Converting 118" T1N to 16's - Spacers or no?

jackB

New member
Hello,

I apologize if this seems like a droll repost, but days of searching through the forums have me a bit more confounded than I was before starting my quest.

I'm a new owner of a 2004 118" lowtop sprinter, which is running on the original 15" wheels. I discovered very quickly the scarcity of rubber for this size wheel, and have been strongly considering the migration to the stocker 16" wheels, which do seem to have several types of rubber readily available.

I was working to understand the impact of this switch (speedo, driveline, etc.) and ease, and have to admit the forum has even more conflicting information than I've heard on the street. It's pretty clear that the higher rolling diameter might actually make the speedo more accurate (a good thing), and is likely to raise ride height, which might negatively impact mileage (a bad thing).

The big mystery, however, is if this is a "bolt-on" solution. I've seen many mention in this forum of a spacer (sometimes 30mm, sometimes 60mm) that was dealer supplied on the 16"-wheel-fitted 140 and 170 size sprinters. I've also seen several suggestions of people who've successfully gone as large as 18's with *no* spacer--some rolling fenders, some not.

I do not want to roll the fenders. I just want new tires--and I want to be able to find future replacements in weird, out of the way places if necessary.

Is it possible to fit take-off 16" wheels from a larger T1N sprinter to my wee 118" without spacers, or is this necessary? (Are the spacers for ride height, or offset?)

This is a race van: it will likely only ever carry two people, two motorbikes, and some tools... but I'm hoping that it can carry me across the country a few times this year. :D

Thanks in advance for any clarifications the forum may have!

Jack
 

scubanw3

Member
You can use 16” wheels from an 03-06 140” or 158” 2500 model. The spare tire carrier will not accommodate a 16” tire. Although with modification, a 16” tire could be made to fit in the carrier. No spacers are needed and a slight mud guard or fender modification would be necessary. Hope this helps.

Thank you, John
Sprinter Store
http://sprinterstore.com/
A division of Upscale Automotive, Inc.
19460 SW 89th Ave.
Tualatin, OR 97062
503-692-0846
 
B

boxcar

Guest
You can use 16” wheels from an 03-06 140” or 158” 2500 model. The spare tire carrier will not accommodate a 16” tire. Although with modification, a 16” tire could be made to fit in the carrier. No spacers are needed and a slight mud guard or fender modification would be necessary. Hope this helps.
Will confirm this, as John is the man owning the shop that performed this work for me. The results are very good, the wee mud guard adjustment is so
minor that you'll likely not notice & no tires rubbing the wells when turning tightly. The larger tires & rims look great too, really spiffing up a short shorty...
& they contribute to slightly better economy at highway cruising, though admittedly the gain is slighter than one would think (2% or so, in my estimation).
Mechanical results are that my odometer is now reading 7.6% slow &, oddly, my speedometer remains slightly opposite, reading right close to 1.5% fast.
Am running Michelin LTX M/S 225/75-16 size tires, 10-ply, perfect size for this. Wanted the M/S 2 series but they are not available in this size unfortunately.

.
 

jackB

New member
Thank you so much for these detailed responses... exactly the information I was looking for!

Nathan -- I will definitely be looking you up again when I get back to Portland... this trip is taking much longer than expected.

Cheers!
 

MillionMileSprinter

Millionmilesprinter.com
If all you are carrying is 2 people and a few race bikes and some tools, go with my Touareg/Cayenne/Q7 18" mod.
It's hard to find the E or D load rating for 255/55/18 tires, so I wouldn't recommend that for people who run around with the van fully loaded, but for guys who need the vans for their space and traveling, you will be really happy. I'm lovin' it. :bounce:
 

jackB

New member
...and you know where you can find a set of 16" steelies in the Portland area, Jack... :smilewink:

Just give me a shout if you're still interested.

Nathan
I have finally made it back to Portland... long shot, I suppose, but any chance those are still available?


If all you are carrying is 2 people and a few race bikes and some tools, go with my Touareg/Cayenne/Q7 18" mod.
It's hard to find the E or D load rating for 255/55/18 tires, so I wouldn't recommend that for people who run around with the van fully loaded, but for guys who need the vans for their space and traveling, you will be really happy. I'm lovin' it. :bounce:
Indeed, that's all I imagine carrying. She might have light box-trailer duty, should we need to carry more than 2 race bikes to a far off track like Daytona, but daily life will prove this to be a rather lightly used van. A boy, his dog, and a bike. I'll have to read up more on your mod... any handy links?

Thanks again everyone !

Jack
 

EEJ

Member
What about using the stock 15" rim and tire as spare so it can fit in the un-modded carrier? Wouldn't this work short term to get you to the tire shop even though diameter would be a bit different than the 16" rim/tire combo? No different than when cornering as far as wheel speed is concerned is it not?

EEJ
 

MillionMileSprinter

Millionmilesprinter.com
What about using the stock 15" rim and tire as spare so it can fit in the un-modded carrier? Wouldn't this work short term to get you to the tire shop even though diameter would be a bit different than the 16" rim/tire combo? No different than when cornering as far as wheel speed is concerned is it not?
EEJ
I'm pretty sure that using tires of differing ODs would throw the tranny into a Limp Home Mode fit real fast... that being said, I've still got the stock 16" spare under the back in case I get a flat, and LHM isn't the end of the world for short distances.
I've also got AAA.
 

MillionMileSprinter

Millionmilesprinter.com
Indeed, that's all I imagine carrying. She might have light box-trailer duty, should we need to carry more than 2 race bikes to a far off track like Daytona, but daily life will prove this to be a rather lightly used van. A boy, his dog, and a bike. I'll have to read up more on your mod... any handy links?
Thanks again everyone !
Jack
VW/Audi/Porche wheels on a Sprinter:
https://sprinter-source.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15530
 

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