18inch or 20inch wheels

[MalvernMichael]

my wife’s new T6.1 has arrived for conversion to a camper, the conversion includes 20 inch wheels but we are considering 18 inch same size as on the van to avoid a harder ride from the larger wheels but is a nicer design, would the be a mistake?

 

[wavey66]

You might be opening a can of worms with that question. Wheels and tyre's are only part of the equation. I had 20" wheels on my T6.1 from new as I prefer the look, but that's a personal thing. Mine is a campervan conversion too and although I never had any issues comfort wise on the standard OEM suspension but it was, as you might expect, a bit wallowy in corners. So I took the plunge and went to see Steve @CRS Performance and had coilovers fitted. I still have the 20's look, the van is 60mm lower (which gets me into carparks more easily) and the handling is excellent (for a van) and it's still perfectly fine on bumpier roads. I'd drive it for a while see what you think. I doubt you will worry about the harsher ride on 20's with OEM suspension.

 

[MalvernMichael]

Hi Wavey
thank you for your detailed reply, my wife prev had a 2020 t6.1 conversion on 20 inch but found the ride hard on tyre noise high, at the moment the new van is coming with 18 inch wheels and low decibel tyres (68db) I think, the alloys are the same as the 20 inch in style but most vans I see are on 20 inch which puts doubts in my mind

 

[alex_p]

I’ve been reading up on the same question and have decided to leave my factory 18s on, as I quite like them, and then look at possibly swapping the springs when my conversion is done.

No denying 20s look great, but my opinion is there are a lot of ways to spoil other aspects of the van before you give up trying yourself and just hand it over to @CRS Performance!

 

[huw169]

In my opinion tyres, wheels size and springs are only about 20% of the equation as all they do is support the weight of the van.
80% is the shocks and how they manage the mass under dynamic conditions.

 

[Greenmachine]

20's, but I'm biased.
I dropped the pressures in mine down as recommended by members on here, and it rides okay. It's never going to be super smooth given the state of the farm tracks that pass for roads around here, but it's as good if not better than the good lady's Leon FR on 19's.

 

[sdlnet]

I was running 18s and standard suspension on my T5.1 Caravelle. My T6.1 has B14 comforts with 20's and I think the ride is much better

 

[tommy_t6.1]

I had 18" amaroks with 235/50/18 tyres lowered about 100mm using Stance+ coilovers. The ride was a bit firm, but I was willing to live with it for the look I wanted.

I've just recently moved over to 20" wheels with 225/40/20 tyres using Solow coilovers and gone even lower. The ride is night and day difference to before. It rides so much more comfy now.

So as said before, wheels/tyres are only part of it, the suspension plays an even bigger roll.

PFA:

 

[CRS Performance]

my wife’s new T6.1 has arrived for conversion to a camper, the conversion includes 20 inch wheels but we are considering 18 inch same size as on the van to avoid a harder ride from the larger wheels but is a nicer design, would the be a mistake?

Many people fit smaller wheels than they would like in the interest of comfort. , it’s a mistake they should be changing the shocks and keep the 20 inch wheels.
I asked a client the other day what had happened to wheel sizes on cars over the last 30 years ( and mountain bikes ha ha ) he smirked and said they are getting bigger. I pointed out the standard wheel and tyre on my new IDBuzz was 265 45 20 , it’s enormous ! What doesn’t help however is putting 20 inch wheels on a van that is. Shocked and equipped for 17 wheels that are often 5 to 7 kilos lighter . The Shock doesn’t like it at all. But it isn’t the wheels fault really , we often compound the problem and lower the van with a set of lowering springs , this doesn’t help either . So the wheels and springs take the rap for the poor shocks. . A performance set of shocks. ( adjustable damping preferably ) are cheaper than a set of wheels and tyres !!!!!
The answer is quality suspension equipment , sensible lowering parameters ( unlike the lovely pic above ) and you can have a practical , great looking vehicle with ground Clearance and a comfortable ride .

I’ve been reading up on the same question and have decided to leave my factory 18s on, as I quite like them, and then look at possibly swapping the springs when my conversion is done.

No denying 20s look great, but my opinion is there are a lot of ways to spoil other aspects of the van before you give up trying yourself and just hand it over to @CRS Performance!

Caution. A camper conversion drops the rear 40 mm approx. A lowering kit another 40 mm. This is why so many campers end up at our facility riding crap And 80 mm down at the rear and no real steering feel . ,

 

[alex_p]

Caution. A camper conversion drops the rear 40 mm approx. A lowering kit another 40 mm. This is why so many campers end up at our facility riding crap And 80 mm down at the rear and no real steering feel . ,

Exactly why I’m having my conversion done first, and will then consult the professionals!

 

[OrangeOne]

Many people fit smaller wheels than they would like in the interest of comfort. , it’s a mistake they should be changing the shocks and keep the 20 inch wheels.
I asked a client the other day what had happened to wheel sizes on cars over the last 30 years ( and mountain bikes ha ha ) he smirked and said they are getting bigger. I pointed out the standard wheel and tyre on my new IDBuzz was 265 45 20 , it’s enormous ! What doesn’t help however is putting 20 inch wheels on a van that is. Shocked and equipped for 17 wheels that are often 5 to 7 kilos lighter . The Shock doesn’t like it at all. But it isn’t the wheels fault really , we often compound the problem and lower the van with a set of lowering springs , this doesn’t help either . So the wheels and springs take the rap for the poor shocks. . A performance set of shocks. ( adjustable damping preferably ) are cheaper than a set of wheels and tyres !!!!!
The answer is quality suspension equipment , sensible lowering parameters ( unlike the lovely pic above ) and you can have a practical , great looking vehicle with ground Clearance and a comfortable ride .

Caution. A camper conversion drops the rear 40 mm approx. A lowering kit another 40 mm. This is why so many campers end up at our facility riding crap And 80 mm down at the rear and no real steering feel . ,

@CRS Performance So I'm taking it from this that 20" is a good choice if prepared to sort the suspension? I'm planning on getting your suspension package for my ex RAC T6 - and deliberating between 18 and 20. 20's are my preference looks wise but looking at the threads on here so many people say they are a mistake and should be avoided.

 

[CRS Performance]

@CRS Performance So I'm taking it from this that 20" is a good choice if prepared to sort the suspension? I'm planning on getting your suspension package for my ex RAC T6 - and deliberating between 18 and 20. 20's are my preference looks wise but looking at the threads on here so many people say they are a mistake and should be avoided.

Most of the people claiming 20 inch doesn’t work are using standard shocks or inferior suspension components. , a shock controls the unsprung weight. ( wheel , tyre, brakes and anything below the spring ) increasing the unsprung weight ( bigger wheels ) needs a good shock to control this , the other issue is many of the wheels and tyres we are using on transporters are actually sports car components and. Weight loading becomes an issue and the use of small side wall tyres To get extra clearance on the wheel arch in slammed vans. Non of this is good for the ride of course.
increasing the side wall height is important stick to known parameters. We recommend 275 40 20 on the rear with 10 j rim and 245 45 20 on the front. These both have the same side wall measurement but the narrower tyre on the front doesn’t touch like the wider tyre will

 

[OrangeOne]

Most of the people claiming 20 inch doesn’t work are using standard shocks or inferior suspension components. , a shock controls the unsprung weight. ( wheel , tyre, brakes and anything below the spring ) increasing the unsprung weight ( bigger wheels ) needs a good shock to control this , the other issue is many of the wheels and tyres we are using on transporters are actually sports car components and. Weight loading becomes an issue and the use of small side wall tyres To get extra clearance on the wheel arch in slammed vans. Non of this is good for the ride of course.
increasing the side wall height is important stick to known parameters. We recommend 275 40 20 on the rear with 10 j rim and 245 45 20 on the front. These both have the same side wall measurement but the narrower tyre on the front doesn’t touch like the wider tyre will

Thanks @CRS Performance this is awesome - most detailed advice I’ve seen. Would you (ideally) recommend getting the wheels sorted before the suspension fitted?

 

[Matt Mckenning]

my wife’s new T6.1 has arrived for conversion to a camper, the conversion includes 20 inch wheels but we are considering 18 inch same size as on the van to avoid a harder ride from the larger wheels but is a nicer design, would the be a mistake?

Hi I bought a T32 with standard wheels and suspension, I didn't like the way it rolled around corners but had seen negative comments about changing suspension. After a lot of research I went to Steve and James at CRS Performance in Cannock. They were amazing and gave great advice which I'm really happy with. I went for their top spec Coil over suspension, had the van dropped by about 50mm with 20 inch wheels so its just under 2 meters high to go through carpark barriers. The ride is great really holds the road, corners great as well and looks cool...also think about tyres I followed Steve's advice and had 245 tyres rather than 275 still looks great but no problems catching wheel arches etc on full lock which I heard can be an issue with wider tyres. My advice do it right and don't waste money on a cheap solution defo recommend CRS I think they also do wheel alignment now as well

 

[CRS Performance]

Thanks @CRS Performance this is awesome - most detailed advice I’ve seen. Would you (ideally) recommend getting the wheels sorted before the suspension fitted?

In all honesty it doenst matter , we work to dimensions so the wheel wont make a difference to ride quality ,,If there is a specific look you want it might pay to get the wheels on first so the fitters can adjust to suit you.