Going from 16" to 17" wheels, is it worth it?

[Dave73]

Hi guys, newbie question for a T5 4motion Multivan (200 as I've just rejoined the club after 6 years since letting go of my T4 transporter.

The new van has original 16" wheels currently but I'm considering a 2nd hand set of 4 x 17's I've been offered.

Should I grab them, buy a spare and live happily ever after? Really looking at a performance and tyre selection point of view. (Will want good rubber for camping trips)

Other than ground clearance would any difference actually be noticeable?
What do I need to know about road noise and other pros and cons around this? Also would a 17 inch spare size fit underneath ok?

Usage is 80% city driving, 10% longer interstate trips and 10% camping dirt roads exploring.

Cheers Dave the newb..



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[Rebuild]

You might want to check NSW rego, regards upping tyre diam. Here in SA, we're only allowed extra 15mm.You're prob allowed more in NSW
If you go lower profile, to fit in with your NSW tyre diam restrictions, there's not a huge selection in load rated tyres(talking vans here, not Multi's).Do Multivans require the 103 load rating?
Check the 17" tyre thread too.

edit: found some NSW pdf doc
http://www.rms.nsw.gov.au/documents/...si-09-rev4.pdf

"The outside diameter of the wheel and tyre combination must be no more than 15mm over the largest diameter
wheel and tyre combination specified for the vehicle and not more than 15mm below the smallest diameter wheel
and tyre combination specified for the vehicle"

going larger diam. than this seems to require an eng. certificate

edit: are they load rated rims, or just something that fits?

[TonyMax]

What Rebuild said. If you go to 17" wheels you will generally go lower profile tyres so that the diameter/circumference is pretty close to what it was before. This stops your speedo being put out among other things.

If the overall tyre diameter doesn't change much then your ground clearance and spare wheel carrying capacity won't change much.

Bigger wheels generally have actual benefits in being able to fit bigger brakes and lower profile tyres (improving performance). They can also look better (this is an eye of the beholder thing).

Road noise is generally affected by tread pattern and rubber quality, so noise won't be changed going to 17. You can find noisy 16s and quiet 17s.

[Kiels3927]

The 22/6/2007 Multivan spec sheet said:

Wheels
Alloy wheels (Miyato) 16 x 6.5” with 215/65 R16 tyres
Alloy wheels (Solace) 17 x 7” with 235/55 R17 tyres
Full size steel spare wheel

[ericcs]

the 17's run lower profile tyres, so your clearance and speedo accuracy will be the same. just make sure you use load rated tyres.
you can buy 17 x 8" steel sunraysia wheels to suit commodores, that have the same PCD. you just need hubcentric spacers.
this is them on my son's car, however he had the offset changed to make them stick further out, and the van is also lowered!

[petenkaz]

I'm just going through the tyre replacement thing at the moment. I'd be interested to know what low profile load rated tyres you got, and of course price!

[Sunny43.5]

17 , s are fine but avoid Lo Profile tyres , I purchased a set of 17 inch 2nd hand Holden Crewman wheels as they are the correct load rating etc . They came with lo profile tyres but after ony a few weeks I got sick of the lousy ride !! they gave a harsh ride and you could feel a matchstick being run over , so I went back to new tyres of the correct size to match original specs for the van and have been a happy camper ever since . Rubber bands are no substitue for real sized tyres on any vehicle .

[Sunny43.5]

Nice set up , but is it my imagination that the painters got the bumper colour a bit wrong ?

[Bryn23]

Don't forget you can also run 215/60 R17c, That are also supplied by VW and are the same diameter

Ive got the 215/60 R17c Goodyear Cargo Vector 2 which is a M+S (Mud and Snow) on my 2017 T6

They have a 107/109T load rating as well as a 104 H rating

They aren't as loud as a AT tire

Jax Tires sell them and as do Trakka

[ericcs]

Nice set up , but is it my imagination that the painters got the bumper colour a bit wrong ?

yeah, had the same thing on a commodore years ago. they didn't primer it first, just blew the 2pac straight on. looked good at the start, but the grey must eventually leach through!