Size Of After-market Wheels

[whatawonderfulday]

Most parts of the world quote rims as xx" dia x y" width. Looking for replacement rims ( 20" x 9" ) on sites such as autobacs I see figures quoted which gives me no idea of wheel size such as 1880 for example. Is this odd to Thailand and can someone explain what these sizes mean please.

Also where is the best place to buy alloy rims in Bangkok, need no crap as I also require them load-rated for a MB Vito van?

[jcon]

You should be able to find wheels quoted in the regular format that you are used to, i.e. 20"x9", 20x10" etc, etc.... I'm sorry I don't know what the 1880 would mean, but I've never seen wheels quoted that way.

Just make sure you have the proper offset, as you don't want any rubbing or suspension geometry problems.

Are you looking to upgrade the wheels from the stock wheels that came with your Vito? As for places to buy aftermarket wheels, I don't feel comfortable recommending anything in Thailand anymore as there is so much fake shit here it would blow your mind... and as far as safety is concerned, you don't want to mess with your wheels/tyres and get some knock-offs.

That said, if Benz uses the same PCD across all of it's models, you should be able to find 20" wheels without much problem, as it's a popular brand here in Thailand. But like I said, make sure the offset is correct, or within acceptable margin (and don't take the wheel-seller's word for it, "it's ok, mai pen rai, yes it work, no problem." You'll hear that I'm sure and he doesn't care if you're rubbing your tyres along your frame/suspension and he'll care even less when you drive off and die from an exploding wheel as he's already got your cash...)

The Vito I'm sure is built to carry heavy loads, and you should be concerned with your tyres if you go with 20" wheels... you're profile would be something like 35-40, I'd assume, which is pretty thin for that big of a wheel.... so a heavily loaded Vito plus a couple of potholes and 20" wheels could be disaster. Just something to keep in mind.

Good luck on your search.

[imaneggspurt]

Not sure on the figures you have there but wheel sizes are usually something like 18x7.5 ,et45,

( offset ),on the newer vito ( 03 on ) you can go up to 22" 35-45 offset ( with a small tyre ), on the old model 19s, and you need at least 45 offset,tyre width from 245 to 295 on the rear,i experimented on my vwt5 and had 265-35-22 front and 295-30-22 rear, was perfect, vw vito is more critical on offset and arch clearance and 19s suit it best, 255-40-19 tyre size,.(+03) before 235-35-19

Edited January 4, 2009 by imaneggspurt