Biggest tyre that will fit

1

Hi Syncronauts,

does anyone know what the biggest diameter and width tyre will fit in a Syncro with 16 inch wheels?

Currently running 215/60, but looking at 225/75 for a bigger wheel.

Will it fit?

thanks Gaetan

2

Hi Gaetan,

My 235 75 15 wheels/ tyres fit, yet my van has had a slight lift and I have trimmed my drivers side front arch at the back slightly - cant see that with the plastic flares over it.

So 225 70 16s I think would be the biggest possible with a low ET

3

Thanks Scott

I’m taking my spare wheel in today to have one of these fitted, then I’ll find out :slight_smile:
I think I will need to remove the front mud flaps, but hopefully that’ll be all. Looking forward to those bigger wheels for lower revs, also my old tyres were worn..

1 Like
4

You can fit 225/75R16.

For the front suspension you need the spacer for the upper ball joint, and modify the rear part of the wheel arches.

For the rear suspension, you might need a spacer for the rim, as the tyre might touch the trailing arm, and have some lift springs.

I fitted 16” trailing arms and modified the rear part of the the wheel arches.

5

Great info Oren. Do you have any info on the spacers required? And on what modification is needed for the rear part of the wheel arch?

6

The modification for the wheel arches can be done in various ways.

Volkswagen just mad a cut, and fitted plastic flares. I don’t have any photo of the naked wheel arch.

My Syncro was a bit lifted from production as it is an ex. German army car.

The previous owner fitted spacers, such as https://campervanculture.com/shop/vw-t25-t3-vanagon-upper-ball-joint-spacer-fits-lifted-syncro-2wd/?v=5f02f0889301

The only photo of the front wheel arch is this:

Front arch
Front arch388Ă—290 46.5 KB

The rear part was bent a little bit out. Since this photo, the van was further lifted, and the 225/75R 16 tyres fitted.

I modified the rear wheel arch by lengthening the arch backwards:

Rear arch
Rear arch389Ă—292 49 KB

Only then I fitted the 16” trailing arms which are 2.5 cm longer, thus moving the hub backwards.

This is how it looks now with the 225/75R16 BFG K02 tyres. Photos taken last summer:

L
L1920Ă—1440 463 KB

R
R1920Ă—1440 463 KB

I plan to further lift the suspension during the winter…

1 Like
7

Thanks Oren.

My syncro isn’t lifted so I don’t think I’ll need the spacers. From what I can find it’s mostly the rear of the front wheel arches that may need a trim, I’m going to test that on full lock and compression as well.

Hopefully minimal work needed!

cheers
Gaetan

8

So additional research show I most probably need hub-centric spacers, because of my 16” Audi wheels are ET45, and the recommended ET for 225/75R16 tyres is ET30.

I’m after H&R DRM‑series 15 mm, 5×112, 66.56 hub‑centric spacers with ball-seat wheel bolts.

Does anyone here know of a decent source for these, preferably in Australia?

Thanks in advance,
Gaetan

9

OK so the 225/75 R16 tyres will not fit on a standard height Syncro without mods.

  • at the rear the tyre rubs the trailing arm (ET45 no help) meaning 15mm wheel spacers are needed
  • rear of rear wheel arch also will not clear the tyre, mud guard has to go / wheel arch probably needs cutting a bit
  • at the front the tyres won’t clear the rear of wheel arch either
  • also need 15mm spacers to get ET30, otherwise it’s hitting multiple places

On top of that, both my rear drums and front disk hubs are fitted with studs which would also need replacing to lengthen them.

All in all too many mods / cost so I will revert to smaller tyres, going to look for 215/70 R16 if I can find them.

I did learn a bit in the process :slight_smile: