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Date:         Tue, 14 Dec 1999 03:44:38 EST
Reply-To:     JordanVw@AOL.COM
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         JordanVw@AOL.COM
Subject:      Audi wheels again :<)  was: Re: 16x7" et35 5x112mm wheels! (long)
Comments: To: vanagon@volkswagen.org
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

In a message dated 12/14/99 2:29:13 AM Eastern Standard Time, vanagon@VOLKSWAGEN.ORG writes:

<< I was at the VW dealer this weekend asking about some Audi A8 16" wheels. Looking at the fiche and a paper catolog the 441 601 025N Z7P wheels have a 35mm offset and are 7" wide - the factory 16" wheels on my Syncro are 35mm offset and 5.5" wide. Looks like an almost perfect fit to me! Canadian VW Dealer pricing on these wheels is $183.76 each (~$125 USD). Which doesn't seem to bad for a wheel like this. So, one question I have for the people who have installed Audi wheels on their Vanagon - was it as simple as machining out the hub to the same dimentions as a Vanagon wheel? Same bolts / nuts? I am looking into machining pricing this week. If anyone is interested in some of these wheels let me know. I can get them out somewhere around the $160 CAD ($110 USD) per wheel price if people are interested. >>

Those of you who have following the audi wheel thread may have seen my pics of the A8 16x7 et37 alloy wheel on a vanagon, as well as the audi turbo 15x6 (or 7) et45 wheel from the 5k series turbo, on my (karls) website. for the A8, the alloy is same as the steel as far as being a 16x7, but the alloy is et37 and the steel is et35. the A8 wheel offset isnt the prob, its the width of the wheel - the 7" i'm referring to.

ALL audi 15" and 16" wheels with the 5x112bp fit on the REAR of ANY vanagon, either 6" or 7" wide, AS IS with NO problem at all, no machining or anything. tho the alloys require longer studs in the rear, while the steels do not.

fitting the wheels onto the fronts of a 2wd van, is the problem.

ALL audi wheels require machining of the centers to fit over the front hub grease cap of the 2wd vans. NO MACHINING OF THE WHEELS IS NECESSARY FOR 4WD VANS. on 2wd vans, people opt to machine all 4 wheels to ease in tire rotation. wheels can be machined at any local machine shop, for usually like $10 a wheel, $40 for all 4. if you use the alloys, you will need to use the audi lug bolts ( same shaft dia, thread pitch as vanagon, but longer) up front (on 2wd vans). obviously Syncros dont have lug bolts so you dont have to worry about that. the problem with the 7" wide A8 et37 alloy wheel, (or the 6" wide 15" et45 turbo wheel) is that you will need to run a thin spacer up front to make the inner rim of the wheel clear the control arm. Im not familiar w/ the front Syncro suspension, so i dont know how it fits on that, ive only tried it on 2wd vans. i dont see how fitment could vary much from the A8 alloy 16x7 et37 versus the A8 Steel 16x7 et35. anyone with a syncro tried it? and for all of you who want to look for a used set of A8 steel wheels - dont even bother. you will have to get them new, as the A8 was only offered with the alloys standard here in North America.

to sum it up to fit audi wheels on a vanagon - if you have a syncro, its alot easier to use the audi wheels on your van. specs are as follows:

for 2wd: -must machine all wheel centers (actually only 2, but do all 4 for ease in rotation of tires) -must run longer studs on rears, longer bolts up front IF USING ALLOYS. steels dont require the longer studs/bolts. -must run thin spacer up front to space out from control arm. no spacer needed in rear.

for 4wd: -no machining of the wheels is necessary. - longer studs need to be used if using ALLOYS. steels dont need longer studs. - im not familiar w/ syncro front suspension, so i cannot say if spacer is needed or not.

David - why dont you take one of the wheels off of your audi 5k quattro, and throw it on the front of your syncro vanagon pickup... you can see if the centers need to be machined or not. the A8 wheels have basically the same center dia as the audi 5k 5 lug wheels.

hope this helps....

chris


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