The Ronal 17" wheels sold by Van Café were designed for the Vanagon and are a perfect fit.  I've run these on several vans (and a Tristar Syncro) and they're great.  We usually run 225/50 R17 with an XL rating.  Good ride, excellent handling.  Unlike a lot of other 17" wheels, these are 7" wide, which is what you want on a Vanagon.

The last two sets we installed we got these Nokian tires from Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Nokian-eNTYRE-All-Season-Radial-Tire/dp/B0100OG63A/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1462214504&sr=8-1&keywords=225%2F50r17&refinements=p_89%3ANokian

$68 and free shipping is a screaming deal...

Cheers, 

Jeff

-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of Marc Perdue
Sent: Sunday, May 01, 2016 6:37 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: 16" Wheels, Tires, Big Brakes

My Michelin LTX's are running low on tread and 14" tire options are limited at best. I'm thinking about moving up to 16" wheels/tires this summer because, given discussions here, there appear to be more tire options available. This stuff is ridiculously complex. I've been trying to do my homework. I don't want to be drilling out wheels, messing around with spacers, having my sliding door rubbing, having my tires rub when I turn corners, or any of that other nonsense. I don't care for the look of the Merc wheels. I loved the look of the American Racing AR95T ones that Dennis Haynes recommended back in 2014, but they've been discontinued.

Add into this mix that I'm planning on installing the GoWesty Big Brake kit on the front of my van and things probably get a little more complicated, right? Or do I really even need the big brake kit? People seem to think that it helps when you put bigger wheels and tires on and that the wheels you get depend on whether you have this kit installed or not. True?

So, what attractive wheel options are available that will work without modification? What actual tires are available that are decent and that will keep my speedometer accurate?