Is it worth upgrading 15” to 16” wheels?

[stevewagner]

Surely going from a 15" wheel to a 16" wheel in its self would only add 1/2" to ride height, and to keep the correct calibration for the speedo as per manufacturers spec, you would need to put lower profile tyres, gaining you nothing.
So depending on the current tyre size you have, it is probably possible to gain a bit just by putting tyres with a higher profile on, but this will change the calibration of your speedo, but they tend to be 10% under anyway.

When working it all out remember the profile figure on a tyre is a percentage of the tyre width not the profile in mm.

I think you’ll find that speedos read over not under.

 

[Happy Jack]

I didn’t change the tyres for lift, I did it for better range of tyres. I got the most lift with rear air assist, and did the front to balance what I’d done at the back. I wouldn’t want to do the front without the back, as it would make the back even lower

Same here, not worth doing one without the other.

 

[Deafender]

See post#3, I did say I fitted gas shocks all round although I perhaps didnt make it clear that they were uprated or that I was suggesting it would be a good mod to do.

Yep, and I’ve come across Mr B ’s thread around unrated front shocks as well… the two combined have me certain they’ll get done on my MH as well as the tyres, which have to be done anyway…

 

[Deafender]

IHere's my 215/70/15 next to my 215/75/16.
15" dia is 26.9". 16" dia is 28.7".
These values from tiresize.com, guess it's USA as they've spelt tyre wrong.
Note I fitted 215, most people fit 225.
View attachment 1003008

Thank you all for your input, as always on Funsters, it’s helped a lot.

Improving ride quality is the main priority for us, while the clearance bothers us it’s manageable and may actually improve a bit without the 16” wheels if I get the air suspension mods done. Some of you may have heard a thump earlier that was me falling off my chair at the cost I’ve seen of the larger alloys - - steel wheels with swanky plastic hub caps are about 25% of that cost…

… so I am tempted to gamble slightly and go van tyres all round and air at the rear, with updated shocks at the front and maybe pass on the bigger alloy wheels - from what’s on here it looks more likely from a cost viewpoint that we can viably uprate our MH rather than trade up from it…

But next stop is Off Grid or Vanbitz for upgraded electrics, so quite possibly a change may yet occur… we’ve end-of-life leisure batteries, no inverter, not sure if we have a smart alternator or not, though we do have a solar panel and lots of wire stuffed under the seat… so we shall see…

 

[Gerry77]

Improving ride quality is the main priority for us, while the clearance bothers us it’s manageable and may actually improve a bit without the 16” wheels if I get the air suspension mods done. Some of you may have heard a thump earlier that was me falling off my chair at the cost I’ve seen of the larger alloys - - steel wheels with swanky plastic hub caps are about 25% of that cost…

The alloy wheels that I am considering are £550 set of four, where can I buy a set of steel wheels and “swanky plastic hub caps” for 25% of that cost please? That would be a real saving. I can only find new steels @£75 each.

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[Happy Jack]

The alloy wheels that I am considering are £550 set of four, where can I buy a set of steel wheels and “swanky plastic hub caps” for 25% of that cost please? That would be a real saving. I can only find new steels @£75 each.View attachment 1003363View attachment 1003364

Same here, my 16" alloys were £554 for a set of 4 but also got a spare at £138.50.
Supermetal hammer.
Was looking for steel but they were typically £75+ each.

 

[fishplug]

I did a search for steels too as my tyres need changing soon so I thought I'd look into the cost of an upgrade.

Found these for £48 each....

 

[Gerry77]

I did a search for steels too as my tyres need changing soon so I thought I'd look into the cost of an upgrade.

Found these for £48 each....

Yes saw those but I need 118pcd which are as my picture £80 each + cost of wheel trims so not enough saving to stop me buying alloys.

 

[nelson8217]

We’re 6 months in with our first MH and loving it - 2019 Ducato PVC - and we’re building up quite a wish list of all sorts of extras and refinements, particularly with a view to longer periods in the MH than the 3-4 day long weekend trips we bought ours for (we’re both still working full time…) … I sense we are getting close to having to decide between adding all the bits, or changing MH…

The biggie for us is the ride quality in ours… nice enough on those rare decent road surfaces, but worse than our 177,000 mile Freelander 2 for pot hole crash and poor road condition ride and noise, sadly more prevalent than ever. I’m also bothered about the very low ground clearance we have- tow bar scrape has occurred several times, and we inherited loose and bent water outlet brackets and pipes underneath as well… one of which parted company with the tank and left us waterless, presumably having been vibrated loose…

Sooo, I’m already convinced of the worth in adding air suspension at the rear with cab controls for extra ride height to deal with occasional slopes and bumps, not sure about the front (air or updated shocks/springs) and still need to get the vehicle weighed to be sure what needs doing… if only the weighbridges around here were open at weekends…

However, I have noticed that many other, similar aged or newer Boxer/Relay/Ducato MH and vans I’ve looked at ride on 16” wheels… which will help a bit with the ground clearance, but my question is would upgrading ours to 16” really make any noticeable difference to the ride ? The tyres on mine will need to swapped out this year anyway due to age, so some of that cost is happening anyway if we keep hold of this particular MH…

Has anyone else done this? I’m only guessing here on any real difference, and I’d be glad of some views on the worth of this or otherwise…

I can understand your comment about the 15'' wheels looking out of proportion on the m/h. When I asked about changing to 16'' wheels a very highly experienced technician said that, although the wheel stud spacing is okay, the 2016 Ducatos with 15'' wheels have a different drive line set up to those with 16'' wheels. One difference I have noticed is that steel wheels will absorb the awful road surfaces better than alloys as they are not so rigid but, at the end of the day, it's your choice.
Hope this might help.

 

[fishplug]

Yes saw those but I need 118pcd which are as my picture £80 each + cost of wheel trims so not enough saving to stop me buying alloys.

Ah! OK, that makes sense.

I'm funny with alloys. I don't mind a scratched or scabby steel rim - but a less than perfect alloy really bothers me (perhaps why I stick to steels!)

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[fishplug]

When I asked about changing to 16'' wheels a very highly experienced technician said that, although the wheel stud spacing is okay, the 2016 Ducatos with 15'' wheels have a different drive line set up to those with 16'' wheels.

I'm sorry, but I don't really understand what that means?

 

[Happy Jack]

I'm sorry, but I don't really understand what that means?

Same here, should have explained what the different drive line set up is and why it makes a diffetence.
As is it isn't informative.

 

[Happy Jack]

Ah! OK, that makes sense.

I'm funny with alloys. I don't mind a scratched or scabby steel rim - but a less than perfect alloy really bothers me (perhaps why I stick to steels!)

Yes, when I was considering 16" steel the 130 pitch wheels were a good bit cheaper than 118 but it's 118 that I needed.
wonder why the difference ?

 

[Richard J]

I have a Maxi Ducato 2017, so before we lost all our teeth we got the VB front suspension upgrade - fancy shockers and upgraded rear coil springs to level it, (no air suspension), this raised it by 40mm, and comfort transformed. 1mpg worse fuel consumption though

 

[Happy Jack]

I have a Maxi Ducato 2017, so before we lost all our teeth we got the VB front suspension upgrade - fancy shockers and upgraded rear coil springs to level it, (no air suspension), this raised it by 40mm, and comfort transformed. 1mpg worse fuel consumption though

How do mods to your suspension effect your mpg ?

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[Happy Jack]

How do mods to your suspension effect your mpg ?

Not sure yet, only using it as everyday drive at the moment and in this cold spell have been firing up the diesel heater regularly (fed from the van tank).
Not sure either about effect on acceleration, not a boy racer.
I drive/anticipate what's going on ahead.
Still busy sorting out the underbed area to take the spare wheel then we can think about getting away.

 

[Deafender]

The alloy wheels that I am considering are £550 set of four, where can I buy a set of steel wheels and “swanky plastic hub caps” for 25% of that cost please? That would be a real saving. I can only find new steels @£75 each.View attachment 1003363View attachment 1003364

Sorry Gerry77 I wasn’t looking past OEM for indicative costs on Alloys - your figure on new alloys is a lot more like it - the steel wheels I was looking at are around the same price you’ve seen, the hubcaps (less retaining cable ties!!) came up on a search at £25 for the four… and having seen a new PVC on Autotrader with painted black wheels looking quite nice, might not even bother with those at all…

But this extra view on pricing has slightly shifted the thinking to going up that extra inch in rim size in either alloy or steel… I’m now at the point of needing to stick all this in a spreadsheet to work out how far to go here….

 

[Deafender]

For the worse. Slower acceleration and more gear changes on hills.

I hadn’t even thought of this, and it’s a really good point… down in Exmoor over the festive break, it was a regular battle for the hills and hairpin bends versus the Fiat Comfortmatic and stopping unnecessary dropping down the gears and revving the engine hard… we got fed up with overriding that after a while, and having specifically looked for an auto, it was driving like a manual in these circumstances… so much so, that we’ve already decided that IF we just part-ex and not carry out all these modifications, we won’t be having another one of those…

But there is a likely advantage for the smaller wheels again… another entry in the do-we/don’t we spreadsheet…

 

[Pugsy]

Yes Guigsy, my original tyres were no name 15" van tyres running at 4 bar but going to 16" Falken tyres running at 3.2 bar are a big improvement. All the other mods I've done have helped as well .

Replaced my camper tyres with the falken all season tyres before I came over to Spain in December,I agree a much better ride and not as noisy up front.
Cheers Cris

 

[Dave and Jen]

How do mods to your suspension effect your mpg ?

Now its comfier he might be driving a bit faster ?
Cheers, Dave

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[CAB96]

Now its comfier he might be driving a bit faster ?
Cheers, Dave

Ah, but better handling also means a better flow through the bendy bits, less slowing down and speeding up

 

[Dave and Jen]

Ah, but better handling also means a better flow through the bendy bits, less slowing down and speeding up

Ah but maybe he is always speeding!
Cheers, Dave

 

[Richard J]

How do mods to your suspension effect your mpg ?

Apparently its a thing. Having a smaller airgap under the vehicle improves aerodynamics (vide souped up roadcars, Lambos etc.) Lifting the suspension does the reverse. But there are advantages too, apart from the much improved ride.