Best alloys for a VW T6 Transporter [Guide]

Best alloys for a VW T6 Transporter

It is important to research the best alloys for a VW T6 to ensure you get the correct fitment and the correct specification.

A lot of new owners of the VW T6 decide not to pay for the wheel upgrades that VW themselves offer and choose to explore the market to see what else is out there.

The main reason being that the variety is much more comprehensive in the alloy specialist market and also the cost savings can be significant vs the cost for wheels direct from VW themselves.

Where to buy the best alloys for a VW T6?

If you search on Google there are loads of retailers selling VW T6 alloys and many of them are very good but extremely expensive.

My recommendation is to have a look on eBay first as the prices for new alloys always seem very keen and more often than not you can pick up alloys with the correct load rated tyres included in the price which saves a load of hassle.

When buying alloys and tyres together, not only does it normally work out cheaper but you also have the benefit of been able to return them if they do not fit to your expectations or do not look as you imagined!

Returning tyres and wheels separately would be a right pain I imagine especially if you have had them fitted to the wheels already.

Will Range Rover Alloy wheels fit a VW T6?

Yes they do! You will need to change the bolts for the wheels and will need spigots to adjust the centre bore of the wheel to fit the T6 hub. You can buy cheap fitting kits on Amazon to make your life easy.

View cheap fitting kit

What size alloys will fit a VW T6?

As a good rule of thumb you can fit from 16” up to 22” inch “fairly comfortably”, the larger the wheel the smaller the profile of the tyre you will need, and potentially the least comfortable your ride will be (especially over pot holes).

The latest VW T6.1 is sold with the optional upgrade to factory fitted 22″ alloys.

22" alloys fitted to a T6.1 — VW T6.1 Kombi with 22″ fitted from new

If you are going for anything larger than 22” there is a risk that you will experience rubbing of the tyres on your arches at full lock so it is important to check that the diameter combination of the wheel plus tyre that you buy will not do this.

VW T6 alloy wheel PCD and Centre Bore

PCD	5X120
Centre Bore	65.1
Mounting bolt	14×1.50
Bolt torque	180Nm
Wheel Offset	51

VW T6 PCD, Bore and other fitting information

Will VW T6 Alloys Fit a T5?

Yes! It is also worth noting that VW T6, VW Amarok (2010 onwards) and the VW T5 (03 to 10) share the same PCD and centre bore meaning they fit will straight onto a T6 and vice versa.

Fitting 16” up to 18”

The majority of the VW T6 alloys that I see on the roads in the UK would fall into the bracket. Wheels up to 18” will bolt straight onto a VW T6 without any concerns for arch clearance.

Also, VW themselves specify that anything over 18” could invalidate the warranty. The fact that you can buy a new VW T6 with alloys up to a maximum of 18” supports this view.

It is important to bear in mind that the larger the wheels you fit the more it will affect the handling, acceleration, gearing and ultimate strain on the engine (all be it very minor).

This of course does not put everyone off from going bigger than 18” and if you are outside of your VW warranty anyway, you probably aren’t that bothered.

Fitting 19” up to 22”

Ok, so, lets be honest here. If you are fitting anything bigger than 18” and certainly over 20” the practicality arguments are going to be null and void to you!

If you are considering bigger than 18” alloys, then you are more concerned about the looks of your vehicle rather than ride comfort or handling. If this is correct, read on.

Generally speaking 19” is pretty safe too. It is only 1 inch up from the manufacturers recommend and that extra inch on diameter can be soaked up with a slightly smaller tyre profile.

Once you get into the 20” + range however you need to be a bit more careful about your choice.

VW T6 alloys – Load rating

Load rating is essentially the maximum weight that a wheel is tested safely to and is the first thing that you should look at when selecting your new wheels.

It is a legal requirement (and MOT fail) to have wheels or tyres that do not meet the load requirements of a vehicle.

Be very careful about the load rating of what ever T6 Alloy’s you buy.

I have seen far too many alloy sales companies that are more concerned about getting a sale than ensuring that the buyer is adequately informed about the load rating and suitable use of the alloy they are selling.

If the advertiser does not clearly state, the load rating then I would steer clear as this is not something that you want to get wrong.

Working out your Load rating

This can be a complicated topic but to explain this as simply as possible:

The lowest rating that you should consider for your wheels is the axel weight divided by 2 (this gives you the weight required per wheel)

So using the table below, a T26 Panel van front wheel load rating needs to be 1500/2 = 750kg and the rear needs to be 1400/2 = 700kg.

To play safe I would recommend just looking at alloys with a load raiting of 750kg or above.

VW T6 Axle Limits in KG

VW T6 Model	Engine variant	Gross vehicle Weight KG	Front/Rear axle KG
Panel Van SWB
T26	T26 2.0 TDI 90PS 5-speed manual	2,600	1,500 / 1,400
T28	2.0 TDI 90PS 5-speed manual	2,800	1,550 / 1,550
	2.0 TDI 110PS 5-speed manual	2,800	1,550 / 1,550
	2.0 TDI 150PS 6-speed manual	2,800	1,600 / 1,550
	2.0 TDI 150PS 7-speed DSG	2,800	1,600 / 1,550
T30	2.0 TDI 90PS 5-speed manual	3,000	1,550 / 1,625
	2.0 TDI 110PS 5-speed manual	3,000	1,550 / 1,625
	2.0 TDI 150PS 6-speed manual	3,000	1,600 / 1,625
	2.0 TDI 150PS 7-speed DSG	3,000	1,600 / 1,625
	2.0 BiTDI 199PS 7-speed DSG	3,000	1,600 / 1,625
T32	2.0 TDI 110PS 5-speed manual	3,200	1,710 / 1,720
	2.0 TDI 150PS 6-speed manual	3,200	1,710 / 1,720
	2.0 TDI 150PS 7-speed DSG	3,200	1,710 / 1,720
	2.0 TDI 150PS 4MOTION 6-speed manual	3,200	1,710 / 1,720
	2.0 BiTDI 199PS 7-speed DSG	3,200	1,710 / 1,720
	2.0 BiTDI 199PS 4MOTION 7-speed DSG	3,200	1,710 / 1,720
Panel Van LWB
T28	2.0 TDI 90PS 5-speed manual	2,800	1,550 / 1,550
	2.0 TDI 110PS 5-speed manual	2,800	1,550 / 1,550
	2.0 TDI 150PS 6-speed manual	2,800	1,600 / 1,550
	2.0 TDI 150PS 7-speed DSG	2,800	1,600 / 1,550
T30	2.0 TDI 90PS 5-speed manual	3,000	1,550 / 1,625
	2.0 TDI 110PS 5-speed manual	3,000	1,550 / 1,625
	2.0 TDI 150PS 6-speed manual	3,000	1,600 / 1,625
	2.0 TDI 150PS 7-speed DSG	3,000	1,600 / 1,625
	2.0 BiTDI 199PS 7-speed DSG	3,000	1,600 / 1,625
T32	2.0 TDI 110PS 5-speed manual	3,200	1,710 / 1,720
	2.0 TDI 150PS 6-speed manual	3,200	1,710 / 1,720
	2.0 TDI 150PS 7-speed DSG	3,200	1,710 / 1,720
	2.0 TDI 150PS 4MOTION 6-speed manual	3,200	1,710 / 1,720
	2.0 BiTDI 199PS 7-speed DSG	3,200	1,710 / 1,720
	2.0 BiTDI 199PS 4MOTION 7-speed DSG	3,200	1,710 / 1,720
Kombi crew van SWB
T30	2.0 TDI 110PS 5-speed manual	3,000	1,550 / 1,600
	2.0 TDI 150PS 6-speed manual	3,000	1,610 / 1,600
	2.0 TDI 150PS 7-speed DSG	3,000	1,610 / 1,600
	2.0 BiTDI 199PS 7-speed DSG	3,080	1,610 / 1,600
	2.0 BiTDI 199PS 4MOTION 7-speed DSG	3,080	1,610 / 1,600
T32	2.0 TDI 110PS 5-speed manual	3,200	1,710 / 1,720
	2.0 TDI 150PS 6-speed manual	3,200	1,710 / 1,720
	2.0 TDI 150PS 7-speed DSG	3,200	1,710 / 1,720
	2.0 TDI 150PS 4MOTION 6-speed manual	3,200	1,710 / 1,720
	2.0 BiTDI 199PS 7-speed DSG	3,200	1,710 / 1,720
	2.0 BiTDI 199PS 4MOTION 7-speed DSG	3,200	1,710 / 1,720
Kombi crew van LWB
T32	2.0 TDI 110PS 5-speed manual	3,200	1,710 / 1,720
	2.0 TDI 150PS 6-speed manual	3,200	1,710 / 1,720
	2.0 TDI 150PS 7-speed DSG	3,200	1,710 / 1,720
	2.0 TDI 150PS 4MOTION 6-speed manual	3,200	1,710 / 1,720
	2.0 BiTDI 199PS 7-speed DSG	3,200	1,710 / 1,720
	2.0 BiTDI 199PS 4MOTION 7-speed DSG	3,200	1,710 / 1,720