Date: Mon, 8 Aug 94 11:10:58 GMT
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From: William Warburton <william@festival.ed.ac.uk>
Subject: Re: Alloy Wheels
> I'd like to get a set of alloy wheels for my '87 Syncro. Called the nearest
> dealership and was quoted a price of nearly $400 a wheel.
Whee, bet they sell a lot of those.
Judging from what I've seen on cars around here there's a lot of
interchangeability between wheels that fit type 2s. The wheels are the same
from when the disc brakes were introduced (1971) and the flat hubcaps appeared
right up to late model vanagons. They are the same PCD and bolt count as
many Mercedes wheels (though you have to watch the bolts- make sure the
bolts you use match the wheels). There are also a lot of other cars that use
this size. I've seen five bolt Merc wheels on Volvo 850s, for example, and I
gather that some of the five bolt Beemer wheels are the same. Some bigger
Audis also have a five bolt fitting that _looks_ the same- I'd be very
surprised if it was different given the context that they were designed in.
It's also quite common to see busses with Porsche alloys- I suspect that they
are a bolt-up as well. I wouldn't be surprised if the VR6 (Corrado/Passat/Golf)
wheels also fit though I've not yet seen them on a bus.
What this doesn't address are the issues of hubcentricity and offset. What
I'd suggest is that you take a look around your local scrapyard for likely
candidates and then either try them on for size or do some research on the
specifics of those wheels to check that they are compatible. It looks to me
like there's a lot more options than appears at first. The five spoke wheels
that come on a Volvo 850 T5 are particularly attractive to my eyes.
One other thing- if buying from a scrapyard watch out for alloys that have
taken an impact. Alloy wheels can crack or bend and a crack that deteriorates
suddenly could really ruin your day.
Cheers,
W.
+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
