16" wheels on a 14" van

[bikermike87]

Hello guys and gals,

My van had a set of 16" wheels with 222/75/16's M/T's on it, I've since downisized my tyres and put some winter tyres on.

But... I miss the look of the 16" M/T's and finding a set of 15" wheels with tyres is proving difficult.

I don't want to rip up my gearbox so could you offer some advice on what I should do,

Sell 16's and keep waiting for that set of 15's to come up.

Run with the 16" MT's

Look into gearbox adjustment, did the 16" syncro's have a completely different set up? Maybe this could be included as part of a gearbox refurb from Aiden. (no idea on cost, or if my gearbox is good or not, how can you tell!?)

The van is becoming a daily soon and the 16's take up a fair bit of space!

[lloydy]

my 16" comes with a very low ratio box. i have a 6.16 final drive, my tyres are standard 205/80/16. top speed is restricted, but it's great off road. Most people try to keep to the same rolling radius as standard, as you can make it worse to drive off road, and a pain on motorways as the engine doesnt have the grunt to turn the wheels on anything other than on the flat.
I'm having a bigger engine put in, so i'm keeping the same final drive but having longer 3rd and 4th gears put in.
If your happy how yours drives on the 16" muds, then keep them. if not you can get 15" muds, its what most people have
lloyd

[bikermike87]

Cheers lloydy,

Since I've had the new engine in, the van pulled fine with the 16" MTs, I'm just worried about the effect it might have on my box if I fit the MTs back on, am I going to cause harm by having the bigger rolling radius?

[jed the spread]

I wouldn't think your engine has the power to damage the gearbox with the bigger wheel rolling radius you have and it would simply run out of power to drive them on any sort of hill in 4th and you would have to change gear lots, I could be wrong though? 222/75/16's is quite a big set of wheels and tyres to have on a van you know and with them being MT's too I bet it could be quite a displeasure to drive if you are carrying any sort of weight.

jed

[bikermike87]

As long as the only side effects are, changing down on long hills and higher fuel consumption, I think I will give it a go and see how I get on.

It's a fairly light panel van, so that might help.

I will fit the cool as f**k MTs and report back on the gear changing and power issues. If its feel rubbish I will focus on the 15" wheels and tyres.

If there are no mechanical risks attached to bigger wheels, then I will test it and see how I get on.

Thanks for your help guys,

Jed, this might mean I get chance to ate this measurements, if you still need them?

[v-lux]

Let me know if you do end up wanting to get rid of the 225/75/16's

[jed the spread]

Let me know if you do end up wanting to get rid of the 225/75/16's

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCfWHqrYUqo" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

jed

[bikermike87]

Let me know if you do end up wanting to get rid of the 225/75/16's

Will do, I have 4 part worn with 8mm tread and one brand new one with 12mm tread

The original owner failed to read the 5 wheel rotation method and I'm not sure what to do

Going to get the van back from workshop soon and will make a decision then.

Recently fitted Pirelli STR's 215/65/16 and I haven't warmed to the appearance, despite the performance on and partially off the road.

Will give you a shout once I know.

[PetenAli]

Hi Mike,

Talk to Kingprawn on here. I think he has 16s on a 14" Westy. Its certainly bigger than ours. I've driven it and it seems to go OK. Hotpod is also thinking similar to you I think although he starts with 16s.

Pete

[bikermike87]

Thanks Pete,

I've driven 16's on my van since day 1.

The MT's (225/75/16) were ok, but it was a pretty rubbish engine at the time. I've only run the MT's on the new engine for a short while and honestly can't remember!

The STR's (215/65/16) are snow tyres but nothing aggresive. They drive well and my mpg is great (26mpg). I just miss the look and confidence I had in the MT's.

I just didn't want any mechanical issues from running the larger MT's.

I know you are running 15's and they looked just right tbh, it's just finding a set of 15's with decent tyres for a good price.

[PetenAli]

I know you are running 15's and they looked just right tbh, it's just finding a set of 15's with decent tyres for a good price.

Well how about doing what Jed and lots of others do and run 15" Mefros - I think thats what they are called. I have BFG ATs which is what a lot of people seem to go for - they are better in snow than BFG MSs. The BFGs are expensive to start with but I've read about people getting 70k miles from a set properly rotated.

[bikermike87]

Well how about doing what Jed and lots of others do and run 15" Mefros - I think thats what they are called. I have BFG ATs which is what a lot of people seem to go for - they are better in snow than BFG MSs. The BFGs are expensive to start with but I've read about people getting 70k miles from a set properly rotated.

Yeah I think I'm ultimately going to go down this option, but I might just run with one of my 16 sets for now, which should give me plently of time for saving up. Looks like the only drawback for 16" tyres are poor mpg around town and the feeling of being under powered when on the long hills..

I just need to work out how to get around the fact I have a 6mm difference from my 4 MT's and my 1 spare.... If there isn't a sensible route, I will be selling them and stick to the sensible STR's for now. Sorted.

Cheers for all your input folks, sorry if some of the questions seem daft!

[syncropaddy]

I was looking at this thread and I think you are missing the fact that if you go for the standard 215/75/15 that everyone else goes for you gearing will actually be taller than with the 215/65/16 tyres you have now! Stick with what you have!!

[bikermike87]

I was looking at this thread and I think you are missing the fact that if you go for the standard 215/75/15 that everyone else goes for you gearing will actually be taller than with the 215/65/16 tyres you have now! Stick with what you have!!

My MT's are 225/75/16

My STR's are 215/65/16

I want the MT's back on my van, but I only have 4 useable ones and I was concerned they were too big for a 14" syncro. I haven't had the van that long, but long enough to know how much a cluth and front cv joints cost!

I know my STR's are a good size as they are slighlty smaller than 215/75/15's. But they just don't have All terrain ability and look pretty boring!

[v-lux]

I ran 225/75/16 on my van for a while when I still had an AAZ.

It was very underpowered, since then I've put a tdi in and it has no problem whatsoever with the 235/70/16 AT's I'm running.
The reason I've showed an interest in your MT's is that I'd like a set of tyres to use offroad so I don't mess up my AT's.