Alloy Wheels

Post by **lp24** » 28 Apr 2008, 19:09

I've bought some alloy wheels (DJ328's) from Rochford Tyres (alloywheels.com ). Although they were listed as suitable for a VW T4/Merc Vito and I told them I was intending to use them on a T3/T25 Caravelle, I have found that they have '500KG' stamped on the back. There was no mention of load rating anywhere else.

I emailed them to confirm whether they are suitable and received the following answer:-
"If you do not use your van for commercial use the wheels will be fine. We only recommend heavy duty wheels for commercial use."

They are no longer listed on their site as being suitable for a T4. Am I worrying unecessarily?

Les

Post by **KarlT** » 28 Apr 2008, 19:29

500KG per wheel is a 2 ton bus. Not sticking neck out any further!

Post by **kevtherev** » 28 Apr 2008, 20:47

no I don't think you are.

Though to be fair I've never heard of an alloy failing due to overweight.

My van weighs 2.4 tonnes full up with holiday gear.

Post by **toomanytoys** » 28 Apr 2008, 21:10

Mmm... now the max axle load are like 1200F 1400R... with a max gross weight of about 2300kgs..
Sorry but this might not be what you want to hear.. but this is my opinion/view... and I aint trying to scare anyone..

if you fit the wheels with a 500kg rating, thats like a 40% overload of the wheel rating.. it may not fail, but if it does and someone gets hurt.. the insurance co may look closely especially if the wheel is clearly at fault.. then they would say it was not fit for use and not pay out... thats just the start of it..
Insurance companies look for any reason not to pay out generally..

I have seen alloy wheel failier and it can happen at the wrong time.. its not just the weight sitting on it, when you hit a bump there is a lot more force going through it for a moment.. then cornering... when the loading goes up.. "0.5G" cornering force is easy to achieve.. so that translates to more weight on one side of the vehicle..... then braking forces and loading of the front under braking...

I am running some merc steel rims on my syncro, just for off road use.. and I thought "they'll be fine for me" but I have bent 2 quite badly and that was not doing anything silly...

4x wheels =2000kgs.. vehicle gross weight = 2300 (typical and I am sure a lot more for a heavy camper loaded for hols..)..... you can check with your insurance co if they are happy with it...

Post by **PEET** » 29 Apr 2008, 09:30

I wouldn't personally fit them for same reasons as above! Ask for your money back, if you go to your ebay purchase pge it should still be shown with their wording, print it out and if they get funny go to trading standards.

Post by **lp24** » 29 Apr 2008, 12:35

They are now saying that the only reason they don't list them is because they can't get the right fixings. They also say they can't exchange them because it's over 3 months since I got them (I didn't get round to fitting them!)

Anybody want to buy some alloys?

Les

Post by **lp24** » 22 May 2008, 20:30

Sorry for the late reply. I agreed a trade-in with alloywheels.com for the DJ328's and got some AEZ Vantage 15x6's which I've now had fitted.

I'll post some pics soon.

Thanks for all your advice. I realised I wouldn't drive confidently with the other wheels and it wasn't worth the worry.

Les