Legalities of alloys / tyres on the Connect :)

[brickent]

Any update on this? Pls. post some pics once you're done fitting them. Just looking for ideas here as I'm currently checking some 17" wheels on 4wheelonline.

[LostinTransit]

Sorry for the late reply, been busy here. I'll get everyone up to speed.

We had to drive down to NC and pick up the wheels I was suppose to have had the nephew installed the brake pads and wheels for us, but the family was quarantined.. So we just picked up everything from his shop and headed to south Carolina. Once IN SC, we stopped off at a salvage yard and bought a used 2005 Thunderbird balloon spare which has the same bolt pattern & center bore as the TC wheels.

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We're doing the 2005 t-bird spare instead of the factory spare which is located under the rear of the van and is extremely hard to remove. We'll drop the factory spare and mount the t0bird spare inside the van. But before this, we're having the crappy Maxxis tire removed as these have been known to explode while in or on the vehicle. once the tire has bene removed we're sending the rim to the powder coaters for a good cleaning.

Then it was off to Greensboro NC where that was a big disappointment. So we continued to our next stop. Goldsboro, NC. Met up with a buddy of mine who's now an owner of his own restoration shop who specializes in Ford Mustangs. We wanted to talk with him about several things, one being installing the Powerstop brake pads, then while the old wheels are off the van, he test fit the custom made wheel rings 73.1 - 63.4 fit like a glove. Good work to my uncle Eddie. Next to mount up those wheels.

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Couple of things here, I hated the supplied socket style tuner lugs so avoid these as they aren't very durable and I've ordered a new (differant) set from DPA. which should arrive any minute. Although the Voxx 17'' x 7.5 ET:38 mounted up. I'm not pleased at how CariD handled this whole order. The valve stims don't match the van so these have to be replaced. The CariD didn't send the wheel rings and I had a hard time finding and getting a set so I had the uncle mill me a set. then if that wasn't enough, The socket style tuner lugs are shaped like a socket without any budge/acorn to them and they aren't holding very well on these Voxx wheels. Several times I've had to keep the lugs in check because while driving home from NC, I kept hearing a clunk sound. Turns out that some of the tuner lugs had worked themselves loose and was making the brake rotor move from side to side.

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Ford doesn't use any retaining clips on the rotors so make sure you tighten the lugs on your wheels. Lastly once home I ordered a set of the DPA budge acorn style tuner lugs. But according to Amazon and even DPA's site I needed the M12 1.5 and when they arrived.. they were too small. In fact doing more research. I found out that if you're driving the Passenger van, you get the M12 lugs. While the cargo Van gets the M14 lugs. So don't make the same mistake we did.

After all was said and done, but I'm still waiting on the DPA tuners, the 17'' x 7.5 Voxx Capo wheels w/ 215/50/17 Nitto tires will fit on the van. Whether or not you like it is up to you. if I had to do it over, I would have went 18 x 8 & 225/50/18 tires as I feel there's still plenty of room in the wheel wells for larger wheels and low profile tires. Although the van looks slammed with smaller tires but larger wheels, the van handled extremely better than the factory 215/55/16 wheels/tires. These low profile Nitto tires grip the road and turn on a dime. As for the factory 16's these tended to stick tot he road causing over steer. The van would dive left or right according to the diction one was turning.

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Oh and as for the new brake pads on the van, love the stopping power and how much clear these are as compared to the stock Ford versions.

Just moments ago, Fedex dropped off the correct M14 x 1.5 budge acorn tuner lugs. Just so everyone knows, That if you own the Passenger van (SWB or LWB) these require the M12 x 1.5 lugs while those who own the Cargo van (SWB or LWB) They require the M14 x 1.5 lugs.

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[LostinTransit]

And am i right in saying to change the front ones the hub has to come off ..and that means destroyed wheel bearing - so need new bearings and studs

Not sure I can help you but yes sounds like the studs are too short or wrong. Maybe even a wheel spacer has been added. The only spec sheet I can offer is one from wheel-size.com check there for what size you need.

[LostinTransit]

Any update on this? Pls. post some pics once you're done fitting them. Just looking for ideas here as I'm currently checking some 17" wheels on 4wheelonline.

As I said above, the only reason I didn't go 18'' x 8'' is because the tire's load index would suffer. I wanted to keep the tire load index around 95-98. if I had went with the 18' the associated tires would have a load index of 91-94 well below the range I was looking for. So if you're not going to be hauling or towing anything then do the 18's. But again this depends on the year TC you have. Make sure you check the lug size currently on the van as there are two differant sizes.
Also, keep in mind that depending on the wheel you get, you need to keep the offset within a respectable range. I found that anything with an offset of between 38-45 will fit the van. Our 17'' Voxx wheels have an ET of 38 which sticks them out slightly but that noticeable.

[metalworker0]

And am i right in saying to change the front ones the hub has to come off ..and that means destroyed wheel bearing - so need new bearings and studs

Not sure I can help you but yes sounds like the studs are too short or wrong. Maybe even a wheel spacer has been added. The only spec sheet I can offer is one from wheel-size.com check there for what size you need.

Thanks for answering ..the problem was that someone previous had used the old steel wheel nuts on these alloys, the steel nuts have missing threads in the cones ..this is how they were made.

The steel wheel nuts are the same as these ..and not suitable for alloy wheels - see picture three on ebay listing

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/273322298804


so only 3 - 4 threads hold the wheel on .

In the end i purchased off ebay, nuts with threads going all the way to the end of the cone ..this means I now have 8 threads holding them on ..this is not an ideal solution, but i think it's miles safer ..yes it should have new studs that are longer ..but to do that would mean trashing all the wheel bearings and installing new ones to facilitate the change.

So be aware everyone, if your connect has alloy wheels or you are thinking of fitting them.
if your mk1 connect already has alloys - the wheels may be held on by three threads if someone has used old steel wheel nuts from the standard steel wheels !

all the best..mark

[LostinTransit]

metalworker0 man that's tough, we just went though nearly the same thing. The 2020 transit Connect cam with what is known as "standard" hex nut style lugs or open end lugs. but the lug studs are extremely long with a lot of threads. Had no issue with either the socket style of the new budge acorn style. Just make sure the lugs have the correct pitch that seats to the wheel.

I hated the socket style lugs as supplied by CariD NEVER use these socket style lugs..

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Finally, those replacement DPA M14 - 1.5 tuner lugs (cargo van lugs only) arrived this afternoon and I couldn't wait to get them on. These budge acorn lugs replace CariD's supplied Socket style lugs which I hated and started causing problems with the wheels. In fact while changing the socket style lugs out, three of the 5 lugs had again worked themselves loose.

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Although these are far superior to those crappy Socket style lugs, I'm still feeling a shimmy in the front end. I suspect that I'll have to have the tires rechecked for balancing in fear that CariD again failed to do this order right.

[metalworker0]

BOUGHT THESE, as i said in another post -copy and paste answer sorry ..

Cheapest ..I could find that where in the UK ...Chinese seller who has a warehouse here, 2 day postage . delivered quickly.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/303718599811

Despite pictures showing excess of slop between washer (probably he has chosen ones that had a lot of slop to show off the washers in pictures)..........they aren't actually like that , They are very well made, quite precise, have no excess of slop and fit perfectly, nice looking chrome, not nickel plated, unless it polished nickel - threads all the way to end of cone - they do the job, well pleased with them, will they rust ..i don't know . i do know that they are a lot better than what was on there before and at an excellent price, great value for money.
So recommended
yours look great ..i wasn't too bothered are mine are only mondeo alloys
..i paid £13.49 delivered they are a couple of pound more now.

[brickent]

Any update on this? Pls. post some pics once you're done fitting them. Just looking for ideas here as I'm currently checking some 17" wheels on 4wheelonline.

As I said above, the only reason I didn't go 18'' x 8'' is because the tire's load index would suffer. I wanted to keep the tire load index around 95-98. if I had went with the 18' the associated tires would have a load index of 91-94 well below the range I was looking for. So if you're not going to be hauling or towing anything then do the 18's. But again this depends on the year TC you have. Make sure you check the lug size currently on the van as there are two differant sizes.
Also, keep in mind that depending on the wheel you get, you need to keep the offset within a respectable range. I found that anything with an offset of between 38-45 will fit the van. Our 17'' Voxx wheels have an ET of 38 which sticks them out slightly but that noticeable.

Great. Thanks for the info.

[LostinTransit]

We're happy to report that the 2005 Ford Thunderbird Balloon spare tire does in fact fit the 2020 Ford Transit Connect. The spare has the same bolt pattern and center bore. You can also use the factory open end lugs or budge acorn tuner lugs for the mounting. There's absolutely zero rubbing issues and the wheel/tire doesn't make any contact with brake lines or suspension components. We'll be keeping a set of the factory lugs in the onboard tool box just in case the spare is needed. But we're not done yet. Now that we know the spare fits, We're heading to a tire shop to have them remove the exploding Maxxis tire. Then we're off to Northern PA to our powder coaters to have the spare rim, cleaned up and powder coated candy blue. Once this has bene done, it's back to the tire shop and have them mounts a new/differant tire on the rim. Lastly it's off to the RV shop and have them mount an interior spare tire bracket inside the van. This was the best $100.00 spent on the van and the drive from Maryland to South Carolina was worth it, even though we drove down to SC during a gas shortage.

However I do have some bad news to report. we've been driving the Voxx wheels w/ Nitto tires for a little more than one month and we hate them. So guess what, we're giving away these 17'' Voxx wheels w/ Nitto tires to another TC owner here in North America and going for a set of 18 x 8 Voxx Capo wheels with a differant brand of tire. The nitto tires aren't what we had expected and they aren't good in wet weather, very nosy etc.

[LostinTransit]

We'll be removing the balloon spare tire from the Thunderbird rim this weekend. Then driving to Northern PA (state) and dropping the rim off at our powder coaters for a cleaning and a quick shot or two of Candy Blue color.

We're 100% sure we're going to get rid of the 17'' x 7.5'' Voxx wheels w/ 215/50/17 Nitto tires. Nitto has admitted that they are not willing to cover ANY warranty issue that may occur during our ownership of these tires. Voxx on the other hand, is not willing to take these wheels back, but has been helping us find the correct size wheel and the best installer to deal with in person. We'll be opting for the 18'' x 8'' ET45 Voxx Capo wheels and this time around, we can actually test fit them on the van before we buy them (without any restocking fees) Most online sites we've contacted will not warranty or guarantee these wheels will fit the van. Then tack on 20%-50% restocking fee. This type of restocking fee are absurd.

Fortunately, We've located a company/retailer willing to take our 17's in the hopes the 18's will fit. They guaranty that the 18'' x 8'' ET45 wheels will fit on our van, they have even told us they will wave any restocking fees if the wheel doesn't fit. Within the next few weeks we'll be driving 3-4 hours into then through another state to have the Voxx wheels test fitted. Once the wheels have been fitted, mounted and installed on the van, I'll report back with my findings.

One other issue is since Nitto is not willing to play ball with us, we're having to locate a differant brand of tire. At first I was hoping for the 225/45/18 Yokohama GT tire, but according to our NEW installer, they suggested a differant/better size. Doing this will allow us to install a set of tire with a higher load index than the current Nitto tires. We're looking at 235/45/18 with a load index of 97. The shop did also suggest that we could go 245/40/18's but I'm not too thrilled with that extremely low profile tire.

Oh btw, almost forgot. As for those supplied socket style tuner lugs, CariD again promised to take these back and give us a refund, they reneged on their promises Again and have not sent a call tag/return label for us to send these back. They're wanting us to pay the ship to send these lugs back. That's not going to happen we're already out 1,500+ on this whole ordeal and we're not about to spend any more with/on CariD BS.

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As for the lugs themselves, I had several takers of these lugs, But decided not to give them away simply because they are dangerous. the lugs (shaped like a socket) have an inferior conical shape/pitch is too shallow which does not seat correctly in the Voxx wheels. I've explain this to CariD several times and apparently their not wanting to listen. be warned when you buy lugs for your new wheels. The straight socket style lugs will not fit correctly on some aftermarket wheels. This is why we contacted DPA and purchased a set of the Budge Acorn tuner lugs and matching Budge Acorn locking lugs for the van.

[LostinTransit]

Today we drove to our local triple A center to make a card payment Little did I know that they also have a service center which just opened up this morning. After making our card payment, I asked the service tech if there's anyone in the shop that can remove the tire from our spare rim. He said sure bring it in and at no charge. Just moments ago, we had Triple A remove the tire from the spare rim and now we need to make time or take a day trip to Northern PA to our powder coaters. But with our work asking us to be prepared for some upcoming overtime, our day trip (during the week) will have to be postpone. At least we finally got that crappy Maxxis tire off the rim and we're now ready to have the rim powder coated that Candy Blue by our platers.

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Again, if you're not familiar with what we're doing. We've cross referenced a 2005 Ford Thunderbird spare Balloon tire that has the same bolt pattern & center bore as the wheel hubs on the 2020 Ford transit Connect. One of the main reasons we're doing this is that the factory spare located under the rear of the van is extremely difficult to extract from the van. We're eliminating weight as well as the difficultly with removing the spare if needed. In order to have a clean appearance, we're sending the 2005 T-bird spare to the platers to have them clean the rim up and powder coat it for us. In fact those working at the shop this morning looked at me strangely when I told them we're powder coating our spare rim before adding a new balloon tire.. "that seems to be a lot for just a spare tire" But if they only knew our plans.

Once this has been taken care of, we'll remount a differant balloon tire on the rim and then mount the spare inside the van. We're looking to save nearly 80 lbs by removing the factory spare and relocating the balloon spare inside the van. Plus we have other plans/uses for the balloon spare once mounted in the van will get to that later in the build.

In case others want to do nearly the same thing, Us roadkillcustoms.com bolt pattern cross reference chart to help you isolate a spare for your van. Again the spare we've selected for our 2020 Ford Transit Connect 5 x 108 / 63.4 is the 2005 Ford Thunderbird 5 x 108 / 63.4 balloon spare which fits right up without any rubbing. However the only drawback to doing this is that if we blow a front tire, we'll have to rotate the rear tire forward and place the balloon spare on the rear of the van.

[LostinTransit]

Soo.. it's been a while since I've bene here. Things never turn out as one would hope. I wanted those 17 voxx wheels with those Nitto tires and got them from CadiD which would turn out to be a big mistake. The wheels seem fine, but the tire sux.. they hate wet and snowy weather. Great on dry pavement and noisy as hell. In order to correct this, I'm getting rid of those 17 x7.5 voxx wheels and moving up a notch. This time going with 18x 7.5 2crave wheels. But there is a back order of 8 weeks. Which give us plenty of time to put a deposit down and wait. However I'm just going to order 1 wheels as the CariD thing has made us hesitant in ordering a full set.

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Now I've decided to go with 18x7.5 ET 40 instead of going with 18x8.0 ET 38. Then we'll add 225/50/18 tires. With the help of discount tire of North America (which is a 3 hour drive for us) we're looking at this new set up first of spring. Because DT is going to help us with the fit and finding the right tire, they've admitted that they are going to give me a credit for the Voxx wheels & Nitto tires. So no all will be lost. But Hell I was just willing to give or throw this set away.

As for the new tires, I'm not sure but according to DT they are going through a list of 225/50/18 tires with a better than average load rating. One thing I've learn about these Nitto tires.. never put a lesser load rated tire on your van.. these tires are very hard to keep a constant 48PSi and they flex all over the road even diving hard into curves.

[LostinTransit]

With the support of a buddies shop down in Goldsboro NC, (who has access to several types of wheels) we've been able to test fit several different types of wheels on the van. Here's a list of wheels that fit the 2020 Ford Transit Connect:

Factory Offerings Based on your Transit Connect Options:

• 16x6.5 ET50
• 17x6.5 ET50
• 17x7 ET50

Aftermarket Wheel Sizes Offset 38mm - 40mm:

• 16x7 ET40 ( Sparco Terra )
• 17x7.5 ET38 ( Voxx Capo )
• 17x7.5 ET40
• 17x8 ET:38 ( Vision 473 AXIS )
• 18x7.5 ET40 ( 2Crave N26 )
• 18x8 ET38 ( OZ Superturismo GT )

Oversized Aftermarket Wheels (Modifications Needed):

• 18x8.5 ET45
• 18x9 ET35 ( ROTIFORM VCE )
• 18x9.5 ET40

Couple of things needed to add to this thread. At some point Ford change the lug sizes on the Transit Connect. For instance, the 2020 TCXL cargo (our Van) has M14 lugs with a 5x108 (5x4.25) bolt pattern. While a few years before, the lugs were M12 with the same bolt pattern. I made the mistake of buying a set of M12 tuner lugs only to learn that I had m14 lug studs. So make sure you check what lug size your van is before purchasing either M12 or M14 budge acorn tuner lugs.

Also, Just to point out that the aftermarket wheels will have a larger center bore and one will need wheel rings to make up the difference. We had a set custom wheel rings milled for us going from 72.56mm down to 63.4mm. I would however avoid the plastic/nylon wheel rings for this application.

Have you ever thought about mounting a set of "other" factory wheels on your Transit Connect? Here's a list of vehicle wheels that have the same bolt pattern as the Ford Transit Connect. https://www.roadkillcustoms.com/wheel-b ... 25-inches/

[LostinTransit]

So allot has happen since I was last here, I've recently changed my mind (again) about what wheels I wanted for the van. The issue is it's very difficult to locate the correct size (18) and the correct width (8). But I've located a set of wheels that will work on the van, but they're a bit wider than I like them to be. All the paper work says they will work, but I'm going to take it easy and buy just one wheel for a test fit.

The main reason I'm here today, is that after months of waiting to take the 05 T0Bird wheel to the powder coaters, they just called back saying the wheel has bene completed. Now we're off to the powder coaters this weekend to pick up that wheel, which we dropped off 2 weeks ago. Just in case anyone is wondering the 05 t-bird wheel has the same bolt pattern, center bore, bolt size and has a 1,480 load index.

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Image of the wheel at the powder coaters at the time of drop off. The coaters informed me in order to help protect the wheel form damage, they are going to clean the wheel, media blast it, epoxy prime it then coat it with my desired color CC Navy. They also informed me that they coated the wheel 3 times plus added 2 coats of clear.

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Sample color of the CC Navy which is the closest color to the Ford Blue.

Once we have the wheel in hand, we're off to Discount Tire 6 hours away (the closest center to us) to have them mount up a new spare tire. Which will NOT be a maxxis tire which has bene known to explode in the trunk of the car.

Also wanted to edit the chart above as to relocate one of the wheel sizes up to another category:

Factory Offerings Based on your Transit Connect Options:

• 16x6.5 ET50
• 17x6.5 ET50
• 17x7 ET50

Aftermarket Wheel Sizes Offset 38mm - 40mm:

• 16x7 ET40 ( Sparco Terra )
• 17x7.5 ET38 ( Voxx Capo )
• 17x7.5 ET40
• 17x8 ET:38 ( Vision 473 AXIS )
• 18x7.5 ET40 ( 2Crave N26 )
• 18x8 ET38 ( OZ Superturismo GT )
• 18x8.5 ET45 (Wheel to be revealed shortly)

Oversized Aftermarket Wheels (Modifications Needed):

• 18x9 ET35 ( ROTIFORM VCE )
• 18x9.5 ET40

[LostinTransit]

Not sure any of you have had the same issue we have. But 2 years ago, while selecting the Voxx wheels, I didn't like the supplied tuner lugs and they actually didn't fit right on the wheels/van. So I searched for another set made by DPA. According to DPA's site and Amazon, I was suppose to have ordered the M12 tuner lugs. when they arrived they did not fit. So I sent a message to Amazon and DPA informing them of this error. Turns our our van requires the M14 lugs. But more sites like the Amazon link, wheelsize.com and DPA's site said that the M14 lugs do not fit our 2020 Connect. Well for more than 1 year, we've bene driving on lugs that they claim don't fit.. YES the M14 lugs do fit on our 2020 Ford transit Connect 2.0L XL cargo. So before you order a set of lugs for aftermarket wheels best verify that your have either M12 or M14 studs.

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We've hated this setup for more than 2 years. Poor fuel economy, the van slides into corners and in a few months with the support of Discount Tire, we'll make the necessary corrections, wheel size and the correct load index tires. 18x8.5 (5-108) M14, w/ 245/40/18 Load Index 97 or better tires.