Steel Wheels

[937carrera]

I'm currently renovating my wheels. I'm not sure how nice they will come out, or how long they will last yet.

I was toying with the idea of getting some new ones, so could I ask for your thoughts please

Size. My car is a 412, which I believe is a 4.5J ET 41 wheel. I thought they would be the same as a type 3 and Beetle, but according to VW Heritage, their wheels are ET34. I know 7mm isn't much, but I would like to stay as standard as possible.

Quality. What's going to be best. Refurbished german OE wheels, New "original" wheels from Mexico, New EU aftermarket. New ones will obviously look nice, but it seems that the EU ones are not the same shape because of the warnings about the trims not fitting ? There seems to be lots of general feedback that 40 year old VW parts are much better quality than todays replacements. Does this apply to wheels too ?

Many thanks

[jmarkha1]

I would have your original wheels sandblasted and powder coated silver if you can live without the car for a week or so.
The repro wheels will not be painted as well, the offset is not right (albeit 7mm) and the hubcaps do not fit all aftermarket wheels.
Not sure where you are based but there are several powdercoaters that specialize in wheel restoration and have fixed prices - post some pics when you are done...

[937carrera]

Here's the result of my first attempt. I chose the OSR, the most heavily rusted wheel



It's no masterpiece, and I realised after the shops shut that I should have bought some filler primer for the outer rim area in addition to the zinc primer, but at least it's at bit better than it was. I also de-rusted the rear of the rim and painted that in a gloss black.

Don't worry about the overspray. I have a new set of tyres on order so those are being binned in a few days time.

[937carrera]

A little bit more of an update; two more wheels being treated this evening.

From looking at the markings with the paint removed it seems not all my wheels are the same. As I have taken some measurements I thought I would share them while a coat of paint is drying

Wheel 1. Seemed to be marked up as a 4 x 15, no ET marking, date stamped 1/68
Wheel 2. 4.5 x 15, ET 34, date stamped 10/73 (my car was manufactured 09/73)
Wheel 3. 4.5 x 15, ET 41, no date stamp visible - looks like the only original wheel so far

I have also taken some measurements from wheel 2 & 3 for my education and to help others to check their wheels without having to take back to bare metal.

ET41
Total width, rim edge to rim edge 145mm
Rim width, bead point to bead 4.5" / 114.3mm (measured from a couple of mm in from the outer vertical lip)
Measured backspace, 112mm (taken from the rim edge, not the bead)
Calculated offset 39.5mm

ET34, post 68
Total width, rim edge to rim edge 145mm
Rim width, bead point to bead 4.5" / 114.3mm (measured from a couple of mm in from the outer vertical lip)
Measured backspace, 106mm (taken from the rim edge, not the bead)
Calculated offset 33.5mm

ET34, pre 68
Total width, rim edge to rim edge 134mm
Rim width, bead point to bead 4.0" / 101.6mm (measured from a couple of mm in from the outer vertical lip)
Measured backspace, 103mm (taken from the rim edge, not the bead)
Calculated offset 36mm


So it looks like I am a couple of mm out on my measurements

I also saw that the outer lip was much larger on the ET41 wheels compared to the ET34. I'll upload a couple of pictures later

[JSR-69]

It's not uncommon for wheels to get mixed up between cars, especially after all this time. It is very important for the offset (ET) of the front wheels to be as the manufacturer intended, otherwise your steering will wander, especially on uneven roads. It is less critical for the rears, but they should be the same.

If front and rear are different, then the spare should match one end and, if you have to use it on the wrong end, replaced as soon as possible.

Judi R

[shawn71]

I recently had to get a new wheel for my 412 as one of them was corroded to the point it wouldn't hold air, the bead wouldn't seat properly so the tyre deflated slowly over the period of a week.

This rim was the only one that had a different ET on it, can't remember what it was now. The new wheel came from VW Heritage and fits OK and the car drives as it did

[937carrera]

The wheels from VW Heritage are the ET34 Beetle specification.

I have had my ruler and straight edge out again today and have updated the measurements above for all three wheels designs. Below are a couple of photos showing the difference in the rim edge design between the ET34 and ET41 sizes. I was surprised to see that the rim design was changed as well as the ET.

Having started a thread about steel wheels, I have gone and fitted alloy wheels to the car.

This was partly driven by the fact that I didn't actually have a full set of ET41 rims, but also that I have just acquired a set of Revolution RFX alloys and that I wanted to get my new tyres fitted today so I could take the car out for a spin


The image above shows the 4.5J x 15 ET41 standard type 4 wheels

Below is a 4.5J x 15 ET34 Beetle wheel. Note the much shallower rim lip design. On these rims the lip does not protude beyond the rubber tyre. On the ET41 there is a clear metal ridge which sits proud of the rubber of the tyre

[Editor]

I've been looking and found I have a pair of 1973 ET41 rims - they have a centre flange that isn't as sharply shaped - maybe makes it easier to hang on the grease cap when refitting?

I thought I'd seen ET 43 on other type 3 rims. I got a load of Type 3 stuff from the same guy, so I reckon they were on a Type 3 back then.