Looking for Alloy Wheels? Don't know what to choose? Or have some already?

[adamuk]

You have to check the bolt pitch circle diameter and offset. Best thing to do is get them measured up against some merc alloys.

[scwrobinson]

I see you guys have got carried away with the "big is beautiful" scenario. The same as me when i met my missus.

Be careful when fitting the wrong offset as it puts additional strain on the wheel bearings and rubs the arches. Those of us with air suspension will suffer more as it sinks and therefore the rear arch will catch. Select your wheels first and make sure the wheel will fit under the arch then you can worry about tyre size. Also the front steering wont self centre properly and the vehicle will tram line and you will fight to keep it in a straight line. I seen some comments about tyres catchin on full lock which is probably because the off set os too much or the wheels are too wide. You cant do much with this problem. If the wheel stick out from the arches they might look good to you but they will fail an MOT (there are guidelines - I think the max is 10mm which is nothing!!!!).

Centre bore is really important. 66.6mm on Mercs. Its the spiggot which takes the weight of the vehicle (ie the verticle weight) the wheel bolts only stop them coming off the hub (ie horizontal force). If you dont get it right then you will get wheel wobble and also the pressure on the wheels might snap the bolts.

From my experience - and Ive been looking for the biggest set I can get - is that the Mk1 Vito is restricted. 17" or 18" are as big as you can go. 7J is the maximum width without rolling the wheel arch. ET45 is the minimum offset. I tried the standard Merc 35mm offset but the wheels stuck out and would have rubbed arches and failed the MOT. And they looked stupid sticking out.

You can fit wheel arch extensions and cut the original arch away but unless you get the right offset you will still have too much pressure on the wheel bearings and issues with tramlining.

Ive lowered my V-class 45mm at the front and am looking for a set of suitable wheels. 3 months and still looking. I have tried some 17" A-Class evo's (see images) which were an ET50 and 7J wide and tey tucked under the rear arch with about 3mm to spare so will probably get these. ML alloys have the correct offset but if you look at other threads you will see someone has fitted a 7.5J set at 17" and the wheels stick out. Just about IK for the VITO which tends to be higher but no good for a V-class or a lowered vito.

Hope this helps.

[scwrobinson]

I dont know if this is useful but the original alloys on the ambiente V-class as shown are 16" 7J ET55. Hopefully you can see with the suspension dropped there is no more than 10mm clearance between the arch and the tyre. And my tyres arent big.

I would recommend that if you want to go wider you should get a bigger ET (offset). This will allow you to fit wider alloys but they wont do the trick of filling out the arches.

A quick read of some ebay ads for new vito alloys will show you what they are selling. If you want 18" alloys (pretty much the max without wheel arch mods) have a look and the ads will give you the offset you need to clear the arches.

[stoneboy]

scwrobinson: Are you looking for some wheels by any chance?

[scwrobinson]

yep. But cant find any at a decent price with the right fitment. Unless you buy new from ebay but I dont really want to buy aftermarket as I had a bad experience with a 5 series BMW where the wheels were made of soft alloy and buckled all over the place. I want to try to keep to merc spec unless some others come along at the right price. Ideally 18" but the ML ones are too wide.

[dannyboy16]

got a vito 108cdi 2000 reg, got some granada cosworth alloys 16" with tyres 205/50/16 will these fit ok on my vito??
replies appreciated greatly.

[scwrobinson]

I doubt it. Do a google search on alloy wheel fitment guide. You need to get the right stud pattern (ie 5 x 112) and the offset etc.