Yup, 5x113 was a typo.  My aim was a little to the right.

TSW is a big wheel manufacturer.  Most of their wheels are not replicas but
either original equipment for manufacturers or aftermarket upgrades.  I
thought that the fact that they are sourced in South Africa might relate to
fact that they are a perfect fit, (with the minor exceptions in my first
post) and that Vanagons are still being made in South Africa.  Maybe a
coincidence, maybe not.
Neither Discount Tire nor TSW seem to have a picture of this wheel on the
web.  My digital camera awaits a strange size replacement battery.  When
resolved, I will post pictures.

The wheel is not a perfect replica, but looks like the 5 hole MB Sport wheel
found on recent big MB's.  No, it does not have the MB logo.  The center cap
says TSW.

TSW's American distributor can be found at http://www.tsw.com/.

Gary
----- Original Message -----
From: Joel Cort <joel_cort@yahoo.com>
To: Gary Stearns <gstearns@SprintMail.com>; <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Thursday, August 31, 2000 9:37 AM
Subject: Re: Wheels/Tires-My Story

> Gary,
>
> A couple of things,
>
> Obviously a typo,  Our beloved Vanagons run a stud diameter of 5x112
> not 113 as you typed out in your note.
>
> So the TSW brand was the 15" rims - just some South African replica?
> Does it have the Mercedes emblem or what?
>
> Do you have a picture available to share with the list, possibly post
> on Vanagon.com tire and wheels section.
>
> OK what was the final out of the box cost for this great upgrade?
> (although I would probably get 99+ rated tires like the Michelin
> Agelis sold and fitted on the Eurovan)
>
> Thanks for any further info, but this sounds like a great upgrade.
>
> Joel
> 89 Syncro Westy with only 14" Alloys ready to trade up
>
> Rochester NY where the snow will fly early
>
>
>
>
> --- Gary Stearns <gstearns@SPRINTMAIL.COM> wrote:
> > Hi-
> > I finally did it.  15" alloys and tires for our '88.  I really
> > wanted to go with a larger diameter tire, but not a wider one.  The
> > reason was that I wanted to bump the gear ratio a little for less
> > rpm's at cruise.
> > The size that I wanted was 205/70-15 on a 7" wide wheel.  I could
> > not find this size in light truck tires, seems most 15" tires are
> > the 245/75's etc. monster meats aimed at Range Rovers and Toyota
> > Land Cruisers.  I started the process by asking Discount Tire
> > Direct http://www.discounttiredirect.com/ about the Mercedes
> > Replica wheels that they sell.  Intitially they came back saying
> > that they had done this on a Vanagon before, and in fact showed
> > these wheels on their website as a Vanagon application.  When I
> > pushed them for details, I heard from a manager that they had
> > figured out that lugs nuts and studs would not work correctly.
> > Within a couple of hours the Vanagon app.disappeared from their
> > website.  Heard again from them.  They could get a TSW (better than
> > oem quality, made in South Africa!!)  5 hole Mercedes replica wheel
> > that would work.  15x7,  5x113 bolt circle, 23 mm ET, correct
> > strength rating to carry Vanagon loads.  I said OK.  Now for tires,
> > this got interesting.  I learned that on passenger car tires the
> > weight capacity is found in the tire sizing info ie: 205/70-15 95V.
> >  The key is the "95".  Most car tires are either 92 or 93 (I think
> > a key for these numbers is in the archives). D.T. said that the
> > only tire that they could recommend to me in that size was a
> > Michelin "Energy" MXV4.  The "V" rating was not suggested for speed
> > capability (obviously), but because a V speed rating also means
> > greater carcass strength. These tires are intended for the big
> > Mercedes and BMW's that have to be as heavy as my Vanagon.  Made
> > sense to me. Not particularly cheap at $105 ea.
> >
> > The mounted wheels and tires arrived, and I began to install.  Had
> > to take care of a couple of things.  The small bolts holding the
> > rear brake drums had to go, and the speedo cable on the l/f hub had
> > to be filed to shorten it a bit.  My oem nuts and studs (had
> > original alloys before), fit the seats in the wheels perfectly.
> > They are a bit short though, and I will replace. What a
> > transformation.  Ride quality is amazing, handling amazing, wind
> > stability vastly improved.  The apparent gear ratio increase is
> > exactly what I was looking for.  Cruising with fast traffic now
> > keeps RPM's under 4k.  Went through a measured mile, and found that
> > my formerly optimistic speedo is now spot on.  The wheels are very
> > well made, similar in basic design to the originals, with gorgeous
> > silver epoxy paint.
> >
> > A very satisfied customer.
> >
> > Gary
> >
>
>
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