Date: Sun, 13 Sep 2009 10:38:36 -0400
Reply-To: mcneely4@COX.NET
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Dave Mcneely <mcneely4@COX.NET>
Subject: Re: Wheel alternatives...
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8; format=flowed; delsp=no
I am forever amazed at the propensity of folks to change something on a
vehicle from the way the engineers designed it, and dismiss any concerns
about safety of the modification with faith that it will "be ok."
Why do you guys want different wheels from the ones that VW put on the
van? In what way do you think that your choices are better? Just
curious.
Dave McNeely
On Sun, Sep 13, 2009 at 9:18 AM , David Vickery wrote:
> Well, they didn't get stronger by removing about a half inch out of
> each hole I can tell you that. OTOH, I removed enough material to get
> the same # of turns before the OEM alloy wheel lugs seat. I think
> that was about 7.5 turns.
>
> Everything about the MB wheels seems better quality, so I am assuming
> the alloy is as strong or better. If VW concluded it was safe to
> machine the wheels to be that thin on the van, I expect the MB wheels
> will also be o.k.
>
> Dave
>
>
> --- On Sat, 9/12/09, Bob Stevens wrote:
>
>> From: Bob Stevens Subject: Re: Wheel alternatives...
>> To: "David Vickery" Cc: vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com
>> Date: Saturday, September 12, 2009, 11:19 PM
>> Dave,Any idea, based on the amount of
>> material you had to eliminate from the bolt holes, what that
>> may have done to the OE intended load-bearing capacity of
>> these wheels?Just curious.bob
>>
>>
>> On Sat, Sep 12, 2009 at 10:44 PM,
>> David Vickery wrote:
>>
>> I finally got around to fitting MB wheels on my syncro. I
>> used the OEM MB 8 hole, 15x 6.5 or 7, ET 37 from a 90's
>> C class car. I finally got them to be direct bolt on to my
>> or any van. The hubs are the right size but the thickness
>> of the alloy required a lot of machining to get them to
>> direct bolt on. I learned a lot in the process and had
>> checked into wheel adapters and longer studs before deciding
>> to ream out the holes to the same thickness as the OEM VW
>> alloy wheel.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Initially I thought it would be more expensive to get wheel
>> adapters, so I went with wheels that had about the right ET
>> 37 vs. stock 30. I wouldn't do it that way again.
>>
>>
>>
>> I also had bought the longer studs that were intended for a
>> 911 and I bought longer lugs too when I had a 2wd van.
>> That was expensive too and was more involved that I wanted
>> to get into so I resold them. Plus they aren't really
>> bolt on when you do that, they only bolt on to a modified
>> van. I wouldn't do it that way again either.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> If I had to do it over again, I would find wheels with a
>> large offset like ET60 and I would just buy adapters to bolt
>> on before bolting on the wheels. That would be the easiest
>> way to go, and in the end the cheapest if you figure in any
>> cost for your time and tools or other parts you will have to
>> buy. The drill bits to ream out the holes cost almost $100
>> by themselves. Plus someone mis-informed me and I had to
>> buy a second countersink bit.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> You can adapt the larger ET wheels easily and the bolt
>> pattern options are plentiful from places that sell
>> adapters. You can also get a 25mm thick 5/112 to 5/112
>> "adapter" that just corrects the offset and is a
>> direct bolt on with MB wheels. The link below is
>> $52/adapter but I think I saw them a little cheaper
>> somewhere else.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> http://adaptitusa.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=165
>>
>>
>>
>> Sounds like the link posted from thesamba has all the
>> correct info. But this was my experience after going
>> through it. And I didn't know about the samba link
>> when I started.
>>
>>
>>
>> BTW, I did all the machining by hand drill, and it worked
>> out fine. I later found a wheel shop in Denver that
>> machines them for $20/wheel. Oh well.
>>
>>
>>
>> Dave in Denver
>>
>>
>>
>>
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