I have been lusting for some Mobelwagen wheels.
Unfortunately, their 5 1/2" wheels don't have the backspace I need on the rear.
It looks like I have 3 options.
Live with 4 1/2" wheels. I wonder how this would work with my 175/70 tires.
Get narrowed trailing arms and new axles.
Have Weldcraft Wheel widen 4 1/2" wheels 1" to the inside. They want $250 per wheel. They happen to be an easy drive from me.
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Michael, I just changed up from my old Mangels to the Mobelwagens.
I'm swing axle, so the 5.5" rims presented no clearance issues. And coincidentally, I just went to 175/70 tires, too (Vredestein Sprint Classics). If I recall, the specs on the tires said they would fit down to a 4.5" rim. You can check the full specs on Tire Rack's site. Just click on any tire and there's a dedicated tab with full specs.
If you can have the rims adapted for $250 per, that would give you more options for tires in the future, and certainly less hassle and cost than suspension mods.
BTW, if you're buying from Mobelwagen, they seem to offer decent sales pretty regularly. Their normal price is around $170, but the sale price this past July was $135 and I think they ran the same sale pricing about six months earlier for about a month.
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@LI-Rick, CIP1 seems to have only 5-lug 3-fifty-6 wheels.
@Michael McKelvey posted:@LI-Rick, CIP1 seems to have only 5-lug 3-fifty-6 wheels.
You are correct sir, didn't realize you had 4 lug wheels. My bad.
You're not bad. I appreciate you replying to my post.
@Sacto Mitch can you please post a pic or two of your new wheels and tires?! Thanks in advance!
Have a pair widened for the rear- it will be money well spent and you won't regret it.
I think I would want to widen 4 wheels.
I haven't quite reached the point where an extra $1000 on top of the wheel cost would be money well spent and I won't regret it.
I have the Mobelwagen wheels (4 lug) and I love them. Have you talked to Greg at Vintage Motorcars about your specific needs? He may have something for you. His wheels are made by Mobelwagen BTW. FYI -Mobelwagen usually offers 25% off of their retail prices, so if you aren't getting 25% off, just wait a bit or call them and ask. Great wheels.
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@30West posted:.@Sacto Mitch can you please post a pic or two of your new wheels and tires?! Thanks in advance!
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Thanks for the pics! Those look REALLY nice!!
🍺🍺Cheers
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@30West , thanks.
Very pleased after a few months. Couldn't decide between the matte finish (powdercoat) or these (polished aluminum), but think I chose right. I like the polished with light colors, but the matte with silver or darker paint colors.
These are very easy to keep clean. A quick wipe with a wet sponge and brake dust comes right off.
The Vredesteins have turned out to be good tires, too. The taller sidewalls give a more supple ride, but grip and control are good.
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@Michael McKelvey posted:I think I would want to widen 4 wheels.
I haven't quite reached the point where an extra $1000 on top of the wheel cost would be money well spent and I won't regret it.
Ahh... ok
This may have been corrected by now, BUT at one time the 4 lug Mobelwagon wheels did not fit disc brakes without a spacer. It didn't take much to clear the caliper, 1/4" IIRC, but for someone who has very li=mited space and is possibly having wheels modified you would want to check all of your clearances first so you can account for spacers if needed.
Wow! Thank you very much for this information.
I would really hate to buy the wheels and spend $1000 to have them modified only to discover I need a spacer I don't have room for.
You are such a great resourse for this group. I really appreciate your contributions.
@chines1 that was an issue with early Mobelwagon 4 lug wheels but that has been fixed now. I had what must have been one of the last sets that still had that issue. I bought spacers to fix that problem but that did not work. Mobelwagen then fixed that problem and swapped mine out for the new design.
Good to hear. We brought the problem to their attention a while ago (feels like a few years ago now) but got a set of their black coated 4 lug wheels last year and they still had the issue. I assume they were just old stock because they told me the issue was fixed, we just don't use a lot of 4 lug stuff anymore. Fortunately it was for a coupe of mine and there was plenty of room for spacers, so it was a quick and easy fix in that case.
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I've got discs all around and had heard these stories, so I was prepared to get spacers locally. But the wheels I got directly from Mobelwagen in July had no clearance issues.
Another data point: The wheels pictured on Mobelwagen's site show their logo engraved in the part of the wheel that's covered by a hubcap. The wheels on Greg's site don't. This might just be because Greg's photos are old, or maybe the wheels they supply through other channels are unmarked? This didn't matter to me, but you might check first if you care. Maybe @chines1 can clarify?
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You say the MC wheels are unmarked but the picture shows a marked wheel.
Take a look at the VMC site. They have 3 different wheels offered. Only 1 of the 3 have the MW marking. I think they may have used that one by mistake in their photo shoot? I'm pretty sure VMC sells them unmarked.
I would assume that most companies that are making a disc brake kit do not use the stock VW Ghia caliper , so it must be hard for Mobelwagen to leave enough clearance for any caliper that a disc brake maker might choose
@Sacto Mitch I'm not certain. We have gotten them both marked and unmarked, but I have also bought through 3 different sources (VM, Mobelwagon directly, and TireRack).
My cars both have the vintage 190s. Wide 5 on the Spyder and 4 lug on the IM. I think they are great.
