Dear Per,

Of course, theoretically, you are right -- ANY 7" rim with 23mm offset and 5x112mm bolt pattern will work on a Vanagon. The problem is, Mercedes NEVER made such a wheel. So I stand by my assertion: Mercedes and Audi wheels need spacers to work properly with the Vanagon.

You also hint at another point: the size of the spacer needed will differ depending upon the COMBINATION of rim width and offset. Offset by itself is meaningless!!

Thus:

a 7.0" rim with ET38 would need a 15mm spacer

a 6.5" rim with ET38 would need a 11mm spacer

a 6.0" rim with ET38 would need a 7mm spacer

a 7.0" rim with ET45 would need a 22mm spacer

a 6.5" rim with ET45 would need a 18mm spacer

a 6.0" rim with ET45 would need a 14mm spacer

etc., etc.

Cheers,

MJS

At 08:58 PM 3/4/00 +0100, Per Lindgren wrote:

>Why? As long as you dont know the offset of the Mercedes wheel in question, this is a completely senseless

>comment. If the MB wheels have an offset of 23 mms, there is absolutely no need for spacers for them to fit the

>Vanagon. In fact, they are probably too far out to fit. THe stock Vanagon steel rims have an offset of 38 mms,

>and the Mercedes or Audi wheels should be somewhere between 30 and 40 mms to fit well.

>

>On german wheels, the offset should be marked as e.g. ET38

>

>PerL

<bold>Michael J. Sullivan

</bold>Marshfield Hills, MA

Central America 2001 or bust!

'87 VW Vanagon GL Syncro Westfalia "Sunny" (soon to be TDi-powered)

'89 Audi 200 Turbo Quattro Wagon "Wizard" (soon to be for sale)

'96 VW Passat TDi "Teddi" (46mpg)

*********************************************

work:       http://www.openmarket.com

my vanagon: http://www.hsdesign.com/vanagon

scan tips:  http://www.hsdesign.com/scanning

*********************************************