Swamper wheels first impressions

[oakgreen]

One day of swamper wheel/tyre combo and so far so good.. no issues with catching even on full lock, not any noticeable difference in noise and I love the way it looks. Useful increase in ground clearance and maybe this is most notable in terms of handling but it was not exactly fast or sporty in the first place. Yet to test off-road but I reckon it will be more than capable of the tracks and fields it is likely to be used on in the lakes and dales. Clearance on the sliding door is tight and you wouldn’t want to go any bigger than this in my opinion even if possible, mudguards needed as lots more dust thrown off the rears especially. Wheels are 17x8 black rhino warlord et35 and tyres toyo at plus 235/65/17… kerbed wheels are likely a thing of the past now I expect

 

[soulstyledevon]

Nice.
I’m sooo tempted myself.
What tyres did you go for…?

My only reservation is motorway speed noise increase. I passed a Ford Ranger last week on the M6 with BFG’s, it sounded awful…
I could hear the drone from my van passing, got knows how bad it was inside the Ranger.

 

[oakgreen]

I went for Toyo Open County AT Plus 235/65/17 108V as had read some bad reviews about BFG noise and wet grip and these were about half the price… always found toyo to be a good brand. Will report back on motorway noise and I expect it will increase and fuel will take a hit but so far I am happy and can always swap back if it becomes a problem although would be disappointed to put the old wheels back on from a visual perspective. Thinking VW arch trims and mudguards next to complete the look

 

[dave6779]

Love em! Keep posting your thoughts, I got a set of agilis commercial all weathers but I was toying with bfgs/other all terrain brands. I love the look of them. I went for the agilis as they’ve got good kerb protection and weather rating plus I couldn’t get any bfgs at the time.
They are louder though but they’ve worn well, had them over winter and they were good in low temps and the wet. Better than the stocks. The number of nails I got or flats was ridiculous. Fingers crossed.

 

[oakgreen]

Love em! Keep posting your thoughts, I got a set of agilis commercial all weathers but I was toying with bfgs/other all terrain brands. I love the look of them. I went for the agilis as they’ve got good kerb protection and weather rating plus I couldn’t get any bfgs at the time.
They are louder though but they’ve worn well, had them over winter and they were good in low temps and the wet. Better than the stocks. The number of nails I got or flats was ridiculous. Fingers crossed.

Thanks I appreciate the comments, it is just a case of doing the research then at some point you have to do it to find out for sure. Only a leisurely drive around the lakes with 7 seats all occupied today so maybe not the best test but I will get a longer run down to Cornwall at the end of the month and report back on noise and fuel economy…. So far Speedo doesn’t appear to be out by as much as I expected … guess it wasn’t totally accurate in the first place

 

[willwander]

Looks good

 

[Sven@Calicamp]

the warlords are looking great ! I fell for the VW original Devonports (found 6 of them secondhand in great shape and had them black powder coated). Together with the BFG's AT KO2 I can get anywhere now to access some water ... but you're absolutely right : motorway noise is slightly up, however not too much to be disturbing...

 

[oakgreen]

the warlords are looking great ! I fell for the VW original Devonports (found 6 of them secondhand in great shape and had them black powder coated). Together with the BFG's AT KO2 I can get anywhere now to access some water ... but you're absolutely right : motorway noise is slightly up, however not too much to be disturbing...

View attachment 82538

The black devonport was another option I was considering but lucky some warlords came up for sale locally second hand (as new). Do you have 4 motion? If only the beach was available in uk with 4motion that would be ideal for me.

 

[Sven@Calicamp]

definitely 4Motion

 

[66tim99]

I went for Toyo Open County AT Plus 235/65/17 108V as had read some bad reviews about BFG noise and wet grip and these were about half the price… always found toyo to be a good brand. Will report back on motorway noise and I expect it will increase and fuel will take a hit but so far I am happy and can always swap back if it becomes a problem although would be disappointed to put the old wheels back on from a visual perspective. Thinking VW arch trims and mudguards next to complete the look

Can you get these on an 18” wheel to fit a Cali?

 

[oakgreen]

definitely 4Motion

View attachment 82543

Very nice, the one thing mine is missing which is not possible to have

 

[oakgreen]

Can you get these on an 18” wheel to fit a Cali?

I think you can have in 18” but maybe width and profile are too much for California…. I think the 17” are as big as practical but didn’t really research any larger sizes properly… sorry to not have a better answer

 

[Jdorling]

Can you get these on an 18” wheel to fit a Cali?

I was running 255/55/18 bfg ko2s on my last t6 California, perfect fit no rubbing issues whatsoever, I have however gone to 245/65/17 bf ko2s on my new California 6.1

 

[two-saabs]

Very nice, the one thing mine is missing which is not possible to have

Is the 4motion "real" 4wd? not to get in to the nerdy side, but i believe there are various levels to 4 wheels being powered (and clearly depends on the kinds of terrain you are typically dealing with)

Usually the single best answer to it all is whatever you have, stick on proper tyres, so i wouldn't feel you're missing out, you're saving a few grand plus its lighter

 

[Jdorling]

Is the 4motion "real" 4wd? not to get in to the nerdy side, but i believe there are various levels to 4 wheels being powered (and clearly depends on the kinds of terrain you are typically dealing with)

Usually the single best answer to it all is whatever you have, stick on proper tyres, so i wouldn't feel you're missing out, you're saving a few grand plus its lighter

They are very capable 4 wheel drive vans, you can also get a mechanical diff lock as an option which even my Ford ranger doesn’t have

 

[two-saabs]

Cool! I see a few swap-mobiles around here, seems to be good choice.

It all comes down to usage, I'm sticking to my logic to have an all-purpose Beach which does most of what I want great most of the time. Sometimes I'll miss a bit of ooomph, sometimes miss a sink, and sometimes miss full off-road capabilities.

My mitigation actions:

• Ooomph = just live without it, I'm a slow driver anyway! (plus speeding fines are super high here)
• No full kitchen = pick up a kitchen pod and add it when needed
• Off-road = Buy extra wheel/tyre set (probably the Black Rhino Warlord with Pirelli Scorpian ATVs or the popular BFGs)

 

[oakgreen]

Cool! I see a few swap-mobiles around here, seems to be good choice.

It all comes down to usage, I'm sticking to my logic to have an all-purpose Beach which does most of what I want great most of the time. Sometimes I'll miss a bit of ooomph, sometimes miss a sink, and sometimes miss full off-road capabilities.

My mitigation actions:

• Ooomph = just live without it, I'm a slow driver anyway! (plus speeding fines are super high here)
• No full kitchen = pick up a kitchen pod and add it when needed
• Off-road = Buy extra wheel/tyre set (probably the Black Rhino Warlord with Pirelli Scorpian ATVs or the popular BFGs)

I share the same logic, for me the swamper wheels may detract from some areas but not by much and should enhance off-road ability slightly but most importantly to me i like the way it looks

 

[westfalia]

Fitted for the purpose.
I like it.

 

[oakgreen]

I was running 255/55/18 bfg ko2s on my last t6 California, perfect fit no rubbing issues whatsoever, I have however gone to 245/65/17 bf ko2s on my new California 6.1

Thanks this is good to know and makes me confident I will have no problems then

 

[soulstyledevon]

@oakgreen got an update on how things are going…?

 

[oakgreen]

Yes been meaning to post an update on progress. Overall I like the way it feels and the way the big tyres allow you to drive over rocks and kerbs etc without a second thought. The noise from the Toyo Open Country tyres is not an issue. The MPG had taken the biggest hit, I estimate 3-4 MPG less than the previous A rated eco tyres I had fitted on average. For me still the way it looks and the general tank like feel makes up for the lower efficiency.

 

[soulstyledevon]

I stumbled across this article and thought it might be useful to others.

Pros & Cons of VW Swamper All Terrain | Elite Wheels

Volkswagen Swamper All Terrain The All Terrain set up over the last 3 years has been our most popular set up which we sell. We personally I think its a great option to consider. We will go through all the pros and cons which I hope will help answer any questions you may have...

www.elitewheels.co.uk