[Fishugly]

After poking around on the Net some more and giving this extra thought, I ask myself "Rather than spending the money on the 16" wheels, why not just keep the stock 15" wheels already on the van, and stick taller tires on them"?

I haven't paid for the 16" Jetta wheels yet. The seller said to take them and make sure they were what I wanted before paying him.

I see that 225/70/15 is just a touch taller than the 235/60/16 I was planning on running....and the 215/70/15 just a touch shorter.

I understand that I may be a little more limited on selection with the 15's (maybe less so on a 215/75/15) but I see that all are available in the 100T rating, which, as I understand from GW, is sufficient enough for these vans. 

I could save myself $100 on the wheels by going this route....which would ease my financial burden of purchasing the spacers and shocks.

What are the downsides of my logic here of just sticking taller tires on the 15" wheels already on my van?

[Cole]

By increasing tires height  without increasing the wheel size you tend to gain sidewall height.


Go try this experiment.

Wiggle your steering wheel and watch the front tire. You will see that the wheel actually starts to move before the contact patch on the ground moves.

The larger sidewall you have have he more disconnect you have between "trying to steer" and "actually steering"

This is most noticeable under heavy braking. The tire can road and the actions of the steering wheel have a delayed effect.

The difference between a 15-16 isn't huge. Some people will never notice.

I personally like to control as many variables when modifying things.

In this example, there is the ride height change of the suspension and the extra height of the tires. To make be those modifications work the best they can, we can minimize the sidewall flex by increasing wheel size or running even higher load rates tires.

[Fishugly]

Thanks! I should have known that. Hence the reason performance/track cars have very low profile tires....

I've found some higher load rated 215/75/15 tires (106 rating) - Goodyear Wrangler HT, Goodyear Wrangler AT/S, and Kumho Road Venture AT51. Only getting 20-25k out of my Goodyear G26 Cargos....so am gunshy to buy another set of Goodyear tires. The Kumho is supposedly a 55k tire. Maybe it is worth consideration in this size???

But, the 215/75/15 may be getting a little bigger in diameter than I want.....

Damn! Why do I have to make everything so difficult!! On the flip side, I'm almost always very pleased with the end results. :-)

[Fishugly]

Cole....or anyone else,

Any last thoughts on the 215/75/15 Kumho tires? They are 6 ply with a 106 rating and max load of 2095 pounds. Good reviews, nice price, and seemingly good warranty.

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Kumho&tireModel=Road+Venture+AT51&partnum=175R5AT51&vehicleSearch=false&fromCompare1=yes

Would it be reasonable to think their extra stiffness might make up for their sidewall height for this application?

[Cole]

Looks like those will work perfectly

[afmoa]

I am either getting rid of my van or attempting to make it work better on back roads.  I am thinking of going with the 16" wine glass Audi rims as the size and offset are what I want.  I am planning on running 21570R16 tires.  My tire of choice is the Nokain Rotiiva AT Plus.  I have friends that swore by the Nokain Vatiiva tires when they were available and these look like their replacement.  Anybody have any insight on this?

My research also uncovered this:  http://www.myturbodiesel.com/1000q/wheels/15-16-audi-wheels-5x112.htm

[filmshoot]

Post pix when u can

Inscribed with just two thumbs...

[greaseworks]

Here's what I run during the summer months on my 2000 weekender TDI Syncro:
VW factory 17" alloys from a 2012-15 Passat, VW p/n: 561-601-025-A-8Z8

Tires: 225/55/17 Nokian Entyre XL



 


2000 EVW 5-spd TDI

[filmshoot]

Oh I didn't know 17s fit.  Nice van Justin, what do you roll in the winter?

Inscribed with just two thumbs...

[Cole]

Oh I didn't know 17s fit.  Nice van Justin, what do you roll in the winter?

Inscribed with just two thumbs...

17s fit, and even 18s and 19s.  They are just increasingly hard to find load rated tires for them.


These are 17s with the same size tire Justin is running.




These are 18s with 255/45/18s

[greaseworks]

In winter I've been running 15" studless Bridgestone Blizzaks on factory steelies:
215/70/15

These are basically the same OD as my summer 17s, within 1/8".  This winter I'm upgrading to the later big brakes so will be running comparable 16" tires on 16" steelies.






Justin
2000 EVW 1.9l TDI
5-spd Syncro

[JVance]

Quick question about wheel load ratings...I recently purchased a Eurovan GLS which was equipped with 17" wheels from a VW Jetta. Obviously not a heavy-weight, but I will kit it out with 4 bikes, camping gear, and 20-gallons of water for the occasional camping/biking trip (4 people). I'm concerned these wheels may not be strong enough, however I see others running Passat and S4 wheels on heavier Weekenders, etc. Is this a valid concern, or should they run fine with a suitable tire (looking at the Nokian mentioned earlier)?

Thanks,
J

[Cole]

They will be fine.

VW/Audi makes the strongest wheels they can, regardless of what car they end up on.

When was the last time you heard of an OEM wheel breaking? From any manufacturer?

[JVance]

Thanks!

[Edit]
After staring at the wheels a bit longer, I decided the offset was bugging me. I tried to swap them onto my A4 to see how the Audi wheels looked/fit on the EV, but the Jetta wheels wouldn't clear the shocks on the A4.
Fortunately the spare Audi wheel fit the EV; I liked that offset much better. So, I opted for a set of 6.5" et42 steel wheels and 225/65r16 tires.
[/edit]

[Edit 2] Here's a pic...

[/Edit]

[sdunn]

Just mounted Yokohama 235/60s - this is rear clearance (wheel offset is 35 - early GoWesty lift kit).  Same tire size as before, but with tread at maximum this is a close shave!