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Is there anybody here, who can explain to a moderate idiot, how to correctly interpret the correct steel wheel size/specs I need prior to ordering one?
You need the right
diameter
witdth
offset
bolt circle
number and type of bolts
That info should be on any Internet site selling wheels.
What van?
Well, half of that stuff I've yet to figure out
Oh, I got the van. I know that.
Ford Transit 2011, 2.2 SWB
*admittedly I had to google the engine size
OE size would be 6.5Jx15 ET60
6.5 being the rim width 15 being the wheel diameter in inches, and ET60 being the offset.
I've a code for 5.5J on a 15" rim.
Does that change the offset? And I think I need to factor in a load rating somewhere?
Load rating will mainly be a tyre problem if you are buying a replacement steel wheel. TBH, they're probably cheap enough that you'd just go to a Ford main dealer.
Double the price at the main dealer assuming I'm looking at the right things. Although that was via a local garage.
You need whatever looks the most Instagrammish when fitted with some BFG all terrains and parked at a jaunty angle on a grassy knoll.
First things first check the vehicle manual if you have it. It should list the permitted wheel sizes for the model in the manner that Edukator has outlined
If you look on one of your wheels either inside or outside a lot of the info will probably be stamped on it, certainly on my car and van it is. (They are both steels though, maybe different on alloys I dont know). Check the spare if you have alloys, itll probably be steel.
Offset will be marked as ETxx. On my Polo it is ET43 for example. If I went to ET35, the wheels would stick out more, ET50 they'd go in more. Again it should be in the manual or stamped on the wheel. Changing the offset could be problematic - for example if the wheels went into the wheel arches further, the rim or tyre could foul the strut or other component, and you might not be able to uses snow chains as there would be no space for them on the inside. ET is short for 'insertion depth' in German I believe...someone is bound to know better though
Its very easy to order the wrong size so check and check again....ask me how I know
ET = Einpresstiefe
The only reason I know is beacause I wanted to know if my old Dacia wheels with Winters would fit my Zoé and found the only differenc was 2mm of ET so they go on fine.
As well as the stuff Edukator mentioned above, be careful about centre bore. It's possible to buy wheels that don't fit over the centre of your hub.....
diameter
witdth
offset
bolt circle
number and type of bolts
and wheel bore size. The weight of the car / van isn't being born by the bolts but by the bit of the hub that pokes through the centre of the wheel - the bolts are just keeping it located on that. So a new wheel with the right bolt pattern can possibly either not fit if the bore size is too small or seemingly fit fine of the bore is too big buy not support the van properly because the hub and wheel aren't actually in contact. You can get adapter rings to solve the latter problem but not the former.
and wheel bore size. The weight of the car / van isn’t being born by the bolts but by the bit of the hub that pokes through the centre of the wheel – the bolts are just keeping it located on that. So a new wheel with the right bolt pattern can possibly either not fit if the bore size is too small or seemingly fit fine of the bore is too big buy not support the van properly because the hub and wheel aren’t actually in contact. You can get adapter rings to solve the latter problem but not the former.
Normally this is the case, yes, but some cars are boltcentric rather than hubcentric.
Your PCD is 5x160, centre bore 61.5.
standard fitment is 5 to 6.5J (rim width in inches) with an ET of 60.
rim width depends on what tyre size you want to run.
This may help; https://www.wheel-size.com/size/ford/transit/2011/
steels may need different bolts if you have alloys.
the 'normal' wheel nut is a 60 degree taper, but a lot of manufacturers use their own standards,
to make life a little easier for you, Ford used a really unusual PCD on transits, so if you do find any 5x160 wheels they'll probably be fine, especially if the width is less than 6.5 and the ET is between 55-65.
You are absolutely right about wheel bore size being a factor to take into account. However it's more a question of wheel centering which helps balance than the centre hole being load bearing. Only one of my competition cars had wheels that fitted the hub bore. The loads are taken by the bolts. Here's a pretty well-known axle with a flat hub face, it's pretty obvious what takes the load:
That is a very common van.
When I got another set for winter tyres for my old Transit I just went to a scrappy and got some off another tranny - everything fits and they were a tenner each.
Job jobbed.
(Similar age and just watch as the fwd and rwd ones have different sizes, 15" fwd and 16" red, find a van as similar to yours as you can)
https://www.willtheyfit.com/wheels/ is handy when playing about with diameter/width/offset as it shows how it’ll change so you can see if anything is in the way.