[Shifty Joker]

Hey guys,

I'm new to this forum and to Suzuki's, and was wondering if anyone has had issues finding wheels for the Grand Vitara?

I have just purchased an '02 GV wagon and I'm in the process of getting her ready to get dirty, but I am finding it a bit difficult to find wheels.

There seems to be an abundance of 6 stud wheels with the 139.7 stud pattern, but 5 stud seem to be harder to find.

I'm sure this has been asked before, but I have been unable to find any other threads(yet).

Any help with this would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers

[Gwagensteve]

What's wrong with the wheels on the car? They're and excellent size, offset and seem very durable.

[Shifty Joker]

I really don't like the stock wheels and I will be needing some new rubber shortly.
I want to get some Black wheels and do it all at once.

[Gwagensteve]

Black paint.

You'll struggle to find fitments and offsets for aftermarket wheels. What size tyre are you planning? Do you have alloys?

You can use xl7 rims if your chasing a wider rim.
15" rims don't fit, and even some aftermarket 16" steel rims won't fit due to the location of the drop well in the wheel.

[Zook_Fan]

Most aftermarket steel rims won't work on a GV with the front brakes. I had to shave more metal off the caliper than I'd be comfortable doing on a road going car.

If you're going to go looking ask tyre shops to try fitment on the front before buying.

[henno]

I don't think anyone has found an aftermarket steel rim yet that fits over the front calipers of the V6 grand vitaras.

[Shifty Joker]

So the front end design of the GV is that weird hey? What about Sunraysia rims?
I also found a converter that will change it from 5 to 6 stud, would this make any difference? I have found heaps more wheels in the 6/139.7 configuration.

[Gwagensteve]

It's not weird, it just requires a specific drop well that few aftermarket rims have.

5/6 lug converter spacers are a terrible idea, illegal, and will mess with offset-an issue with any IFS design.

Pick any GV or xl7 rim design you like, but you still haven't specified the tyre size you want to run which would dictate a different wheel size- there's not that many choices for a 16" rim.

[Gwagensteve]

Oh, and "Sunraysia" is a trademark for a rim manufacturer that hasn't traded since the early 80's. These days, it's used to describe any white 8 spoke rim of any size or offset, regardless of quality.

[Shifty Joker]

I was looking at 16x7 rims with a 235/70/16 tyre.

[Gwagensteve]

Your rims are 16x6.5 and will take that tyre easily. If you have your heart set on a 7" rim, that's what xl7 rims are.

[vet 180]

Gwagensteve wrote:

Your rims are 16x6.5 and will take that tyre easily. If you have your heart set on a 7" rim, that's what xl7 rims are.

In fact I would go as far as saying it's more ideal.

6.5 > 7 for a 235 tyre

[ZUZUKI]

I could be wrong....but I think all the factory wheel options for the wide body 5door wagons (including XL7) were / are 16 x 7.
Certainly the standard steel 5 slot jobbies are, and the alloys that originally came as part of the "Limited" package are, standard, factory fit tyre was 235/60R16 - already the same width you are looking to run.

There were 15" on the 'narrow body' 1.6litre G16 engined 3 doors, but they had smaller front brakes.
You can stick anything you like over the rear drums, but will drive your self nuts trying to find a wheel that will fit over the front (well I have anyway!)

2 issues are the step in the rotor is very shallow, so the caliper sticks out from the disc face & the centre of the rim needs a deep profile to push the 'spokes' out. Also, the diameter of the rotor & placement of the caliper over it, means that anything 15" diameter is out & most 16" will just hit.

Some have taken a grinder to the outside of the caliper to shave it down to gain clearance, the other option (in the good old US of A) is to machine the inside of a thick centered alloy to achieve clearance - both ideas are considered illegal in Aust.

I want to run a (relatively!) tall, skinny tyre (215/85R16 - just over 30") which would go on a 7" rim ok, but I want to find a bit more chassis clearance (back inner edge of the front wheel - no adjustable steering lock stops on the rack), so am looking at a 6 or 6.5" rim with a little bit more than the factory of offset to the outside. This (I'm pretty sure) doesn't exist, so a very patient wheel modifier has been trying to sort this out for me, for the last 6 months - I think we are nearly there, using the original steel centre, with a 16 x 6 hoop, with the right shallow wheel well.

There is a car or 2 on here with aftermarket alloys, from the States, that fitted - look at the rig section.

Rgs, Michael

[fordem]

ZUZUKI wrote:

no adjustable steering lock stops on the rack

Having occasionally rubbed the rear edge of a tire on the frame I have been curious about this - in theory at least, a thin, large diameter spacer could be fitted between the rack and the rack end and would/should reduce the rack travel slightly, by limiting against the rack housing - it might take some fiddling, and possibly a stepped spacer to get it right, but I think it's "do-able"

[Shifty Joker]

Thanks for all the advise guys, much appreciated. 1 last thing, would a set of XL7wheels fit on an '02GV?

I was thinking that if XL rims would fit, I could get them painted or powder coated black to suit the lookI'm going for.

[henno]

Yes they will fit.

[Shifty Joker]

Thanks henno, I think that's all of my noob questions for the moment.

[ZUZUKI]

The 5 on 5.5" (139.7mm) pitch circle diameter (PCD) is common from the LJ10 & still on the Jimny now.
This PCD was also used by Daihatsu for Rocky / Feroza, Early Jeeps (eg CJ5), Lada Niva & Ford F100 - probably other things as well, so finding something that will bolt on is not hard, getting something to clear the front brakes is!.
If a wheel from the 1998-2005 1st gen, Grand Vit / XL7 suits your look, then well & good, as there are not many other options.
The JB / JT 2nd generation Grand Vitara (2005-2015) is different.
Rgs, Michael

[Shifty Joker]

Thanks Michael.
I have found that there is a very limited range of wheels that will dit onto the GV, but I don't mind the XL7 rims.
As metioned my thinking is to get a set painted or powder coated.

[kenzook]

Where are u located?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Shifty Joker]

I'm in Hobart ,Tasmania.

[Shifty Joker]

Random thought, but does changing the front caliper resolve the issue with aftermarket wheels not fitting?

[fordem]

Did the random thought go as far as considering what is involved in changing the front calipers?

Here's a hint - it's a lot more involved than changing the rim - but, to answer your question - if you did fit smaller brakes, then yes, it would resolve the issue of aftermarket wheels not fitting, you could even get 15" rims to fit.

Take a look at the Chevy Trackers sold in the US, in the same time period - they have smaller brakes and take 15" rims - you're going to need the disks, calipers, & pads.

Don't forget to consider the impact of smaller disks on stopping power, especially if you're considering larger tires.

[Shifty Joker]

Yeah ok. As I said, it was a random thought.
I am new to Suzuki's, and don't know all that much mechanically so I asked the question.

[ZUZUKI]

As mentioned earlier, the SWB 1.6litre 4cyl cars had 15" wheels & smaller brakes, so all the bits required won't be too hard to source in Aust. but as fordem mentions, braking performance will be reduced & the V6 5door is considered by many to be a bit under braked in the first place.
There is also a possibility of running into insurance voiding implications if an assessor was on the ball & figured out that brakes had been altered in that way, from what the factory supplied.
Rgs, Michael

[MrRocky]

I run 6 psi on the gv alloys and steelies for a few years now and with my 235/85r16 (32"s) i would say they hold the bead better than any aftermarket rim i have ever used.