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17" wheels, !5" spare??

Posted: Sat Jan 05, 2013 11:23 am
by Dr Fingers
..or is this a complete no-no on my 95 aft 4wd?

Thinking of new 17" alloys, but have 1 full-sized 15" spare plus new tyre. Would that 'get me home', or would it wreck something if fitted against 3 x 17" ers?

Alternatively, would a new 17" spare fit under the van in the spare 'tray'?

Thanks

Derek

Re: 17" wheels, !5" spare??

Posted: Sat Jan 05, 2013 11:37 am
by Simon Jones
The size of the wheel is irrelevant, but the rolling circumference of the tyre is critical. There has been lots of discussion about the size of the spare before (perhaps a good topic for the FAQ section).

Use a calculator like this to match the circumference of the 15" tyre to the 17" ones:

http://www.alloywheels.com/Tyre_Calculator

I seem to recall you need to keep the difference to under 1 or 2%. The tyre fact sheet may also be of help:

http://www.igmaynard.co.uk/bongo/member ... /tyres.pdf

Re: 17" wheels, !5" spare??

Posted: Sat Jan 05, 2013 11:56 am
by mikeonb4c
Can a 4wd be driven for a short number of miles with a slightly mismatched wheel, without doing damage? I suspect probably could be but I couldn't advise it - maybe someone else could comment?

Re: 17" wheels, !5" spare??

Posted: Sat Jan 05, 2013 12:43 pm
by Simon Jones
Personally, I wouldn't want to risk it. If you're going to carry a spare you might as well carry the correct size as you can never predict when / where you could get a puncture. Sods law states that it will happen in the middle of nowhere on a Sunday afternoon when there is no possibility of getting a repair/replacement.

Re: 17" wheels, !5" spare??

Posted: Sat Jan 05, 2013 1:02 pm
by briwy
Yes, a 17in wheel will fit OK. You might have to give the location bracket at the front of the wheel position a thump or two just to bend it forwards a bit.
Also, on the later Bongos, as shown, the lug on the end of the wire will fit through the hole in the alloy. On earlier ones it is too big and will need altering.

Th is with a tow bar on as well.
Image

Re: 17" wheels, !5" spare??

Posted: Sat Jan 05, 2013 6:02 pm
by Dr Fingers
briwy wrote:Yes, a 17in wheel will fit OK. You might have to give the location bracket at the front of the wheel position a thump or two just to bend it forwards a bit.
Also, on the later Bongos, as shown, the lug on the end of the wire will fit through the hole in the alloy. On earlier ones it is too big and will need altering.

Th is with a tow bar on as well.
Image

Thanks for this!

Derek