Correction - I said Vanagon wheels have a 5 x 120 bolt pattern .....
thanks to Ben for catching my mistake - they are 5 x 112 .

at my tire place they just call them 'five one twelve' wheels.
Scott

----- Original Message -----
From: "David Vickery" <david_vickery@YAHOO.COM>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Saturday, September 12, 2009 9:44 PM
Subject: Re: Wheel alternatives...

>I finally got around to fitting MB wheels on my syncro.  I used the OEM MB
>8 hole, 15x 6.5 or 7, ET 37 from a 90's C class car.  I finally got them to
>be direct bolt on to my or any van.  The hubs are the right size but the
>thickness of the alloy required a lot of machining to get them to direct
>bolt on.  I learned a lot in the process and had checked into wheel
>adapters and longer studs before deciding to ream out the holes to the same
>thickness as the OEM VW alloy wheel.
>
> Initially I thought it would be more expensive to get wheel adapters, so I
> went with wheels that had about the right ET 37 vs. stock 30.  I wouldn't
> do it that way again.
>
> I also had bought the longer studs that were intended for a 911 and I
> bought longer lugs too when I had a 2wd van.  That was expensive too and
> was more involved that I wanted to get into so I resold them.  Plus they
> aren't really bolt on when you do that, they only bolt on to a modified
> van.  I wouldn't do it that way again either.
>
> If I had to do it over again, I would find wheels with a large offset like
> ET60 and I would just buy adapters to bolt on before bolting on the
> wheels.  That would be the easiest way to go, and in the end the cheapest
> if you figure in any cost for your time and tools or other parts you will
> have to buy.  The drill bits to ream out the holes cost almost $100 by
> themselves.  Plus someone mis-informed me and I had to buy a second
> countersink bit.
>
> You can adapt the larger ET wheels easily and the bolt pattern options are
> plentiful from places that sell adapters.  You can also get a 25mm thick
> 5/112 to 5/112 "adapter" that just corrects the offset and is a direct
> bolt on with MB wheels.  The link below is $52/adapter but I think I saw
> them a little cheaper somewhere else.
>
> http://adaptitusa.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=165
>
> Sounds like the link posted from thesamba has all the correct info.  But
> this was my experience after going through it.  And I didn't know about
> the samba link when I started.
>
> BTW, I did all the machining by hand drill, and it worked out fine.  I
> later found a wheel shop in Denver that machines them for $20/wheel.  Oh
> well.
>
> Dave in Denver
>
> --- On Sat, 9/12/09, Angus Gordon <birdworks@GMAIL.COM> wrote:
>
>> From: Angus Gordon <birdworks@GMAIL.COM>
>> Subject: Re: Wheel alternatives...
>> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
>> Date: Saturday, September 12, 2009, 9:24 PM
>> > Venango wheels have a bolt
>> patter of 5 x 120 ....
>>
>>
>>
>>  So, Venango wheels won't fit on a Vanagon (5 x 112)
>> either...
>>
>>
>> Angus
>>