Wheel & Tyre confirmation needed please

Post by **jaymo** » 08 Feb 2008, 19:41

Hi guys,

I need to know if I'm right in thinking the locating part of the wheel hub on a W reg Caravelle is the same on the front as it is on the back (57mm) And am I right in saying that a grade C or preferably D Tyre is needed with a load rating of 97 or above? And for a 17" wheel, is a 50 profile tyre needed in order for the gearing and rolling road to be correct?

I'm sorry to ask so many questions, just want to be sure before I pay out for a new set of wheels and tyres.

Thanks in advance

Post by **Westy.Club.Joker** » 08 Feb 2008, 21:02

The wheel are clearance fit front and rear, they locate on the studs, not the centre bores. You`ll need quite a bit more than 57mm to clear the front grease cap lip.

Tyre ratings, there are quite a few views on what is right and what is good enough. My VW handbook states 97 rating minimum, so that`s what I worked from.

Tyre sizes - depends on what width tyre you get, the 50% aspect ratio gives different sizes depending on the width.

Google "tyre size calculator" and you`ll get some useful stuff that lets you put different size tyres and profiles in and it`ll tell you whether it`s higher or lower geared compared to standard.

Post by **jaymo** » 08 Feb 2008, 21:31

Thanks for that.

I've seen somewhere that a 66mm clearance is needed for the wheels to fit ok and clear the grease cap lip, so that makes sense. I just thought that the wheel would need to locate on the centre part of the hub as well as the studs.

The wheels I'm looking at are the JK 17" which I believe are 7" wide or 180mm, so I guess they should fit no problems. I have been looking at other wheels, but I just can't be fussed with finding out if they'll fit, and whether they'll need machining etc etc......

I'll take a look at the tyre calculator now.

Thanks again for your time.

Mark

Post by **g60steve** » 08 Feb 2008, 21:36

These may help Mark before you go shelling out..

http://www.brick-yard.co.uk/forum/forum ... D=596&PN=1

http://www.brick-yard.co.uk/forum/forum ... =1290&PN=3

And this is also useful info

http://www.brick-yard.co.uk/VehicleSpec ... ltwhls.htm

Post by **jaymo** » 08 Feb 2008, 22:10

Hey Steve,

Just had a look at those links, and very helpful they were too. Many thanks!

I'm waiting for my van to come out of the spray shop at the mo. Having a top notch job done on it and didn't want to be limited on the wheels I can choose.

I'm still a bit unclear on how front wheels are machined. Is it just the inner bore thats machined, as in rebated to clear the grease lip? Or is it the full depth of the centre bore?

I've seen some nice wheels that VW make. They have the correct PCD and Offset, but have a centre bore of 57.1mm, so the front wheels would need to be machined to 66mm so I believe, but doens't this process weaken the wheel? And cause the centre cap not to fit?

I'm a pain in the rear aren't I, sorry.

Post by **Westy.Club.Joker** » 09 Feb 2008, 21:29

Wheel centre bores need boring just enough to clear the grease caps, you can remove the lip off the caps so you don`t need to bore out as much.

It all depends on the wheels you buy, the offset (ET) makes all the difference. You may need spacers (most do) and this will affect where abouts the centre caps poke through the wheel, you may get away with just boring half the depth of the centre bore to clear the caps, and then the wheel center badges will still clip in. It`s possible to reduce the grease caps length, so they fit further in so giving you some more clearance. Rear centres rarely give problems, as most people use a bigger wheel spacer to set the wheels out to fill the arches (watch sliding door clearance, that`s a whole different can o` worms)

Every wheel is different regarding maching, some don`t have enough metal round the centres to achieve what you need clearance wise, I`ve machined a few sets, and some Audi wheels I was asked to do didn`t have enough metal between the stud holes and the centre bore to be safe (IN MY OPINION) so I didn`t do them to the size required.

Post by **jaymo** » 10 Feb 2008, 19:29

Thanks Joker,

The info you've given me there is very helpful.

I guess it's just easier to get wheels that are made for the van, i.e JK wheels, rather than hunting for a set that need machining, but I think I said before, I didn't want to be limited to the choice of wheels that are out there. Maybe i'm just taking the easy way out. I'll think on....

Many thanks for all the advice given by all so far, it's very much appreciated

Post by **Westy.Club.Joker** » 11 Feb 2008, 15:09

Get `em couriered to me, and I`ll do the machining for you. Only need 2 doing if you arn`t bothered about having interchangeability between front and rear.