InssssssssVANity!!!!!!!......or ****** did I just fly to Maine to by a Sprinter!

[Cole]

I decided today after doing my emissions test and painfully moving nowhere with bald tires in he the snow, to go buy tires! I had to bust open he the budget here a little since there was basically no way in hell I was going to find 6 good used tires in the size I wanted.


Figured someone had to step outside the box here and "go big or go home":coffeedrink:

Full disclaimer, these don't fit......yet:tongue: They rub the rear edge of the front and wreak fenders but there looks to be plenty of space for my to play with my cut off wheel:coffeedrink:I knew this was going to be the case.....but bought the van to have fun with so here goes!!!!:wings:

Just didn't have time to start the fab work today.

235/85/16s

We test fit them and there was about an inch between the duals!

 

[digitaldelay]

Oh yeah, baby!

Jason

 

[CLynn85]

This really puts it into perspective. I have the same size tires on our Ambo and I know how big it is, so that makes the Sprinter pretty sizable as well!

 

[89s rule]

Like button.

 

[Cole]

Kinda funky. I swear the van got 3' visually shorter (length) by installs the tires.:coffeedrink:

 

[java]

oooh I like! I wonder if that size would fit on mine....

 

[mtnbike28]

wow - you did have to open the wallet. I am saving for 4 of those tires in that size - 6 : 0

It does look great!

 

[89s rule]

wow - you did have to open the wallet. I am saving for 4 of those tires in that size - 6 : 0

It does look great!

FYI: You do know they are abotu to release an new version of the BFG KO. So you could benefit waiting on closeouts of the old/current style or get a newer upgraded version.

 

[Cole]

wow - you did have to open the wallet. I am saving for 4 of those tires in that size - 6 : 0

It does look great!

Well, these were the tires on it! Far beyond what I consider safe to be hauling the family around in! So, while a painful experience on the wallet, it had to be done!

There are some things that are always worth spending on to get quality, tires are one of them!

 

[mapper]

Coming along nicely. The PO sure got the money worth out of those tires.

How do you like using the laminate flooring with the dogs? I always think the idea of a laminate flooring in my van would be awesome but the dogs hate the stuff in my house. Cork I could see, but laminate is cheap, even more so when I have some I'd like to remove from the house some time soon.

 

[Haf-E]

So you got new rims too huh? I think that was the best way to go...

I tried that size on my sprinter years ago and they wouldn't fit - but mine was a 2002 single wheel version which also started with 15 inch wheels (they switched to 16 inch on most of the single wheel sprinters in 2003). Surprised they fit on the dually sprinter actually.

Looks good. What's the deal with the rear bumper corner cut outs?

 

[Cole]

Coming along nicely. The PO sure got the money worth out of those tires.

How do you like using the laminate flooring with the dogs? I always think the idea of a laminate flooring in my van would be awesome but the dogs hate the stuff in my house. Cork I could see, but laminate is cheap, even more so when I have some I'd like to remove from the house some time soon.

Its good/bad. WAY easier to keep reasonably clean and not trashed looking compared to the carpet. But it has "broken in" with a bunch of scratches, partly the color we chose. And it slick for the dogs!!! They just learned to not move around when the. Van is moving.

A rubber floor makes sense for all sorta of reasons but doesn't feel as special and the wife wouldn't like it.

 

[Haf-E]

Here is a photo of a front wheel well trim on a sprinter I found in a parking lot here in WA state. Tires are 31 inch BFG ATs.



He trimmed both the front and the rear areas of the fender.

 

[Butch1979]

Nice upgrade! Those tires look awesome on the van. I need to put something better on mine asap.

 

[Cole]

Here is a photo of a front wheel well trim on a sprinter I found in a parking lot here in WA state. Tires are 31 inch BFG ATs.

View attachment 206446

He trimmed both the front and the rear areas of the fender.

Thanks. Interesting photo. Wonder if he had to trim more due to the offset of the wheels?


I did some "exploratory trimming" tonight. Only had about 15 minutes to work on it but felt compelled to cut into the van doesn't quite feel like a real build until there has been metal cut and metal welded!!!

Figured I would just do a ROUGH cut of the area where it was contacting in the front. That way I could take a good look at what I had to work with up front.

Here is the basic problem. Looks tight, but the reality is that it's only hitting on the inside of this lip! If you take a close look at this you can see that the lip actually comes out toward the tire about 3/4" and the tire is almost inside the fender line anyway. It also gains room when turned here. This is also the only tight spot as you can see from the pictures, behind the lip there is all sorts of room inside the fender for snow, etc.

You can see from this view that the only place it really contacts is on the inside of the lip. The wheels seem to travel up and inward on he the Sprinter's front. (Not forward or back like some applications I've had to cut) So as long as they clear this lip on full turns then it shouldn't hit!

You can see from this angle how much room there is to cut on the bottom corner and the lip. Some of this could be cured with basic fender rolling.

I figured for tonight I'd just do a rough cut of the lip itself where it was contacting and see if if it was enough.

Basically , I just cut the lip and a touch of the corner off both sides. A VERY small amount of metal. Took it for a test drive to see how it worked, bounced off curbs, did uturns, uturns on curbs, fast dips, slow dips, fast dips while turning......doesn't hit anywhere!!! Score! That was oddly simple! :coffeedrink: Didn't change the appearance of the van at all. I'll go back when I have some time to clean and seal this cut up!

Will also trim some lip off the rear fenders to make sure it clears with weight in it. The rear axle will travel rearward when compressed so need to account for that. The rear tires seem to sit totally inside het he flare where it "might" contact. So it will be the same deal, clear off the lip and it should be good. Won't change the look at all.