Date: Wed, 21 Nov 2001 14:42:04 -0500
Reply-To: Derek Drew <derekdrew@RCN.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Derek Drew <derekdrew@RCN.COM>
Subject: Worldwide Solution For 16" Wheel (Advances Made)
In-Reply-To: <bc.1d36bc88.292c8e25@aol.com>
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<font size=3>WORLDWIDE SOLUTION IN PROGRESS FOR VANAGON 16"
WHEEL<br>
<br>
Be advised that I have made progress with manufacturers on obtaining a
batch of "perfect" vanagon wheels in 16" size. The
manufacturer introduced these wheels early this year, but listed them as
not fitting Vanagon / T3 and so nobody realized the breakthrough. I
have corrected their understanding. <br>
<br>
Because the ET is 30, longer studs would not be needed. No spacers or
adapters of any kind would be needed. The center caps and lugnuts are
included as well. These facts lower the all-in costs of this wheel
significantly. <br>
<br>
Also, the wheel is a light alloy wheel specifically manufactured for the
purpose of off-road driving and being installed on heavy van conversions
so it appears to be stronger than other wheels we have discussed except
possibly the T4 ET48 wheel (900kg rating), which, of course, has entirely
the wrong offset and requires a somewhat massive spacer. <br>
<br>
The manufacturer, which focuses among other things in making wheels for
vehicles of Styer Daimler Puch! that are used off the road, initially
turned me away, but after some spirited and persuasive and lengthy
emails, they are turning to our cause, and I would say, actually becoming
excited. <br>
<br>
This is a WORLDWIDE solution, and the only solution of its kind for
16" wheels that I have seen in any country, on any web site, or in
any email. <br>
<br>
As for 15" wheels, I regard that as largely solved by the South
African 15" wheels, which I view as satisfying all the requirements
we need in a 15" size so 15" was not the problem.<br>
<br>
Specs for the new 16" wheel, pending any fine tuning, are:
<br>
<br>
66 center bore<br>
5 x 112<br>
14mm stud holes<br>
ET30<br>
16" x 6.5" width<br>
Incredibly strong<br>
Light weight attractive alloy<br>
Price estimate: $150 per wheel (this is only an initial estimate and if
there are enough purchasers the price will go down) <br>
<br>
To get on a list of interested parties, please email me a notice that you
are interested in this topic.<br>
<br>
MANUFACTURER LAST WEEK: <br>
<br>
Dear Mr. Drew,<br>
<br>
we would like to thank you very much for your inquiry<br>
reg. light alloy wheels for the a.m. vehicle.<br>
<br>
The CV wheel 6,5x16", ET 30, 5/112 does not fit to<br>
the VW T3 Syncro.<br>
<br>
For a.m. vehicle we can offer our <br>
CV wheel in size<br>
8x16<br>
ET 20<br>
5/112<br>
Centre hole 66,5.<br>
<br>
<br>
Upon receiving the above email I sent them a lengthy email with numerous
links to indicate that my spec does indeed fit and that in fact theirs is
too wide and doesn't! Then....<br>
<br>
MANUFACTURER TODAY:<br>
<br>
Dear Mr. Drew,<br>
<br>
we have checked the brake of the German<br>
T3 Syncro - the CV wheel 6,5x16", ET 30, 5/112 wheel is
suitable.<br>
<br>
To be absolutely sure that the wheel is <br>
suitable to the USA model we will send to you a<br>
sample wheel by air freight tomorrow. <br>
Please be so kind and arrange mounting<br>
tests on front axle and rear axle and confirm<br>
us that the wheel is suitable.<br>
<br>
===============<br>
<br>
This email constitutes advance notice of a event of importance to the
Vanagon and Syncro communities and as such is preliminary and subject to
final verification and testing. That is, there is a very real possibility
that in three weeks I will report some issue is interrupting progress.
But it is starting to look very good.<br>
<br>
BACKGROUND ON WHEELS <br>
<br>
Depending on pricing, it appears that there may be little or no pricing
penalty for going with the 16" wheel vs. the South African 15"
wheel and after considering all the costs, there may even be a price
advantage. The objectives of the user are then considered in whether to
select a wheel of one size or another. The 16" wheel fits larger
diameter tires without getting too wide, and so is the best solution for
serious off-road drivers who want to mount the very largest diameter
tires that can be made to fit on Vanagon (e.g., 245/75/16 or 215/85/16).
The 16" wheel also has shorter sidewalls, and so may be a better
handling solution for Vanagons that wish to optimize performance on the
highway for reduced sway and sidewall flex. There seems to be no
advantage of 16" wheel vs the 15" wheel for Vanagons that do
not wish to mount very large diameter tires and that do not wish to
reduce sidewall height of the tires for better "sportscar-like"
handling. <br>
<br>
Some off-road oriented Vanagon owners will wish to stay with a 15"
wheel, provided they are not switching to very large diameter tires, on
the theory that a 15" wheel provides more sidewall to flex down in
low air pressure situations for the purpose off road floation driving
across swamps and other muddy areas. So there is a possibility, although
it is speculation, that the 15" wheel is a better choice if you plan
on off-road driving and plan on only a modest increase in tire size. This
advantage may be slightly negated by the benefit of the increased
strength of the 16" wheel vs. 15" but that advantage is a
matter of personal preference and cannot be objectified.<br>
<br>
DEREK AS SUPPLIER<br>
<br>
I have become able to supply either the 15" or the 16" wheel to
list members at absurd discount prices so email me your inquiry about
either wheel. Either wheel is an advantage if you wish to mount the South
African upgrade brakes for Vanagon, which brakes won't fit in the stock
14" wheels and which brakes are clearly superior to the brakes we
can obtain here in North America from Volkswagen. I am also supplying
these brake kits to list members as well, so email me about that if you
are interested. <br>
<br>
WIDTH PERFECTION<br>
<br>
The advantage of these 16" wheels is that: <br>
<br>
-- the 6.5" width is much better suited to tires such as 245/75/16,
which size is not rated to go on the 5.5 inch width factory 16"
wheel<br>
<br>
-- the 6.5" width is much better suited than wider widths that may
cause the rubber of the tire to rub against the sliding door, suspension
components, or wheelwells. 7" appears to be OK, 7.5" is
troublesome, but 6.5" seems best<br>
<br>
-- the 6.5" width better matches the available sizes of beadlocks
availalbe from tireloc so from that perspective it is superior to 7"
width.<br>
<br>
ET PERFECTION<br>
<br>
-- the ET of 30 is pretty much a perfect balance of fit concerns (ref.
Jens16 and Wolfgang) and also from a theoretical perspective in
minimizing bearing wear (ref. the work of Michael Sullivan, among
others).<br>
<br>
WHAT ABOUT THE FACTORY 16" WHEEL?<br>
<br>
-- at just 5.5 inches wide it is too narrow (if you have one, consider
having Stockton Wheel make it wider for you).<br>
-- it has been discontinued<br>
-- it is expensive<br>
-- it is an ordinary steel wheel (although very strong)<br>
<br>
ADVANCE NOTICE<br>
<br>
-- Look for plentiful and cheap front diff lock upgrade kits to be
available from both me and Weddle early to mid-next year. It is absurd
that that thousands of syncros are driving around North America without
these locks in the front. These kits will also upgrade the front
differentials to a 4 little pinion gear setup from 2, so strength will be
increased as well. <br>
<br>
VISCOUS COUPLINGS<br>
<br>
-- 18 brand new viscous couplings are scheduled to cross the Atlantic
this way in a matter of weeks. There had been a dry spell. Email me for
an information package about these if you have not received one
already.<br>
<br>
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!<br>
<br>
At 11:57 PM 11/20/2001 -0500, you wrote:<br>
<blockquote type=cite cite><a href="http://www.wheeladapter.com/contact.asp" eudora="autourl">http://www.wheeladapter.com/contact.asp</a><br>
<br>
Is a company that makes custom wheel adapters and wheel studs.<br>
<br>
If they can make the pull through studs, that can simplify a lot of
custom<br>
rim applications. Plus it would enable you to have one set of wheel
locks<br>
and put the front rims on easier.<br>
<br>
I did not like the studs that I got from the local wheel company, 4 mm
of<br>
stud to hold the rim on Vs 22 mm for the lug bolt.<br>
<br>
List purchase time...???<br>
<br>
Vendors can also get the custom wheel studs for their rim packages
and<br>
include wheel locks with one key.<br>
<br>
Robert </font></blockquote><br>
<div>________________________________________________________</div>
<div>Derek
Drew
New York, NY & Washington, DC</div>
<div>derekdrew@rcn.com<x-tab> </x-tab>
212-580-6486</div>
<div>Email me for viscous couplings</div>
<div>'90 Syncro Westfalia... </div>
<div>...seen off-road at </div>
<div><a href="http://users.rcn.com/derekdrew/Syncro_Madness_Area.htm" EUDORA=AUTOURL>http://users.rcn.com/derekdrew/Syncro_Madness_Area.htm</a></div>
<div>Note: most valuable Vanagon sites on the planet (for owners)
are:</div>
<div>
<a href="http://gerry.vanagon.com/cgi-bin/wa.exe?S1=vanagon" EUDORA=AUTOURL>http://gerry.vanagon.com/cgi-bin/wa.exe?S1=vanagon</a></div>
<div>
<a href="ftp://gerry.vanagon.com/pub/" EUDORA=AUTOURL>ftp://gerry.vanagon.com/pub/</a></div>
<div>
<a href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Syncro" EUDORA=AUTOURL>http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Syncro</a>
</div>
<div> <a href="http://www.vanagon.com/" EUDORA=AUTOURL>http://www.vanagon.com</a> </div>
<div> <a href="http://www.syncro.org/" EUDORA=AUTOURL>http://www.syncro.org</a> </div>
<div>My refrigerator article: </div>
<div> <a href="http://www.vanagon.com/info/articles/Refrigerator/Reefer_Madness.htm" EUDORA=AUTOURL>http://www.vanagon.com/info/articles/Refrigerator/Reefer_Madness.htm</a></div>
<div>My article that shows how to deal with insurance companies: </div>
<div> <a href="http://gerry.vanagon.com/files/auto-insurance-madness.html" EUDORA=AUTOURL>http://gerry.vanagon.com/files/auto-insurance-madness.html</a></div>
<div>To view Wolfgang's incredibly informative wheel article</div>
<div> <a href="http://users.rcn.com/derekdrew/fitbigtiresonvanagon.htm" EUDORA=AUTOURL>http://users.rcn.com/derekdrew/fitbigtiresonvanagon.htm</a> </div>
<div>To view Tim Smith's incredibly useful gearing calculator</div>
<div> <a href="http://users.rcn.com/derekdrew/syncrotireandgearratios.xls" EUDORA=AUTOURL>http://users.rcn.com/derekdrew/syncrotireandgearratios.xls</a> </div>
<div>To view some 16" Trailing Arms that enable much larger tires see</div>
<div> <a href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/syncro-org/files/Wheels,%20Tires%20%26%20Gearing/Wheel%20%26%20Tire%20Photos/16_Inch_Trailing_Arm.jpg" EUDORA=AUTOURL>http://groups.yahoo.com/group/syncro-org/files/Wheels%2C%20Tires%20%26%20Gearing/Wheel%20%26%20Tire%20Photos/16_Inch_Trailing_Arm.jpg</a></div>
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