Hi there!
Any help or advice appreciated thanks.
I have the standard 15" Rims with 215/70/15c tyres for a Fiat Ducato 2008 2.3 JTD.
I would like bigger rims and bigger tyres.
Basically for better looks! But I want to make sure it's not going to be dangerous.

Now 5x118 16" Rims are hard to find in Australia and too expensive to order online.

So I found these bolt adaptors on ebay that apparently convert any 5x120 rims to fit the Ducato 5x118 - anyone had experience with these?

So I've bitten the bullet and ordered some anyway - Also I found online a cheap set of VW Amarok 16" Rims at 5x120. These already have tyres on them, but they are a lot bigger than what I currently have. These are 245/70/16 - and they are not C rated tyres but do have a high load capacity as made for 4wd.

I've found a few posts online where people have used these large 4WD tyres successfully on their Ducatos. They do look cool - but are they safe?

Perhaps i should order some new lower profile tyres? Like 215 60 16s? But they won't look as cool!

Any advice appreciated!

Thank you.

AgentOllie said:

Hi there!
I have the standard 15" Rims with 215/70/16c tyres.......
Thank you.

Click to expand...

Are you sure about that?

Sorry mistake - 15c

Do you know that if the circumference of any replacement wheel and tyre is not the same as your factory fitted tyres your speedo will not read the correct speed and distance?

Result speeding fines and not servicing on time.

Load ratings must be observed , No lower than factory fitment or very heavy fines.

Check the load rating of the wheels themselves, the wheels on any car or van are load rated, not such an issue with cars because they are rarely more than 1800kg for most road cars, big 4x4s not usually more than 2500kg, but obviously vans like the Ducato are usually designed for up to 3500kg so you can very quickly reach a stage where you risk over loading the wheels, on top of which you create a weak spot when you fit wheel adaptors, are the adaptors rated and safe to use given the weight of the van?

jackwhoo said:

Do you know that if the circumference of any replacement wheel and tyre is not the same as your factory fitted tyres your speedo will not read the correct speed and distance?

Result speeding fines and not servicing on time.

Load ratings must be observed , No lower than factory fitment or very heavy fines.

Click to expand...

Thanks for your reply!
Well my speedo already reads about 8% slow... so this will make it about spot on after the mod lol.

Load ratings - how do we find them? I've find some online guides but nothing official from fiat etc. Im using this website:
wheel-size(dot)com

The 245/70/16 tyres that are on the new 16" rims are 111T (1090kg at 190kph) but not rated as c (commercial).
The 215/70/15c tyres that I currently have installed are rated at 112R (1120kg at 170kph).

Contact your government vehicle inspection agency and ask what the rules are in Australia, you may want to do this before spending any money.

AndyRKett said:

Check the load rating of the wheels themselves, the wheels on any car or van are load rated, not such an issue with cars because they are rarely more than 1800kg for most road cars, big 4x4s not usually more than 2500kg, but obviously vans like the Ducato are usually designed for up to 3500kg so you can very quickly reach a stage where you risk over loading the wheels, on top of which you create a weak spot when you fit wheel adaptors, are the adaptors rated and safe to use given the weight of the van?

Click to expand...

Thanks Andy. How do you check the load rating for wheel rims?
Do we know what the Ducato is? From the website wheel-size(dot)com is says 112R (1120kg)
These new rims I want to get are off a VW Amarok 4WD. From the website wheel-size(dot)com it says 111T for that tyre and rim (1090kg).
So perhaps I would better to look for Rims and tyres with a HIGHER rating than 112R?

My van is not fully fitted out - so i'd say under 200kg of equipment and only a 2 seater.

As far as the adapters go the ad on ebay reads:

BMW to 5x118 Van Fitting Kit - 16 Bolts, Locks, Rings

This kit supplies everything you need to fit original BMW wheels (or any 5x120 PCD wheels) onto your 5x118 PCD Van. The 5x118 Vans are:

- Vauxhall Vivaro, Nissan Primastar, Renault Trafic and Fiat Ducato (not Maxi)

Plus wheel bolts are not all the same.
You must use a wheel bolt that is suitable for the type of wheel . It is not good enough that the thread is the same length size and pitch , the bolt head that touches the wheel must match . Some bolts mating faces are conical some are spherical etc etc.
Use the wrong bolt wheels fall off-I have seen the aftermath of this happening.

Hopefully this link will help, there is a lot of information and I’m not sure I really understand it all myself, my brother owns a company that makes camper vans and he buys in a lot of alloy wheels for vans so I know this is a significant issue. Obviously from his point of view he could be liable and sued for any accident resulting from fitting the wrong wheels and his company insurances wouldn’t protect him so he’d be personally out of pocket, so he does have to be so careful with wheel load ratings

Anyway here’s the link
https://exploria-online.co.uk/alloy-wheels.aspx

AndyRKett said:

Hopefully this link will help, there is a lot of information and I’m not sure I really understand it all myself, my brother owns a company that makes camper vans and he buys in a lot of alloy wheels for vans so I know this is a significant issue. Obviously from his point of view he could be liable and sued for any accident resulting from fitting the wrong wheels and his company insurances wouldn’t protect him so he’d be personally out of pocket, so he does have to be so careful with wheel load ratings

Anyway here’s the link

Click to expand...

Thanks some great information there!
Ok I'll report back with my final outcome!

Update: So these VW Amarok 16" rims and 245/70/16's were going for $100 second hand, with tyres with 50%! I couldn't say no. Even if they don't fit I could clean them up and resell for 4 times that. They definitely look a lot better than the little 15" standards!

I rang my mechanic today he seems to think the 'wobbly' bolts adapters from ebay should be legal in Australia.. or 'most likely 'wouldn't get noticed in an inspection' lol.

So now I wait till the adapters arrive - will assemble it all, and my mechanic will check it all out to see if it looks safe.

So until then if anyone has any info on using these 5x120 to 5x118 adapters please post. Also if anyone has used these size tyres before 245/70/16. Looks like they JUST fit into the wheel bay.

I guess if they don't fit I just have to get 4 new lower profiles. So the rims for $100 are still worth it!

heres the link to the adapters if anyone is interested (I couldn't post it before)
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/151406412933?ul_noapp=true

Hi

You might find this write up useful:


https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/tyre...lts-aka-wobble-bolts-myth-versus-reality.html

It would seem that if the PCD change is small, and the wheel is correctly located on the hub (adaptor ring if necessary) then there is no objection in principle to their use. The author does suggest however that the bolts should be TUV certified, i.e. their strength has been independently tested.

I guess it's up to you to assure yourself of safety aspects, after all it's not the government inspector or your mechanic who will be riding in the van - its you !

Hi agentollie,

I looked at the adapter link you posted and see they are adapter bolts-i have not seen those before.

This brings me back to the bolt and wheel mating profiles must match or the wheels will work loose and fall off.

The adapters in your link are specifically for bmw wheels and you have wheels from an Amorak ! Be very very careful

It would also be critical that you use a hub adapter ring to match your hub to any different wheel you try and fit.

jackwhoo said:

Hi agentollie,

I looked at the adapter link you posted and see they are adapter bolts-i have not seen those before.

This brings me back to the bolt and wheel mating profiles must match or the wheels will work loose and fall off.

The adapters in your link are specifically for bmw wheels and you have wheels from an Amorak ! Be very very careful

It would also be critical that you use a hub adapter ring to match your hub to any different wheel you try and fit.

Click to expand...

Hey mate thanks for this you are spot on. The Ebay shop I bought them from wrote to me and said exactly that - cannot use them on the VW wheels.
They also said they were unaware if you can get wobble bolts to fit the VW... So looks like I have to sell those rims lol.
So next step then... find some BMW rims to fit my bolts?
The ebay shop suggested BMW X5 17" rims but the ET is way out at 40 (instead of 68 of ducato).
I found a post on here where someone has suggested BMW Series 3 330i wheels. But they appear to be much more lower weight rated!
Any ideas?

jackwhoo said:

Hi agentollie,

I looked at the adapter link you posted and see they are adapter bolts-i have not seen those before.

This brings me back to the bolt and wheel mating profiles must match or the wheels will work loose and fall off.

The adapters in your link are specifically for bmw wheels and you have wheels from an Amorak ! Be very very careful

It would also be critical that you use a hub adapter ring to match your hub to any different wheel you try and fit.

Click to expand...

Hi Jack,
So I cant use the amarok wheels for 2 reasons - the bolts as you suggested but also the centre bore is too small on them.
I've found the Land Rover has similar wheels but with the right size Centre bore, and correct loading, and the ET looks ok.
Do you know if Land Rover wheels would work with the toggle bolts?
Thanks

Ok so land rover seem to have there own type of faster nuts! So I don't think that's an option.... So back to the VW Amarok wheels, I've found some suitable RADIUS wobble bolts now that fit:
https://www.pcdbolts.com/blank-2/m14-x-1-50-radius-wobble-bolts

Now the only obstacle is the centre bore is too small on the Amarok Alloys at 65.1. They need to be 71.1 to fit onto the ducato.

I've asked a wheel machining workshop if possible to enlarge and how much.

Anyone done this before? It seems quite a big mod (6mm). Maybe too much?

Have you confirmed that the R14 radius seat bolts match the radius seat in the Amorak wheels.

Radius mating faces may be available in different sizes for different manufacturers.

Radius face/seat may be called ball seat too.

Have you checked with your insurer?

Will the Amorak wheels and tyres clear the bodywork of your van when steering on full turn and suspension compressed?

What is the load rating of the anorak wheels?
If the anorak maximum axle weights is the same or greater than your van the wheels will be ok for load rating- probably easier to find axle rates than wheel rates.