Steel Wheels

[Goldie]

I was looking for a set of winter tyres and wheels to replace the Thunders from November to March. Just bought a set for £400 from Benn in Kent who advertises on the T4/T5 Forums and eBay. They are the same steel wheels as Culprits. Tyres are Goodyear Cargo Vector 2 M&S rated 215/60 R17. Tyres are £131 alone on MyTyres.

They are brand new and come off T5 Transporter Sportlines when they arrive in the country from Germany to be replaced by alloys. He has three sets at the moment if anyone is interested.

Benn can be contacted on 01303 862130 / 07547 167063.

Andy

 

[danny13]

order placed.

for the heads up Andy

 

[Goldie]

No Problem.

I was convinced of the value of winter tyres in the last snow we had. My Skoda Yeti 4x4 with Pirelli P Zeros was all over the place with no grip, while wife and son in 2 wheel drive Golf and winter tyres were fine.

 

[KernowLad]

It doesn't snow much here but that is still very very tempting!!

 

[cpjb@btinternet.com]

Thanks for the tip off Goldie.

Just ordered mine . Spoke to Ben seem like a nice chap.

 

[briwy]

We have some of these and it is an excellent deal. Just be aware though that the tyres do not have the snowflake symbol on so wouldn't be legal in certain places in winter. I believe some parts of Germany insist on this. They are Mud & Snow rather than outright snow tyres.

 

[BMVS-Camper-Hire]

That is an excellent deal. Is it the newer style tread (less off-roadish)? We use this as our winter tyres on our our vans when they go abroad to ski resorts.

 

[Goldie]

The Cargo Vector 2 tyres advertised on MyTyres have the M&S Marking and the Snowflake symbol http://www.mytyres.co.uk/cgi-bin/rshop. ... 7898690000
Hover the cursor over the word Vector and you can see it. I've asked Benn to check for the Snowflake symbol on these and let me know. Someone has already bought and collected a set today - he loved your California - maybe they can confirm. Either way it is still a bargain for a set of wheels and tyres and will save the alloys from the winter salt.

Andy

 

[BMVS-Camper-Hire]

That is the newer style tread and a lot quieter when cruising. They definitely have the snowflake symbol, as I have a few sets at work, which makes them legal for Germany, Austria etc in winter time

 

[briwy]

My apologies, they do have the snowflake on. It's hidden inside a mountain logo which my other snow tyres don't have , just a snowflake.
Even better bargain than I thought.

 

[Goldie]

Briwy,

Just after your post, Benn has confirmed that these have the Mountain/Snowflake symbol so perfectly good for winter on the continent where this is a legal requirement.

Andy

 

[Goldie]

Re: Steel Wheels & Winter Tyres

Just returned from the Costco car park in Thurrock where I collected the steel wheels with winter tyres (M&S plus Snowflake) from Benn. Really pleased, tyres still have the tiny rubber moulding hairs and remnants of the sticky labels. Wheels are 950 kg rated and genuine VW so won't be a 'mod' regarding insurance. All German made!

Just need to get California now!

Andy

 

[James]

I like the look of Steels

I have been toying with the idea of moving to Steels - down in here in Devon some of the roads are such that there is no point having good alloys - the wheels take a beating - any nice alloys would be destroyed or damaged quite quickly on some the back roads here.

James

 

[Goldie]

They are very solid and quite heavy. They would need to be to withstand the punishment that white van man would give them on a daily basis! I'm sure Cali owners are much more careful!

I agree that the roads seem to be getting a lot worse in winter and if you use the Cali on a daily basis some steel wheels are a good investment, just need the space to store the additional set.

 

[Freeley]

I like the look of Steels

I have been toying with the idea of moving to Steels - down in here in Devon some of the roads are such that there is no point having good alloys - the wheels take a beating - any nice alloys would be destroyed or damaged quite quickly on some the back roads here.

James

I know what you mean James.
When I bought my transporter I wanted alloys but didn't dare go above 16" for fear of damaging them on the massive potholes we seem to have everywhere these days

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk 2

 

[James]

I like the look of Steels

I have been toying with the idea of moving to Steels - down in here in Devon some of the roads are such that there is no point having good alloys - the wheels take a beating - any nice alloys would be destroyed or damaged quite quickly on some the back roads here.

James

I know what you mean James.
When I bought my transporter I wanted alloys but didn't dare go above 16" for fear of damaging them on the massive potholes we seem to have everywhere these days

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk 2

It's the back roads and dirt tracks - here, they are tough, low profile tyres and decent alloys, they'd be destroyed quickly.

That's some of my daily drive so it's important. I kind of like the look of the steels as well. Also, not alloy wheel related but we were driving on the old Tiverton road here in Devon, it was at night, so had the lights on, I washed the lights and a stone flew up and took off the top of the headlight washer lol.

Exeter Carrs (who seem to be really good) replaced it but had to smile when I explained how it happened. So you can see that roads here can take no prisoners.


James

 

[Freeley]

Carrs exeter are great I travel there with my vans even though I have a dealer in Barnstaple. I just noticed a nice dent on the bonnet of my transporter yesterday from a stone I heard literally the day after I had my windscreen replaced.
I used to have steels but unfortunately they have a tendency to go rusty round these ere parts :cry:

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[James]

Carrs exeter are great I travel there with my vans even though I have a dealer in Barnstaple. I just noticed a nice dent on the bonnet of my transporter yesterday from a stone I heard literally the day after I had my windscreen replaced.
I used to have steels but unfortunately they have a tendency to go rusty round these ere parts :cry:

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Ah - you're lovely North Devon

Was in Lynmouth the over weekend - beautiful

Yes, Carrs have been great


James

 

[simon.foster]

I replaced my 16" alloys with the 17" steels with Cargo Vector tyres. They look great, are very heavy duty and the tyres are great for winter.

 

[cpjb@btinternet.com]

Any advice on who I should ask to fit these wheels? Is it advisable to get them done at a VW van centre? Also any ideas on cost for the fitting?

Thanks.

 

[Goldie]

If you've bought the wheels and tyres complete from Benn it is just be a case of working around the Cali one wheel at time. Just like changing a wheel after a flat, but four times! Do it on the drive or somewhere flat rather than the roadside though.

Should all be in the manual. Recheck all is tight after a week or a few hundred miles.

I normally mark the wheels taken off as F/R, F/L, R/R, R/L so I can rotate them front to rear when refitting in the spring. If they are new tyres and non-directional they can go in any position.

Now is the time to change with temperatures dropping below 7 degrees C.

Andy

 

[cpjb@btinternet.com]

Thanks for the advice Andy.

I'm not very savvy at this motor maintenance. Does anything need to be balanced afterwards or is tracking adjustment required? or is that just when you fit new tyres?

 

[Goldie]

Just checked my shiny new wheels from Benn to confirm they are all balanced - you will have some lead weights attached to inside, outside or both rims - so no balancing required. No tracking adjustment required unless the tyres you take off are unevenly worn or you feel there is something wrong with the steering. Just fit them and check the tyre pressures.

If in doubt go to your local tyre fitters - I reckon £20 cash would be about right to change all the wheels with no tyre fitting or balancing.

Andy

 

[cpjb@btinternet.com]

Thanks for the followup Andy.

I'm going to go for it myself, rather than hauling the wheels to and from the fitters.

Her indoors is not that keen, but I'll road test with the kids first. :lol:

 

[Goldie]

I might change mine on the Cali this weekend and as a favour do the wife's and son's VW Golfs.

But don't count on it as I have have to rip the ABS unit out my BMW bike and go non-ABS. New ABS cost around £1750, bike only worth £3k and only done 5,800 mile :censor

Andy