Date:         Sat, 17 May 2003 18:19:50 -0400
Reply-To:     Derek Drew <derekdrew@RCN.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Derek Drew <derekdrew@RCN.COM>
Subject:      Re: Stockton Wheel Service
In-Reply-To:  <brvck0yo3c2e8wo.170520031745@goldengun.northeastinternet.c om>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed

I tried to have the 16" wheels manufactured by Stockton but after awhile I
found that there was a problem because their wheels would have been
extremely heavy and also one has to avoid using a flat center with their
wheels or one may have trouble with the front brake calipers hitting the
wheel. This problem is made much worse by the South African front brake
calipers, a problem brought to our attention by John Wessels, ever the
pro.  I cannot remember why, but Stockton intended to use a flat center.

For these reasons and on other technical grounds I abandoned Stockton wheel
and convinced a wheel company in Germany to make CV-900 wheels exactly to
our specs. The only difference between the specs you list below and the
CV-900 specs is that the CV900 is ET30, which is the same ET as the
factory's other alloy wheels. I prefer ET30 to ET35 because I like to move
the tire out a little further away from the suspension and inner body. This
provides additional insurance against the tires hitting at those locations.

In any case, the rundown on all this is at
http://users.rcn.com/derekdrew/vanagon/All_About_16-Wheels_And_The_CV_900.htm
which provides a lot of info to help the wheel shopper with technical
matters generally.

After an extended delay while the CV-900s were searched at the port by
customs, the CV-900s are now here and so they are now again available.  The
first two batches of 50 sold out so we are on the 3rd batch now. The case
for the CV-900 is sufficiently compelling that in addition to owners in the
USA I have now sent CV-900s to England, Germany, and even Taiwan of all
places.

In the last few weeks I have been supporting a Vanagon owner who bought the
Go Westy 16" wheel. It turns out that the selection of tires suitable for
Vanagon in a 7.5" rim width is limited. In fact, I am suggesting he bail
out of the size 215/70/16 he is using because in fact that tire is not
rated for installation on a 7.5" rim. So we are changing his tire to the BF
Goodrich All Terrain Radial in size 235/70/16, which is the smallest
diameter BFG All Terrain that will go on a 7.5" rim in the 16" size. But of
course 235/70/16 is too big for him to continue using the current 4.86 ring
and pinions so he is replacing his ring and pinions and 3rd and 4th gear to
match that tire. I guess what I am saying is that it pays to research 16"
wheels specs carefully because there can be consequence$ which is why I
sort of knocked myself out researching wheels and in preparing the report
linked to above. After changing to the tire size 215/70/16 the owner found
that his van was pretty badly a dog in the mountains going up hills, which
is understandable given its excessive size for his ring and pinion ratio.

At 05:45 PM 5/17/2003 -0400, you wrote:
>The thing to remember when reading a short message like this is:
>
>Not everyone types at the same speed.  That guy may have taken 15 minutes
>to type that message.
>
>Also, many people don't consider email as "real".
>
>Those people won't get much of _my_ money, but that's another story.
>
>Dan Brideau
>
>
>Original Message -----------------------
>   So, in the search for more variety in wheels, I ran across Stockton
>Wheel.  Question and a rather curt answer follows.  Now you know as much
>as I do. If there's anyone in the Stockton, CA area, it might be worth
>looking into further.
>
>Jim
>
>-------- Original Message --------
>
>From: "Jim"
>To:
>Sent: Sunday, May 04, 2003 12:16 PM
>Subject: Ask Frank - Stockton Wheel Service Question from ClassicCar.com
>
>
> > Frank,
> > > I have a Volkswagen Vanagon and administer a couple of internet mailing
> > lists with nearly 1,000 subscribers.  One of the most common questions
> > is, "Where can I get (either) 15" (or 16") or wider 14" wheels."  Can
> > Stockton Wheel supply wheels for this application?  (5 on 112mm, ET35
> > (IIRC)) 15 or 16 inch wheels would be most desired. I personally would
> > be interested in a 14x6.5J wheel for the Vanagon. Either in a stock
> > center of 'white spoke' center.
> > > If you can supply wheels for this application, could you give us some
> > idea of what the cost might be.
> > > Thank you for your time and I look forward to your reply.
> > > Jim Arnott
> > Union, OR
> > > Sales@stocktonwheel.com wrote:
>
>We can build anything you want.
>.

________________________________________________________
Derek Drew                                 Washington, DC
derekdrew@rcn.com                     Phone 202-966-7907
Email me for viscous coupling s  (Cell 703-408-1532)
'90 Syncro Westfalia...
...seen off-road at
http://users.rcn.com/derekdrew/Syncro_Madness_Area.htm
...seen with 30.5" tall tires at
http://users.rcn.com/derekdrew/vanagon/images/dereks245_75_16.jpg
Note: most valuable Vanagon sites on the planet (for owners) are:
       http://gerry.vanagon.com/cgi-bin/wa.exe?S1=vanagon
       http://gerry.vanagon.com/files/
       http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Syncro
       http://www.vanagon.com
       http://www.syncro.org
Many of my Syncro list postings consolidated
       http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Syncro/messagesearch?query=212-580-6486
       http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Syncro/messagesearch?query=202-966-7907
My refrigerator article:
        http://www.vanagon.com/info/articles/Refrigerator/Reefer_Madness.htm
All About 16" Wheels And The CV-900.htm
       http://users.rcn.com/derekdrew/vanagon/All_About_16-Wheels_And_The_CV_900.htm
All About Viscous Couplings
       http://users.rcn.com/derekdrew/vanagon/viscous_couplings_vanagon_syncro.htm
How To Live With Heavy List Volume--Mail Filters
       http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Syncro/message/7403
My article that shows how to deal with insurance companies:
        http://gerry.vanagon.com/files/auto-insurance-madness.html
To read some material about how to add a front differential lock to your syncro
        http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Syncro/message/13105
To view Wolfgang's incredibly informative wheel article
        http://users.rcn.com/derekdrew/fitbigtiresonvanagon.htm
To view Tim Smith's incredibly useful gearing calculator
        http://users.rcn.com/derekdrew/syncrotireandgearratios.xls
To view two articles about how to think about improving your gears at
transmission rebuild time
        http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Syncro/message/7207
        http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Syncro/message/7221
To view an overview article about choices in larger sized tires see
        http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Syncro/message/11535
To view some 16" Trailing Arms that enable much larger tires see
       http://groups.yahoo.com/group/syncrolist/files/Wheels%2C%20Tires%20%26%20Gearing/Wheel%20%26%20Tire%20Photos/16_Inch_Trailing_Arm.jpg
My article about belt protectors and CV joint protectors
       http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Syncro/message/6112
SYNCRO OWNERS WHO DRIVE OFF THE ROAD:
       You only get to change your ring and pinions once every 10 years
        because that's how long the average syncro transmission goes before
        its next rebuild. If you want bigger tires and more ground clearance
        start planning your higher number ring and pinion sets right now so
you
        can take advantage of your next trans rebuild.