Legalities of alloys / tyres on the Connect :)

[LostinTransit]

I've since updated my blog as to include what happen in more detail when we tried to purchase a set of wheels from a verity of retailers.

http://toastervan.kinja.com/connect-goes-round-and-round-1765446136

One thing I must point out here and because I'm unable to edit my above postings.. Wheelpros has since removed the 775's from the Transit Connect calculation system. But the wheels are still on their site. The other thing I'm still seeing at many of these sites and anyone interested in buy wheels, need to verify in person if these wheels fit. Reasoning, any one of these sites is going to tell you "looks good on paper" but as we found out.. it just doesn't fit or it was totally unsafe.
lastly, here a few sites I've used and continue to use in order to locate wheels for other transit Connect owners. Mind you my searched are limited to the 2014_ Current, so with a few adjustments, you can find your specs for your older Transit Connects.

http://toastervan.kinja.com/transit-connect-wheel-tire-compatibility-guide-1766252513

With this in mind, I don't see any issue with TC owner wanting to put 16's or 17's on their 2014-Current TC's. But once you enter the 18, 19 & 20 range it going to be extremely hard to get a matching load rating.. But things change and the longer we wait, the more options become available to us. Assuming we send request to manufactures and make them aware we need these types of options.

[LostinTransit]

Not saving my post seems to have caught up with me. Now that I have my own Transit Connect forum.. I'm searching for some of my older posts. There's been times I was able to go back several years to find old post/topics.. but as of this last years more and more web sites are eliminating cache version of archived topics.
Till I'm able to re-piece my tire/wheel filament chart, my topic area will remain empty.. So check out my new Transit Connect forums today:

ForTransitConnect.boardhost.com

As always, looking for knowledgeable person to fill in the gaps. However, I've yet to decide if I want to branch our North American Forum as to include the Europe transit Connect, You can voice your opinion within the suggestions area.

[LostinTransit]

Been caught up in life and travel. But I've return. Traded the white 2015 TCXL for a new Blue 2021 TCXL. So far all is looking good. I wanted to update this thread as to include our next addtion to the new van. In my above image and at that time, we went with the silver 16'' Sparco wheels and Maxxis tires. These lasted us about 60K miles with regular rotations or forward to back each side directional.

This time around, We're opting for 17'' Sparco wheels & Nitto 215/50/ZR17 tires. When we order, we'll have these sent to our buddies house and have him install these plus a strut stiffen/brace bar.

[LostinTransit]

Learn something today. Although I've been wanting to mount a set of the 17'' sparco wheels on the new van, I also wanted to feature Nitto tires with this set up. But a Nitto spokesperson informs me that they do not suggest using their tires on our van. So I contacted our dealership and asked:

"What's the difference between a TCXL short cargo van & a TCXL short wagon van?"

They told me there's no difference with the vans other than one hauls people and the other haul cargo. The reason I asked and I should have thought about this is that One van has a load index of 97 (cargo) while the other has a load index of 95 (wagon) Another difference is that the Wagon, has the option for 17'' wheels & 215/50/17 tires.. So BAM proves my theory of being able to fit a set of the 17'' Sparco wheels w/ 215/50/17 tires on our cargo van (assuming we're not hauling anything but ourselves)

[dumper]

In the U.K. it will probably go on the registration document and what insurance companies will let you put on .

[LostinTransit]

Yesterday while searching for more information about having a set of the Sparco wheels with Nitto tires, We get an email from Nitto themselves saying they would not recommend using their 215/50/ZR17 tires on our van, claiming our cargo van has a 97 load index, where as the 215/50/ZR17 tires would have a lower load index of 95. Soon afterward, I sent an email to Ford, Our dealership, summit racing, Jegs, Tirerack & carid and all of them said it's perfectly acceptable to have 95 load index on our van simply because there's absolutely no difference between the short wheel base cargo van and the short wheel based passenger wagon. This is one reason these sites all list possible tire options as well as wheel size options. Now it's unclear as to if they sent testers out into the field to actually test these wheel and tire combinations or they rely on people like us to test these combinations for them. Either way sites like Tacomaworld and wheel-size.com all have listings for 97 load index as well as the 95 load index. So I guess Nitto doesn't want our business. We'll have to locate a new tire for the 17'' Sparco wheels as the Maxxis tires are no longer made. We're leaning towards the Yokohama tires.

[LostinTransit]

So today, it looks as if the 17'' Sparco wheels are off the table because Tirerack neglected to inform us that Sparco needs to custom build these wheels for the van. This could take at a minimum of 5 months if not more to start the process. So we're having to search for a new set of wheel. We're going a little out of our comfort zone, because the wife and I tend to gravitate towards more rugged looking wheels. I submitted at least 3 wheels to the wife for approval and she & I both agree that we'll be opting for the 17'' x8'' 5-108 ET:38 Vision 473 AXIS wheels with Yokohama low profile tires.

imageedit_10_4744456666.jpg

Essentially slamming the van without actually chopping or cutting the coils etc.. So now all we have to do is to wait till a few things pan out, then order those wheels/tires etc and have them sent to the Nephews house in western NC.

[LostinTransit]

So we've run into an issue today where as Tirerack, carid and vision wheels all claim that the above 17'' x 8'' wheel will fit the van, But they don't offer a suitable tire what meets your needs or has less of a load index rating.. This means we're going to have to scale back our thinking and select a new wheel and isolate the correct size tire. We've narrowed down our choices and so far we're looking at staying with getting a 17'' wheel Yeah us. Then we're looking back at a set of the Nitto tires even though they claim these tires wont fit on our van. They has nothing to do or say about the tires fitting on the wheels, just said these tires wont fit on our van.. :/ odd. But we're sticking with the nitto tires on these 17's.

The nephew has already reported that the powerstop carbon fiber/ceramic brake pads have arrived at his home as we'll as a poly shim/spacer for the passenger seat. Just waiting on when we can actually order the wheels/tires have them sent to my nephews then head down to NC. After all that is done, we can then head west into TN to a shop who creating a strut tower brace for the van. if we're not in agreement with the design, I have another shop lined up with their offering/design. last stop before heading home is a fab shop who's working on a custom set of Molle panels for the back of the van.

[LostinTransit]

So got an email yesterdays saying our wheel/tire package was shipped via CariD that's 2 weeks earlier than expected. What wheels & tires did we go with? None of those we've mentioned above or anything we've ever had on the van before. The only thing I can say is that they are 17's as that is what we wanted. Sometime between now and then, the wheel/tire package will arrive at my nephews hose in western NC where he'll inspect the wheels and give us either a thumbs up or down.

[LostinTransit]

So according to the tracking number, I was suppose t have gotten the wheel/tire package delivered to my nephews house in western North Carolina. But there was a delay or the UPS truck was detained. Now the tracking says Delivery by Monday the 5th.

So what did we end up deciding on getting?

The 17 x 7.5 Voxx wheels with an offset of 38 & a center bore of 73.1

Later emailed CariD and asked what wheel rings are included with this package. They told me plastic step down rings. So I had to order something better. We went with the Circuit Performance metal wheel rings for our setup.

The tires are the Nitto 215/50/ZR17 load index 95 are suppose to come mounted balanced and ready to install on the van other than we'll have to remove the plastic wheel rings and install a better/more reliable brand.

Also included in the package was tuner lugs, but I'm going to wait and see what type CariD sent as I may order my own version with locking lugs as the CariD locking lugs were not included.

[LostinTransit]

Quick Little Tease Update:

Guess what arrive at my nephews home this afternoon.. Voxx 17'' Capo wheels w/ Nitto 215/50/ZR17 95W tires & Tuner Lugs. having him check the length of the tuner lugs as I don't want these to be too long. But now I know why CariD didn't send or charge me for the locking lugs cause the tuners are all longing lugs.

[LostinTransit]

For what it's worth, the tuner lugs are the correct length but not one of my favorites. We'll keep these until we can order a better chrome set from DPA. Clearly the wheels/rim are going to look larger than the tires as the tires are low profile. Then add in that the 17''' rotate less than the 16'' setup which will end up using less fuel. So far everything looks right, but wont know the fit until we travel to my nephews house in 2 weeks.

[LostinTransit]

So.. we were suppose to have left this morning for North Carolina to get those wheels my nephew has bene hold into for us, but two things crept up. Fist 2 weeks ago I got gout in my knee, pinched nerve in my hip and a hamstring injury. All this and I can't drive the van with a stiff leg. But the wife was willing to drive the distance. However right before we were about to leave, the family calls us saying members of the family have the "FLU" but they used another word which is bogus or no such thing.. this means we're having to wait another 15 days Plus to find out if all's clear.

Anyway here's an interesting update. at some point while resting my knee/leg, I sent an email to my nephew asking if he seen any wheel rings on the wheels or in the included boxes.. he didn't this meant CariD didn't include the wheel rings, so we franticly searched for over night shipping via to vendors.. But as a surprise note, Uncle Eddie stepped in and made us a set of 73.1 - 63.4 all aluminum wheel rings on his belt driven lathe. You've got to see how Uncle Eddie does this. Hooks up he old truck and runs a belt line/rod through his house to the basement of his shop.

[metalworker0]

Do the studs have to be changed ...ive just bought a 2006 connect with what looks like ford alloys on it...taken them off today ...and it seems like the studs are too short ..each nut only held on by about 4 threads ...something not right

[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