Alloy wheel sizes on a Super Custom

By the way, since we are waaaay off-topic anyway: This was our original seating area (8 seater) before we removed it and turned it into a camper van.
You can clearly see we have a Euro-style van, not a luxury Super Custom version
But the seats were really good, and behind the seats there was still 1 meter payload space. Only the visible rails were annoying. And they didn't fold nicely into a straight surface for usage as a bed.

Very comfy seats. I didn't realise the cab forward ever came to europe - when/where was that?

I'm 6'1" so I have the same issue with cross-wise beds, and I'm not about to fit a window box for my feet either LOL



I was considering a slanted bed, from the drivers seatbelt to the back of the sliding door (left side), and leaving a triangular space for cupboard/backs on the read left part of the van.

Then on delivery I realised the SC seats folded into a bed so I had a sudden attack of the lazys and banished the idea.

With the little swivel seat out (it's really got to go to open up the floor) I may build a lightweight unit with 1x1" wood and 6mm ply as a coffee/cupboard/sink/etc unit and match it with a cushion up to the height of the bed-mode seating, so I can still make up a double bed when required but treat the inside as a ready-made single bed+facilities.

TBH one of the main reasons for buying the van was to mess about with temporary/removable camping/touring layouts inside it - having studied hundreds of layouts online. BTW one of the coolest layouts I ever saw was the factory Hiace camper layout. Can't find the pics now but here's an older one with a similar layout, with the same wedge shaped pod.
http://www.delica.ca/trader/index.php?other_vehicles/1947_SOLD_Toyota_Hiace_Camper

The only drawback here is the inability to sit down looking out of the door, the combination that still eludes me.

Well I don't know about the UK, but mainland Europe did get our Hiace 3 series just from 1989 to 1996. Then the new Hiace came which is I think like you know the Granvia. With the engine in front.
The Cab forward was already there for the previous Hiaces. I know that at least the Hiace 2 (the square one) was also sold in Europe. Hiace 1, I'm not sure. But there are some in Europe.

In Netherlands I know that the Hiace 2 was sold with 4x4, but the Hiace 3 (up to '96) was sold but not the 4x4 version. Then the Hiace 3.5 or something (with engine in front, Granvia like) was sold again with 4x4. But that was more like all-wheel-drive. I wanted "real" 4x4, which is normally rwd and then engage the front axle with a fixed transfer case, and the option to go low-gearing.
Even though there is just a simple diesel without turbo in there, it doesn't matter. This thing just climbs mountains without issues. It also does the mud and sand nicely, backed up by a factory LSD (check if you have one!).
Just one issue, ground clearance. That's why we raised the car quite a bit now.

I like that pop out part for the feet

Honestly you will be surprised at how wide a t25 is, I've had a van conversion to camper and a double cab pick up, easily the widest vw van from the T5 as I've never sat in one I can't say

My next door neighbour had a type 25 - it was a huge thing, much bigger looking than the usual VW camper I was used to.

Thanks for the history Hiace4wd, interesting europe got the 3 (which I guess includes our super customs - or at least that shape).

I first heard about the Hiace in 1982 I think it was, I suspect then that was the MK1 and it was in the UK.

I like the 4x4 Hiace - it's basically a Hilux underneath is it? Has it got a separate chassis?
I just bought the first one I saw with the seats and sunroof - which TBH was the extent of my research LOL. I decided that fitting out a bare van would be fun but necessary whereas I'd have the option of leaving it alone with the SC.

Also the 2WD is lower so would fit into my garage better. As it happens I have about 6" to spare as it's not just the RWD one but it's also been slammed so it's closer to the ground

Ok. The Super Custom versions were only shipped to UK I believe, but the rest of Europe didnt get them. Mostly basic workhorses. Most of them exported to Africa.
Mine was an 8 seater with original high roof, pretty rare. It is not the typical smooth high roof, it is not so smooth. Even a bit ugly hehe. But the space is nice. Internal height is 184cm

Including raising it and the solar panel it might exceed 270cm in total height, will see when finished.

mickB wrote:

hahahaha my exact thoughts on the double swivel too  it swivels the wrong way and I too want to sit looking out the side door

Done it!
See https://hiace-super-custom.forumotion.com/t3001-how-to-make-the-seats-rotate-differently

So, I have drilled out the rx8 alloys as they have a lip to fit upto the hub on the car, mine are now 67.1mm all the way through the centre
Fitted Saturday and thought all was good, but, in full lock the 225/45 x 18 tyres catch the top wishbone on both full locks, thought about taking the lip of the wishbone back a bit but don't like that idea too much, don't want to keep trying different size tyres so thought about some sort of steering lock stop to limit full lock, anyone dine this??

mickB wrote:

So, I have drilled out the rx8 alloys as they have a lip to fit upto the hub on the car, mine are now 67.1mm all the way through the centre
Fitted Saturday and thought all was good, but, in full lock the 225/45 x 18 tyres catch the top wishbone on both full locks, thought about taking the lip of the wishbone back a bit but don't like that idea too much, don't want to keep trying different size tyres so thought about some sort of steering lock stop to limit full lock, anyone dine this??  

Same size tyres as on my 18" Rays - maybe mine catch too and I need to check!

Where on the wheel does it touch?
On (for instance the left side) does it catch on full left or full right?

yours maybe ok as it also depends on the wheel et - how much it sticks out or not, the rx8 alloys have an et of 40, the van is preferred to have at of 35, that 5mm may just be enough to catch my wishbones

they catch the inner tyre on the very front edge and rear edge of the top wishbone on full lock, I can run with them and just avoid full lock when parking but would like to get it sorted preferably properly

mickB wrote:

yours maybe ok as it also depends on the wheel et - how much it sticks out or not, the rx8 alloys have an et of 40, the van is preferred to have at of 35, that 5mm may just be enough to catch my wishbones

they catch the inner tyre on the very front edge and rear edge of the top wishbone on full lock, I can run with them and just avoid full lock when parking but would like to get it sorted preferably properly

I see. I'll measure my ET when I change the front brakes soon.
Can you use a spacer on yours to set them a bit further out? They seem to be a popular option on RX8 forums!

The van might be preferred to have ET35 (in my case it was ET20) but that is using standard tyres, yours are quite a bit wider.

Anyway, if the ET value is an issue, you could use (thin) spacers.

I have 225/75/R16 fitted by the way, with some drastic modifications to the body to allow steering.

But I have them on ET0 rims, and they don't seem to hit the inside.

fitted them back on, the front has lock stops which although rusty I will adjust out to limit lock, for the meantime I have dressed the wishbone lip on both front and back with a hammer.........back to basics....

here are photos of them fitted, 8 x 18 et 50 so it appears with 225/45x18 tyres





needs a massive whack with the lowering stick mind

Looks really good, great look!

To get back to a 35mm offset you could fit 15mm spacers, and possibly longer bolts, looks like the fronts could come out a fraction without issue.

As for lowering, I think you get more of a cool utility/SUV look with a higher ride, mine's lowered and it makes getting underneath quite tricky!

How does it ride with those wheels? I ask because I have the same size tyres (on the front anyway), and was interested if the 'sporty' ride was down to the tyres or the lowering...

Also what pressure have you got in the fronts? Mine are at 42PSI, tyres say up to 50PSI, and 36PSI was clearly too low.

I've yet to go for a spin in it, we're off to a show tomorrow some 60 mile away so hopefully all will be ok I've got to set pressures but with what you have set at I'll go higher than the 32psi I was going to set at,

as for lowering, low is the only way to go lol my VW Vento I just sold at its lowest was about 1.5 inch of clearance to the lower wishbone

32 sounds a bit low, you'll wear the edges and overheat the front tyres, the entire weight of a 3L diesel sits on those.... heat comes from tyre deformation as it rolls along the road.

In my opinion 45 all round would be safe, but I have less on my rears as there's not much load.

Ideally you need whatever pressure gives you a nice even pressure on the ground all the way across. There must be a way to check this even if I can't think what it would be!

Also see https://hiace-super-custom.forumotion.com/t1915-tyre-pressure

And the aim is this, maybe driving a wet tyre onto a dry surface and back off again will show you the leading edge shape that needs to be a nice curve.

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=Tyre+Footprint+Pressure+Distribution

and

http://the-contact-patch.com/book/road/c2020-the-contact-patch

BTW I did some calculations based on the front axle weight of 1060kg.

So for one wheel of 530kg we'd need that much air pressing down on the contact patch.
I did a rough measurement of my contact patch (225/45 18) and it's about 17cm wide and 11cm long. It looks a reasonably shaped patch TBH, without printing it.

Therefore the patch is about 17 x 11 = 187cm2.
Therefore we have 530/187 bar = 2.83 = 41psi.

I pumped it up to 42psi/3bar on the gauge.

As the weight will always be 530kg regardless of tyre pressure, the contact path will shrink and grow as required for any pressure.

I took it for a spin last night and dropped into the local garage and pumped upto 38psi, drives nice just needs to be lowered.....a lot.... the n/s/r tyre is dropping air approx. 5psi overnight so I need to get that done when we get back

Also when I pulled onto my drive I noticed a liquid leak from the middle of the outer driver sill, looking under there are 2 metal pipes that go into rubber pipes then into some valve then rubber then metal before disappearing into the body, the clamps on the hoses fell apart in my hand so I need to change then before going to the show, I assume its for rear heating so if I have the lever at cold it should limit the coolant going down the pipes? is this correct

That sounds like a correct assumption, although it is hard to know for sure.

Closing rear heating sounds like a good idea.

The clamps and rubber hoses can be replaced easily with universal stuff at a local car shop. However, it is the coolant system that will need to be (partially) emptied and filled again.

If it is only the clamps that are an issue, you could try clamps that you can open, and put over the hose to fix them again, so you don't need to disconnect the hose.

We did just that at 2pm yesterday set off for the show and we're here still, van performed brilliantly even sitting in a queue for an hour getting in, lovely drive, wheels n tyres good and very comfy to sleep in
Can't wait for next year now and hitting the cost

Brilliant, glad it all works well, that's why we bought Toyota after all LOL

A small update to this thread as I've now measured my 18" FRONT wheels.
so they are classed as 8" wide and have 225/45 18" Momo tyres.



Laying the wheel+tyre face down on flat ground and laying a straight edge on top gives a height (width) of:
 232mm

And measuring down to the hub mating surface gives:
145mm

the offset is therefore 145 - (232 / 2) = +29mm.

Note: The rear wheel has a deeper (very cool looking) dish so will be different, I'll be measuring that sometime next week if all goes to schedule.

P.S. Had a good look at the back of the (front) wheel and found a sticker on them, cleaned with some brake cleaner it read:

Size 18 x 8.0J
Offset +29

So amazingly my method above for measuring the offset was spot on.

I then had a look at the back wheels (from underneath) and could not see any stickers so I'll have to measure them when they come off. At least I know my measurement is accurate though so that's good. I think the backs are wider BTW, possibly 8.5 or 9" rims.

So if you want to run 18 x 8J's on the front you'll need an offset of +29mm to fit perfectly.

Rear wheels:

No label found on these:
Laying the wheel+tyre face down on flat ground and laying a straight edge on top gives a height (width) of:
252mm

And measuring down to the hub mating surface gives:
156mm

the offset is therefore 156 - (252 / 2) = +30mm (measured, +/- 1mm error).

The wheel is a 18 x 9J shod with 235/45 R18 MOMO Outrun M3 Extra Load tyres.

Note:
The ride is fairly hard but mine is lowered and the bump stops are getting a workout. The rear bump stop is around 5mm off the axle and the front one possibly always in use, so I'll be raising it 20-25mm all round. It'll still look cool but have working suspension and look a bit more off-roady / go anywhere with that.