Big wheels and low profile tires

aadsprinter

New member
Hi Guys.
I would like more thoughts and ideas about big wheels and low profile tires. Does anyone have 20 inch wheels on their sprinter wagons and if so how is the ride and handling, even if you do not have 20s what do you think it will do. The wheels would of course be as close to the normal diameter and width as possible.
Lets here it.:thinking:
 

Mrdi

Active member
If you intend for your Sprinter to be a Boulevard Cruiser then the +2 format might be for you.
The reason there is air between the tread and the rim is for comfort and SAFETY.
The air acts as a buffer and shock absorber between the highway/road surface and the vehicle.
Diminished sidewalls may eliminate some sway, but the engineers designed the vehicle to be used
with the prescribed tire sizes intentionally.
 

georgetg

2005 140" low roof
If you intend for your Sprinter to be a Boulevard Cruiser then the +2 format might be for you.
The reason there is air between the tread and the rim is for comfort and SAFETY.
The air acts as a buffer and shock absorber between the highway/road surface and the vehicle.
Diminished sidewalls may eliminate some sway, but the engineers designed the vehicle to be used
with the prescribed tire sizes intentionally.
You would think that, but then we would have much smaller tires on our Sprinters

Original wheels on the T1N Sprinters were 195 x 75 on a 15" rim
For the US, they put bigger tires on it and jacked it up 1" because the smaller tires were hard to find with the proper load rating.

The US NCV3 also has bigger tires on it compared to how it was engineered in Germany originally, i think it has 235 x 65 on a 16" rim as OEM tires from Mercedes...

Load rating will probably be the biggest issue in sourcing oversize or low-profile tires.

I would imagine your ride would be very firm and bouncy with much less sway...

Peter has 20" wheels on his NCV3



Cheers
George
 

Mrdi

Active member
Don't forget the circumference needs to stay constant even if you go +1 or +2 in order for the speedo and odometer to be correct.
I don't know what other instruments are effected in the Sprinter, but changing the diameter/circumference of the wheels/tires may effect other monitered aspects of the vehicle.
 

aadsprinter

New member
Hi guys,
It seems Peter's Sprinter wheels are 5 stud on a NCV 3. Is there some sort of spacer that allows this. If so where can I get them. The 20s do look good.:drool:
 

oddboy

New member
hi, i upped size to 17" bolt straight on no adapters or spigot rings, the van now rides alot better tyres are 235/60 weight rated

 

jdcaples

Not Suitable w/220v Gen
What wheels did you use (manufacturer, model/part number)?

What what happened to your fascia?

-Jon
 

aadsprinter

New member
Oddboy,
Those 17s look good too:drool: They look like Brobet commercial van wheels. Did you have them drill the 6-130 bolt pattern or how did they fit.
 

oddboy

New member
hi they were ordered for sprinter so came ready to fit they are CW model CX and my signwriter made me the merc centres, the side trims have gone to be colour coded, think i better have the bumpers done as well
 

oddboy

New member
right have looked into this the manufacturer is Borbet CW is the trademark they use for commercial wheels and the style no is CX they are 17inch and the offset is ET 52 they are drilled at factory for the sprinter hub and bolt straight on no spigots or adaptors needed,hope this helps:thumbup:
 

aadsprinter

New member
oddboy
Thanks for the info, are you stateside and if so where did you get them. I wonder if one will loose ride comfort with the lower profile wheel and tire setup. Borbet actually has your wheels in a 20" that is 10" wide. The 20s look pretty good on Peter's sprinter.
 

oddboy

New member
im in the UK, i had 20"s on my last van but with the sprinter being bigger i dont want wheels that you cant go near kerbs with, would have looked nice but would have looked crap once rashed round the edges
the ride quality is better on the 17"s than it was on the 16"s so thats a billy bonus:thumbup:
 

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