What wheels fit a Transporter T5?

The VW T5 wheel size 2003 through to 2010 use wheels with a PCD of 5X112. Most VW T5 alloy wheels need a load rating of 790kg but this could be slightly different depending on model. Here we will look at what wheels fit VW T5.

Other vehicle wheels that will fit straight onto a VW T5 and share these sizes include the Volkswagen Amarok, Volkswagen Touareg, Transporter VW T6. These also have a suitable VW T5 wheel load rating.

VW T5 Centre Bore Size

The VW T5 centre bore size is 65.1

Introduction

Finding what wheels fit a Transporter T5 can be confusing and somewhat technical. Make sure you take your time in selecting your alloys especially if you are buying second hand.

Read on for more details on the most practical VW T5 wheel size. Before you select your wheel, we highly suggest you read the detailed section below regarding vehicle weights and wheel load limits.

vw t5 wheel size
vw t5 wheel size

You can typically fit anything from 16” up to 22” however be careful if you are going up to the 22” as some may require wider arches. The smaller 16″ alloys will give a comfier ride as you can fit larger profile tyres to soak up the bumps.

Do Range Rover Alloy Wheels fit a ṾW Transporter T5?

Yes they do with a little bit of modification.

You will need a (cheap) fitting kit such as the one below manufactured by Precision. This will give you the right length/shape bolts and spigots to alter the bore of the Range Rover alloy wheel to the required PCD of 5X112.

It is very simple to fit.

Best size wheels for VW T5

The best size wheels for VW T5 is an important question to consider.

Anything bigger than 18”” we would suggest you only consider for the larger BHP models (130BHP upwards). The lower BHP models power can be increased however to compensate, take a look at our T5 tuning guide,

As a rule of thumb, the bigger the alloy dimension the more it will affect your acceleration and handling. Without boring you with the science – wider tyres need greater power to rotate.

Transporter Spigots

A Spigot is simply a plastic washer that fits the centre of your alloy wheel to reduce the size of the bore to match the required 65.1 of a Transporter.

VW T5 Spigot
VW T5 Spigots

Most aftermarket alloys will require a spigot to ensure the bore of 65.1 is correct.

The company you buy your alloys off will usually provide them but if you are buying second hand you may need to purchase your own. They are very cheap to buy off amazon (usually no more than £10 for a set).

Find the best VW Transporter Alloys

Finding the right alloys that will fit your VW transporter T5 can be a bit of a complicated topic and you don’t want to spend hundreds of pounds on the wrong set. Some Alloys will fit straight onto a VW T5 and others will need a bit of modification to either the wheel spacers or potentially even the wheel arches.

Some people don’t mind a bit of work to get the perfect set of alloys on their VW T5 however in this review we will look at the Alloys that will fit straight onto your VW T5 with very little effort or modification.

We should first cover off a few safety considerations.

Does wheel size affect a Transporter fuel economy?

Yes it does! The short answer is that your engine will be working harder to turn a larger wheel. In addition to this, a larger wheel will have greater contact with the road causing more rolling road drag.

Why do bigger wheels reduce fuel economy?

This is a huge topic of conversation in itself so I will try and keep this as brief as possible without skipping over the important detail.

Whilst most people are focused on either making their VW T5 look cool aesthetically and the rest of you will be focused on ride comfort it is worth pointing out that alloy wheel size can have quite a big impact on fuel economy.

There are a few reasons for this such as the bigger the wheel then the bigger the tyre. If the tyre has a larger surface area on the road it increases the drag “friction” on the road as you have a higher rolling resistance.

VW T5 fuel use with larger alloys

The other reason you might lose some economy is that the bigger the alloy the harder the engine has to work to turn the wheel.

There is plenty of physics behind the reason for this but in a nut shell you will be pushing the engine slightly harder to accelerate with bigger wheels than smaller ones.

A slightly alternative consideration that would justify bigger alloys is that larger tyres usually last longer! The reason for this is that the tyres rotate less times over the same amount of miles traveled. Therefore reducing the amount of times the rubber makes contact with the road.

Transporter T5 wheel load ratings

First of all, it is important to identify what the weight of your VW T5 model actually is to determine which alloy wheels you actually need. Below is a useful chart that gives stock weight by VW T5 Model.

Keep in mind that the table below shows stock weight (as it came out of the show room). You therefore need to consider if the content of your VW T5 will have a significant impact on the weight.

Most camper van conversions for example will be relatively light weight however if you are using your VW T5 for carrying heavy items such as tools or materials then you will need to take that into consideration when choosing your alloys.

VW T5 Weight and payload – Transporter Panel

Chart showing T5 Axle weights

VW T5 Weight and payload – Transporter chassis and double cab

Chart showing VW T5 Axle weights for double cabs

VW T5 Weight and payload – Transporter Kombi

Chart showing VW T5 Axle weights for window vans

VW T5 Weight and payload- Transporter Sportline

Chart showing VW T5 Axle weights Sportline

What is the law on wheel Load rating weight?

Transporter wheels must comply with minimum load ratings that can be calculated by dividing the maximum axle weight by 2.

Transporters wheel load rating

It is a complicated topic however to try and explain it simply…

The minimum load rating for your alloys needs to consider the required load rating for each axle. So, to calculate this you would take the axle weight from the table above (let’s take a T30 Sportline Kombi Short wheelbase as an example) The Front axle weight is 1575kg and the rear is 1550kg. You take the highest weight limit and divide it by 2 to ensure you are covered.

So, for a Sportline Kombi Short wheelbase the minimum alloy load rating is 1575/2= 787.5 KG load rating per alloy.

If you fit alloys or tyres to your VW T5 that do not meet the above minimum requirements, then you could invalidate your insurance or worse cause a pretty bad accident.

The number of times I have seen VW T5 owners overlook this is quite shocking. I have seen a lot of people ask things like “Will Golf GTI Alloys fit my T5?” or “Will Caddy alloys fit my T5?” and even things like “Will Land Rover Alloys fit my T5!?”.

As a rule of thumb and to save you some time, if the vehicle you are trying to fit alloys from are smaller/weight less than your VW T5 then the load rating of the alloys will unlikely be adequate.

Best size wheels for VW T5 conclusion

We have seen VW T5 alloys ranging from 16” right the way up to 22” a lot of it comes down to personal preference and personal intended use.

If you are planning to do a lot of bumpy roads then you probably want slightly smaller alloys with larger profile tyres as a set of 22’s will be a fair bit bumpier than a set of 19’s with tyre walls that are a fair bit bigger.

Running cost is also a consideration for those of you that do lots of miles. Typically, a set of tyres on 22” rims will set you back a considerable amount more than something a bit more common like 19” or 20”

Our personal preference is to go somewhere in the middle for a decent ride, decent running cost, and a decent look we would always point VW T5 owners towards a set of 18” to 20”.

This also minimises the chance of having to alter wheel arches or scuffing over big bumps/potholes typically found on the UK rural B roads!

Final notes

Our conclusion of What wheels fit A VW T5 really comes down to personal preference but with the caveat that you should always observe the load rating of the alloy and tyre weight limit that you are fitting.

The bigger the alloy, the slower your acceleration and poorer your fuel consumption will be. The larger your alloy the less comfy your ride will be.

We have included links to some of the most popular VW T5 alloy wheels to make your life a little easier.

If you don’t want to risk buying the wrong alloys and to make your life a little simpler however if you use amazon be sure to specify “Commercial” to bring up the correct load rated Alloys or on Ebay you can generally shop by Vehicle model which makes things straight forward.

Size

Prices

16 " Alloys

17 " Alloys

19 " Alloys

20 " Alloys

22 " Alloys

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