Make my T6 look meaner!

[T28dov]

Here’s a pic of my van! It’s got 20” wheels with 275/40 R20’s. It’s got Bilstein suspension. I’m keen for it to have a better stance! Any suggestions on tyres and what I can do to make it look meaner?

what’s people’s opinions of having the callipers painted, I have been thinking red but maybe that’ll be out of keeping with the van?

 

[Pete C]

That looks perfect to me. Red calipers would look wrong on that van.

Pete

 

[The Van Cave]

Is it T32? I've got some ideas to make it meaner and help with the stance......

Tyres: Change to either 265/40, or even 245/40 if it's T32. Lower profile than the 275s which helps the stance.
Suspension: Is the suspension B14s? If yes and they're all the way down, the cheapest way to go lower is remove the rear adjuster rings and fit THQ machined top mounts at the front. That gets you another 12mm lower. Other than that you need to change the whole suspension.
Side Bars: Change to black.
Calipers: Maybe yellow would look good against that colour van?

The tyres/suspension points are based on an assumption that your van is T32.

 

[Pauly]

It’s a T28

 

[T28dov]

It’s a T28

Yep! It’s a T28.

 

[Tourershine]

It’s a T28

Almost asked how you knew then... almost.

 

[The Van Cave]

@T28dov what width are the wheels? You really don't need 275/40 tyres on a T28.

 

[T28dov]

Is it T32? I've got some ideas to make it meaner and help with the stance......

Tyres: Change to either 265/40, or even 245/40 if it's T32. Lower profile than the 275s which helps the stance.
Suspension: Is the suspension B14s? If yes and they're all the way down, the cheapest way to go lower is remove the rear adjuster rings and fit THQ machined top mounts at the front. That gets you another 12mm lower. Other than that you need to change the whole suspension.
Side Bars: Change to black.
Calipers: Maybe yellow would look good against that colour van?

The tyres/suspension points are based on an assumption that your van is T32.

thanks Chris, it’s a t28 and it’s got b14s. Possibly has a little extra it can go down but I’m needing to sort the tyres, just don’t know what to go for! Lower profile for certain required

 

[The Van Cave]

Almost asked how you knew then... almost.

Ah yeah, after typing out the username in my previous post I've just realised.

 

[T28dov]

@T28dov what width are the wheels? You really don't need 275/40 tyres on a T28.

I’m not sure what the width of the wheels are!

 

[The Van Cave]

thanks Chris, it’s a t28 and it’s got b14s. Possibly has a little extra it can go down but I’m needing to sort the tyres, just don’t know what to go for! Lower profile for certain required

You only need 100 load rating for a T28, so the world is your oyster compared to us T32 owners. Do you know the make/model of the wheels? Hard to get a good view from that pic, but I'll work on the assumption that they're 8.5" or 9" wide for now.

 

[T28dov]

I’m not sure what the width of the wheels are!

Just measured! They seem to be 9” wide.

 

[The Van Cave]

You could run 255/40 on your T28, that gives you 8mm less sidewall so a much nicer profile. Also being 20mm narrower they'll fit tighter across the rim which looks much better in my opinion. One downside of the smaller profile is that you'll have 8mm bigger arch gap, so if you want to close it back up you will need to drop the van down a bit more. The van itself will already be lower to the ground by the same value, but the arch gap will increase.

Or, 275/35 which is the VW recommended size (because it's closest in circumference to standard size wheels and tyres). That'll give you an even smaller profile and because of that they don't bulge like a 275/40 do.

 

[T28dov]

You could run 255/40 on your T28, that gives you 8mm less sidewall so a much nicer profile. Also being 20mm narrower they'll fit tighter across the rim which looks much better in my opinion. One downside of the smaller profile is that you'll have 8mm bigger arch gap, so if you want to close it back up you will need to drop the van down a bit more. The van itself will already be lower to the ground by the same value, but the arch gap will increase.

Or, 275/35 which is the VW recommended size (because it's closest in circumference to standard size wheels and tyres). That'll give you an even smaller profile and because of that they don't bulge like a 275/40 do.

thanks Chris. What option would you go for? Would both of those options make the ride much harder?

 

[The Van Cave]

thanks Chris. What option would you go for? Would both of those options make the ride much harder?

I don't think it'll make a huge difference to be honest, but others might disagree. What tyre pressures do you run now?

I think 275 is too wide on an 8.5 or 9" wide rim, regardless of it being VW recommended (which is only due to circumference, nothing else). In fact, when you look it up, 255 is the widest general recommendation for 8.5 and 265 is the widest general recommendation for a 9" wide rim.

With that in mind I would go 255/40. They'll sit perfectly on the rim and the profile is already 8mm less than you're running now.

 

[T28dov]

I don't think it'll make a huge difference to be honest, but others might disagree. What tyre pressures do you run now?

I think 275 is too wide on an 8.5 or 9" wide rim, regardless of it being VW recommended (which is only due to circumference, nothing else). In fact, when you look it up, 255 is the widest general recommendation for 8.5 and 265 is the widest general recommendation for a 9" wide rim.

With that in mind I would go 255/40. They'll sit perfectly on the rim and the profile is already 8mm less than you're running now.

Not sure what pressures I’m running! I’m looking for the lowest profile I think as I’m more interested in the look of the van. My wife will probably disagree though if it makes the ride really harsh!!

 

[The Van Cave]

as I’m more interested in the look of the van.

Aesthetics beats practicality almost every time in my book!

 

[T28dov]

Aesthetics beats practicality almost every time in my book!

What about a 265/35?

 

[The Van Cave]

What about a 265/35?

If you can find some that are 100 load rated, why not?

You’ll find with any of these tyres that your speedo will not read the same as it does now. It’ll probably be closer to reading what it would have with the standard wheels and tyres though.

 

[BognorMotors]

Put a 275/35 tyre on which is the correct size for a T28. Will make the tyre look less bulbous.