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SeacoastRed Samba Member
Joined: December 18, 2018 Posts: 36 Location: Portsmouth, NH
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Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2021 7:59 am Post subject: Re: cracked alloy wheel |
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I think a high value alternative would be to publish a list of known machine shops who know how to properly machine the centers of VAG alloy rims. You can easily drill out the lug holes on most MB rims. Christopher sells the proper lug nuts/bolts and spacers you'll need to fit these quality rims on a T3. |
Chris will also sell you the correct drill bit as well to make drilling out your Mercedes wheels super easy...He helped me set up my CLK wheel set and I could not possibly be a more satisfied customer. He is an outstanding asset for our little VW community. It's worth it to pay for quality when it comes to wheels and tires. |
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joetiger Samba Member
Joined: January 27, 2005 Posts: 5078 Location: denver
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Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2021 8:12 am Post subject: Re: cracked alloy wheel |
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Zeitgeist 13 wrote: |
If those structural pieces start to break and slough off, then the clamping power of the lug nut/bolt is compromised and bad things happen. At the very least, it's not confidence inspiring, and if I was a vendor selling this junk I'd be lawyering up for the inevitable judgment day. |
The guys at a respected shop here have very negative things to say about these wheels. Apparently they've seen this sort of damage before. _________________ Joe T.
'86 NAHT Vanagon GL Syncro/ supercharged ABA 2.0 "Pigpen"
'04 GTI 1.8T
'04 Golf R32
"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
Available Now! Vanagon to Louisiana--A Two-Lane Reckoning Through Past and Present
www.josephtrussell.com |
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skills@eurocarsplus Samba Peckerhead
Joined: January 01, 2007 Posts: 16865 Location: sticksville, ct.
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Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2021 8:16 am Post subject: Re: cracked alloy wheel |
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in my experience that style mount pad is used on hub centric wheels. seeing vanagons are lug centric and there is no 'full circle' pad these are a recipe for disaster. that style pad would have cracked on anything lug centric.
i never would have run that style on anything but hub centric. to those who bought these i'd throw the fuckers thru the shop window if they didn't refund my money. _________________
gprudenciop wrote: |
my reason for switching to subaru is my german car was turning chinese so i said fuck it and went japanese....... |
Jake Raby wrote: |
Thanks for the correction. I used to be a nice guy, then I ruined it by exposing myself to the public. |
Brian wrote: |
Also the fact that people are agreeing with Skills, it's a turn of events for samba history |
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syncro surf Samba Member
Joined: June 06, 2017 Posts: 189 Location: Maine
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Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2021 9:38 am Post subject: Re: cracked alloy wheel |
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Here's a pic of the TSW wheels that I bought 20 years ago. Same idea - inexpensive MB knock offs, probably from Tire Rack, but it looks like there's a lot more material on the pad.
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Slimvest Samba Member
Joined: March 20, 2014 Posts: 431 Location: Portland, OR
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Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2021 10:40 am Post subject: Re: cracked alloy wheel |
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This has me wondering if the 15" set I'm running came from the same overseas factory. I would assume, but unsure since they didn't come from GW. Purchased from VolksCafe/VanCafe in Santa Cruz 8-9 years ago. Time to pull some wheels and check... _________________ '87 GL w/ Reimo top |
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Royb Samba Member
Joined: May 24, 2008 Posts: 228 Location: Sierra Foothills
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Posted: Wed Jan 20, 2021 2:59 pm Post subject: Re: cracked alloy wheel |
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This thread made me nervous too- I bought a set of 16” wheels from Van Cafe in 2016, before they moved the business to Colorado. I checked mine today and they seem to be fine, and they claim to have a max load of 1600 lbs, which should be more than sufficient, I would think.
They haven't seen a ton of use since installed, dealing with other mechanical issues, but have a few thousand miles on them since new. I moved during that time and loaded it up to the brim. So... maybe we’re managing them differently, maybe some are better than others, or maybe mine will crack tomorrow.
One shows the whole inside, with the various stampings.
_________________ 1991 Westy |
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khughes Samba Member
Joined: July 13, 2013 Posts: 747 Location: Phoenix AZ
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Posted: Wed Jan 20, 2021 4:05 pm Post subject: Re: cracked alloy wheel |
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skills@eurocarsplus wrote: |
in my experience that style mount pad is used on hub centric wheels. seeing vanagons are lug centric and there is no 'full circle' pad these are a recipe for disaster. that style pad would have cracked on anything lug centric.
i never would have run that style on anything but hub centric. to those who bought these i'd throw the fuckers thru the shop window if they didn't refund my money. |
I dunno, I have ~13 years on mine with zero issues. When I purchased from Van-Cafe in CA, they had lugnuts specifically for these wheels. _________________ '86 Westy FAS GenV Turbo (Marvin) |
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skills@eurocarsplus Samba Peckerhead
Joined: January 01, 2007 Posts: 16865 Location: sticksville, ct.
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Posted: Wed Jan 20, 2021 5:37 pm Post subject: Re: cracked alloy wheel |
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do some searching...
this was from a site that explains the hub pad differences
you can see it's a hub centric wheel (green spacer)
many aftermarket wheels of any quality have a closed hub pad, no matter if its hub or lug centric.
the missing meat between the lugs tells me it's hub centric _________________
gprudenciop wrote: |
my reason for switching to subaru is my german car was turning chinese so i said fuck it and went japanese....... |
Jake Raby wrote: |
Thanks for the correction. I used to be a nice guy, then I ruined it by exposing myself to the public. |
Brian wrote: |
Also the fact that people are agreeing with Skills, it's a turn of events for samba history |
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khughes Samba Member
Joined: July 13, 2013 Posts: 747 Location: Phoenix AZ
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Posted: Wed Jan 20, 2021 7:36 pm Post subject: Re: cracked alloy wheel |
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skills@eurocarsplus wrote: |
do some searching...
this was from a site that explains the hub pad differences
you can see it's a hub centric wheel (green spacer)
many aftermarket wheels of any quality have a closed hub pad, no matter if its hub or lug centric.
the missing meat between the lugs tells me it's hub centric |
Why would I need to search? I merely stated that with the supplied lugnuts I've used these for over 13 years without issue. What does it matter what Google says? Last I checked they don't live in my garage or routinely inspect my wheels (well, as far as I know anyway...but...) _________________ '86 Westy FAS GenV Turbo (Marvin) |
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Dwighia Samba Member
Joined: November 26, 2010 Posts: 78 Location: Arlington, VA
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Posted: Fri Sep 17, 2021 8:05 am Post subject: Re: cracked alloy wheel |
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Very helpful discussion.
Thanks
In case you are confused like me, here's the link that explains Hub vs Lug Centric.
https://www.discounttire.com/learn/hub-centric-vs-lug-centric --Bad link
Evidently the folks at discount tire re-route a link to their purchase tire page.
Sorry for confusion. Link below is better anyway. _________________ '71 Ghia Sedan
'68 Ghia Convertible
'84 Vanagon
If you dismantle a VW engine and reassemble it enough times, will you end up with enough extra parts for another engine?
Last edited by Dwighia on Fri Sep 17, 2021 3:45 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Red Ryder Samba Member
Joined: June 26, 2021 Posts: 951 Location: Northern California
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Posted: Fri Sep 17, 2021 9:30 am Post subject: Re: cracked alloy wheel |
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I see lots of these wheels on Vanagons out there. Think I will stick with my factory 14” alloys…😁👍 _________________ “Most everyone’s mad here. You may have noticed I am not quite all there myself.” — Cheshire Cat, Adventures of Alice in Wonderland
“Scarlett” — 1990 Vanagon Carat Wolfsburg Edition
Tornado Red |
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raydog Samba Member
Joined: February 09, 2006 Posts: 1163 Location: Cape Cod
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dgbeatty Samba Member
Joined: October 26, 2006 Posts: 702 Location: Sacramento
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Posted: Fri Sep 17, 2021 2:15 pm Post subject: Re: cracked alloy wheel |
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Very carefully look at the contact pattern differences between the cracked and non-cracked wheels. The non-cracked wheel has a contact pattern that extends to the outer edge of the chamfer. While the cracked wheel contact pattern only reaches roughly half way to the chamfer.
So the question is what front hubs/disc are on each vehicle?
EDIT: it wasn't wheels that were cracking for GoWesty it was rotors. My thinking is that they didn't fit correctly, not their conclusion. _________________ Schau in das Buch |
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Jake de Villiers Samba Member
Joined: October 24, 2007 Posts: 5911 Location: Tsawwassen, BC
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Posted: Sat Sep 18, 2021 8:23 am Post subject: Re: cracked alloy wheel |
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dgbeatty wrote: |
EDIT: it wasn't wheels that were cracking for GoWesty it was rotors. My thinking is that they didn't fit correctly, not their conclusion. |
I've seen several posts from people who have had their Chinese GoWesty wheels crack through the hub mating area. _________________ '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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dgbeatty Samba Member
Joined: October 26, 2006 Posts: 702 Location: Sacramento
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Posted: Sat Sep 18, 2021 2:03 pm Post subject: Re: cracked alloy wheel |
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The more I review this post the more irritated I become with the continued sale of these wheels. Attached is a picture of the Ronal R9 wheel, current production version. Note how wide the contact pads are and that they splay outward. They are only offered, to my knowledge anyway, with m14 lug bores. The GoWesty supplied MB style is offered by the manufacture in both m12 and m14 lug bores in what appears to be the same castings. Thus
"overbuilt" for m12s or "underbuilt" for m14s. The GoWesty contact pads do not flare nor are they reinforced by a ring as were the originals.
_________________ Schau in das Buch |
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jttosh Samba Member
Joined: May 16, 2004 Posts: 451 Location: Cuyahoga Falls,Ohio
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Posted: Fri Sep 24, 2021 12:47 pm Post subject: Re: cracked alloy wheel |
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What are the torque specs for the lug nuts on factory 14 alloys? _________________ "listening for the secret,searching for the sound" |
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dgbeatty Samba Member
Joined: October 26, 2006 Posts: 702 Location: Sacramento
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Posted: Fri Sep 24, 2021 2:46 pm Post subject: Re: cracked alloy wheel |
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Wheel lug torque remains at 133lbs from 1985, 125lbs previously. These number are in agreement with other German vehicles with 14mm lugs. _________________ Schau in das Buch |
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