Will Porsche Cayenne wheels fit a T1N Sprinter?
We’ve written a few blog post on what wheels fit a 2002-2006 Mercedes Sprinter T1N with the 5 bolt pattern (5x130). 2500 (non dually) T1N Sprinters came with either 15” wheels for the 118” or 16” wheels for the longer wheel base (LWB) vans. We have also talked about G-wagon wheels fitting the T1N. Unfortunately they typically come in larger wheel sizes like 18”, 19” or 20”. The 18” wheels can be made to fit, tires have to be 255/55/18, but the 19” or 20” wheels are just way too large in our opinion. Also, keeping in mind that the 15” wheels has an offset of +83 with aftermarket wheels typically sticking around +75 offset. So what abut that Goldilocks size? Is there a 17” wheel out there that fits the T1N?
Yes, there are indeed 17” wheels out there. Just not many. The T1N Sprinter has a Center Bore of 84.1mm which is quite large. When fitting other wheels with a different center bore, either an exact fit will need to be found, or a smaller bore can be typically machined larger. (Warning, any modifications to wheels can result in failure. Take your own risk as any modifications)
If we start with the bolt pattern cross reference looking for all the cars that came with 5x130 bolt pattern you’ll find the following:
Audi / Volkswagen
17x7
Audi and Volkswagen share some vehicles that use the same platform. The rare RS2 uses the same bolt pattern. But it’s so rare we won’t even bother going down this path. The Audi Q7 and Volkswagen Touareg also use the 5x130 bolt pattern. The VW Touareg has some decent looking 17x7” wheels pictured here. It has an offset is +55 so while they might fit, they might not clear the fenders without flares. The center bore is 65.1 mm so these will need to be machined larger to 84.1mm. (warning: if too much material is removed, the wheel may not be designed to be as structurally sound after being modified)
Bentley + Bugatti
Not surprising that Bentley and Bugatti has a 5x130 bolt pattern as the cars are produced by VAG (Volkswagen Auto Group) But most of these are 20” or 22” wheels or larger.
Porsche
The list led us down this path. While Porsche shares some platforms with VW/Audi, the 5x130 bolt pattern was a very popular size for this sports car company. With SUV’s being the natural starting point for use on a Sprinter, the Cayenne was a great starting point. The trouble is that most of the wheels are 18”-22” as this a sports SUV.
But wait! Early on in the Cayenne product offering, they made a budget minded V6 what came with 17” wheels. Is this the Goldilocks 17” we’ve been looking for?
17x7.5 wheels off a V6 Cayenne
Specs: Wheels size: 17x7.5 | Offset (ET): 53
This sounds promising. The wheel size looks right. The offset will result in the tires sticking out a little. Might need flares…cool! We’ll learn more about this with time. We’ve also found that these wheels are around 26 or 27 pounds each. Not the lightest wheel but not bad for a sprinter application.
Now what about that bore size we’ve been going on about. The thing that not only allows the wheel to center itself but really how the wheel transfers it’s force to the suspension. The bolts are there just to keep the wheel on this center bore. With heavier loads you especially don’t want to have weight, especially in sheer all on the wheel bolts.
Making it fit
The center bore of the wheel is 71.6 mm (black center circle). To be able to fit these, the bore will need to be machined larger (red dotted line) to fit on a Sprinter hub. There looks to be plenty of material.
71.6mm -> 84.1mm
We found this impressive shorty T1N 118 with a lift and supposedly running an AWD system. But what you’ll notice is the 17” Porsche Cayenne wheels. They look right at home.
Now to see if they’ll fit without a lift or AWD system.
Machining a larger center bore
The centerbore of a wheel is the machined opening in the center of the wheel that centers the wheel properly on a vehicle. It is important for a wheel to be "Hub Centric" because it will reduce the chance of vibration.
THERE ARE 3 TYPES:
Vehicle Hub Centric Wheels - which mean that the hub bore is machined out exactly to the size of the exact vehicle bore.
Multi-Application Wheels - which means that the wheels are machined out to a larger bore so they will fit a variety of vehicles. In this application you would use a centering ring to reduce the bore to match the vehicle.
Lug Centric Wheels - which means the wheel is designed to use the lug nuts to center the wheel and not the hub. The most common example of a Lug Centric Wheel is a steel wheel. But for Sprinters, even the steel wheels are Hub Centric.
An easy workaround is to buy some cheap wheel spacers that allow the wheel to not use the center hub but only use the wheel lugs for both centering and to cary the load. For our application we intend to keep the characteristics of the OEM setup and will be machining the wheel center bore from 71.6mm -> 84.1mm to ensure we keep the load off the bolts so they don’t sheer and the keep the wheels centered and supported by the hub.
Size note: These Phone Dial 15x6 Porsche 911/944/968 wheels are classics. We would love to try and fit these on a T1N Sprinter! While they are smaller and going the wrong way for where we want to go at 15”. They are such a classic wheel that it would be super cool to try and fit these on a SWB 118” Sprinter Van.
Here’s an 18” set from a Turbo Cayenne.
255 60R18 seem to work well on a 2004 140 T1N. This is the version of the van that has the subframe spacer design for 16” wheels originally specified on most US T1Ns (excluding 118)
