide. and most have a wrong ET (rim center to rim sides measurement)

many/most will require spacers. and that can lead to needing new studs/lugbolts to have proper thread depth.

these are close being a 15in 6.5in mercedes rim with a 66.6mm center bore.
BUT the ET of 47 would require 8-10 or possibly 12mm spacers.
add in that cost + new longer lugstuds.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/374874048952
it gets $$ quick.
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[danfromsyr]

here's closest 15in steel rims.
"should" fit at ET37. but I'm just a guy on the internet and I don't own or haven't seen these on a van. so take that what it's worth

shipped from Germany, hope no additional unexpected costs.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/166336670663

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[Timwhy]

My Passat steelies found at the junk yard over several visits. Had a machine shop open up the center bore to fit over the front hub.

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[MarkWard]

Do you really need 15 inch rims? The tire you are considering has a 14 size and fits the chassis well without any problems.
https://www.tirerack.com

Edit : Actual tire link did not load. Search General Grabber in a 14”

[E1]

Highly recommend Tire Rack!

Was quoted $1,700 for four mounted 16” BFG KO2s in Cortez, CO, instead paid $1,004 delivered to Lander, WY, plus $100 for mount and balance. Phenomenal tires, definitely better wear than Generals.

Excellent Rep! Carter, (888) 727-8092 ext. 4661.

I renamed him “Karter”, he’ll remember and treat you well. We even bought a spare D-rated tire for our stock 14” wheel.

The 16s are *much* more stable on paved than smaller wheels. If doing it again, I’d do 15s for even better dirt — but will never do C-rated again!

He *might* even know where to find wheels, not sure.
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AI has spoken to further illiteracy, to steal, to cheat, and to replace humans

"Adding power makes you faster on the straights.
Subtracting weight makes you faster everywhere." — Colin Chapman

[PDXWesty]

Cheap wheels may seem cheap, but there are added hidden costs.

I found a set of Mercedes AMG wheels I really liked for I think $250. They had good tires I put on another car, so I saved some there, but it cost another $250 for spacers and hardware to fit them on the van. At the time, a set of GW 15" rims was only $600 so the savings was really minimal over direct fit wheels.

Looks like a set of (4) black steel wheels with all the hardware from GW is only $400. That's a good deal if you ask me.
https://gowesty.com/products/15-steel-wheel-set-2w...4285827237
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89 Westy 2.1 Auto

[danfromsyr]

yep, EVERYTHING PDXwesty said and a bag of chips..

these are the best deal
but you will also need new lug mounting hardware.. these have a small ball bolt hole. the vanagon lugs are for large ball bolt holes.


as mentioned, there's no easy/free lunch.
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[vanagonjr]

If I read “not a ton of cash” as “on a really tight budget”, then I’d leave the rim size at 14” and get just the tires.
If I read “not a ton of cash” as ,well, “I don’t want to spend a ton of cash”, then I’d recommend my route. New 16” steel rims from the Mercedes dealer for around $70-80 each. Then you need new hardware from T3 Technique, but no machine shop work necessary.

I lucked out finding the XL tires I wanted for $80 on Amazon.
So I was at $600 & hardware & mounting/balancing moving to a 16” set-up.

I’m in SoEast Mass by the way.
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John - 86 Wolfsburg Westfalia "Weekender"
Flint reversed 1.8T W/Passat 5-Speed
LiMBO (late model bus club) www.limbobus.org
LiMBO is on Facebook too! https://www.facebook.com/groups/
FAQ thread: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=525798

[PJ Snow]

I got a 15” Passat steel wheel for my spare at a junk yard.
I have ordered 16” MB winter wheels from Rock Auto that were $65-ish a piece. They were miss matched but I didn’t care, and didn’t feel like trying to return them.
Search the What Wheels Fit and hit the junk yards. It’s way less complicated then it seems.
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[harvgwen]

I’ve been following this thread, sort of looking for wheels myself. The MB wheels mentioned above with the 37mm offset don’t seem to be readily available (new) in Canada, but 40mm are. This is just outside Chris’s ideal range of max 39. Is 40 close enough, or should I keep looking?
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1986 Westfalia Vanagon, 2.2 Subaru
Okanagan Valley, British Columbia

[jlrftype7]

I bought 5 Passat rims from ECS Tuning and opened up the Centers myself in my home shop. But, I have a 20" Delta Drill press to do that on. Admittedly , machine shop would have been ideal...
If I had to do it over again, I'd probably go the GoWesty route too, and then consider if I wanted to mount a chrome Hub Cap on the new rims..
Having had a Bay Westy long ago, those Chrome Hubcaps really take me back..
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[jimf909]

[E1]

Anyone know the weight difference between steelies and the Euro wheels?

One of our Euros broke recently, no idea why but there was no incident — and no tire damage. Plus the offset is too wide on the front anyway.
_________________
1984 Westfailure/2.1 Digijet/5.43 Ring & Pinion/Peloquin/D-rated BFG KO2s
AI has spoken to further illiteracy, to steal, to cheat, and to replace humans

"Adding power makes you faster on the straights.
Subtracting weight makes you faster everywhere." — Colin Chapman

[jlrftype7]