19" Journey Wheel Mod

[wzad]

Did a successful Journey wheel mod today on my '11 Routan... same wheels as referenced in these threads:

http://bit.ly/MTaZny
http://bit.ly/PX9J5E

Got mine this morning from some dude in Toronto for $600 with 225/55/19 Kuhmo tires on them already.

Anyway, wanted to give a little input about the center caps for anyone who wants to do this...

As others have said, the wheels themselves are a direct bolt-on. But you have to repurpose the center caps from your stock routan wheels....

It was a little different than I expected... The routan caps are not as "deep" as the ones used on the journey wheels... So they dont clip in properly...

I first tried shaving down the back with my bench grinder (this is what I gathered I would need to do based on the other posts about this mod), to allow the clips to go further into the wheel bore. This almost worked, but there was no way they would actually click in...



After that unsuccessful attempt, I decided i would shave around the outside of the cap, to allow them to actually fit into the bore...



Notice the top cap... I had to grind all around the outside for it to actually fit in the hole and click in... Once it is inside and clicked in you dont see the shabby outside and it looks perfect.

The only thing about doing this is that Im not sure how the caps will look once they go back on the old wheels (which ill be using as winter wheels). But I already bought an all new set off ebay for $20 so that is not a big deal...

Ill try and post pics of the finished product later. Looks dope!

[Chedman13]

1) Nice modding.

2) How'd you get a set for $20 (is the seller still on ebay?) I paid $9.99/each + shipping from a discount VW Dealer. My local dealership wanted $20/each.

3) Can you shave just the VW logo off and glue that onto the Dodge Journey center caps?

The stock tires aren't cutting it for me in terms of dry traction so hoping to go wider and better tires in the future.

[wzad]

1) Nice modding.

2) How'd you get a set for $20 (is the seller still on ebay?) I paid $9.99/each + shipping from a discount VW Dealer. My local dealership wanted $20/each.

3) Can you shave just the VW logo off and glue that onto the Dodge Journey center caps?

The stock tires aren't cutting it for me in terms of dry traction so hoping to go wider and better tires in the future.

They were actually $13.99+shipping... Based on what mine looked like and some measurements I took, I found these on ebay: http://www.ebay.com/itm/130713186137...#ht_685wt_1110

They dont say "routan" in the auction, but everything suggests to me that they are the same. When they show up at my door I will post back and let you know for sure.

I dont know if shaving the logo off would work... It would be a sloppier mod though thats for sure... I'm quite happy with the way it worked out and would do it again the same way if I had to... I happened to also have VW emblem stickers that are roughly the same size as the caps... My backup plan was so grind down the dodge logo and put the VW stickers on in place, but it wasnt at all necessary.

Pic below of installed cap and "after" photo

[Chedman13]

Looks great.

Let us know if that works out, that's a great cost savings.

I'm assuming you didn't put in TPMS in them?

Here is the OEM part. I was surprised even these are Mopar, even the caps! They literally stuck the sticker over the old part number.

I removed it and placed it above so you can see.

VW Part Number: 7B0-601-149-A
Mopar Part Number: 1-68004560AA

[aeitingon]

even more odd than that being a MOPAR part: MOPAR label says "Made in China" while VW logo says "Made in USA"...

[Chedman13]

even more odd than that being a MOPAR part: MOPAR label says "Made in China" while VW logo says "Made in USA"...

Great catch, didn't even notice.

[wzad]

Looks great.
I'm assuming you didn't put in TPMS in them?

Did not put in TPMS. They came with tires already balanced. I dont really know whats invlolved in doing this. Maybe when this set wears down I will do it next time...

Which brings me to another question... The tires that were on these wheels are 225/55/19 (Not the ideal size I would have chosen, but like I said, they were already mounted). When I compared these in an online tire calculator it says the new tires are going 4.7% faster than my speedo... I'm not all that concerned about it but I've read this can throw off the ABS system if its too different. When I drive with the GPS, the two speeds are off by 3-4km or so when going ~100... I wont be rolling on these in the winter anyway, but I was wondering if anyone knows whether ~4% would be a problem or not...

even more odd than that being a MOPAR part: MOPAR label says "Made in China" while VW logo says "Made in USA"...

@Chedman13 You can also check on the inside of the actual cap, the origin country should again be imprinted in the plastic. Mine said China :S

[Chedman13]

225/65R17 (OEM) = 28.51 in diameter
225/55R19 (what you have) = 28.74 in diameter [Diameter Difference: 0.81%, Speedometer Difference: 0.801% too slow)

Looks like you got the perfect tire size -- only other I would recommend would be 235/50R19.

I've driven up to 5% difference without any problems, but most people suggest within 3% difference.

Any noticeable difference by going larger wheels?

Did not put in TPMS. They came with tires already balanced. I dont really know whats invlolved in doing this. Maybe when this set wears down I will do it next time...

Which brings me to another question... The tires that were on these wheels are 225/55/19 (Not the ideal size I would have chosen, but like I said, they were already mounted). When I compared these in an online tire calculator it says the new tires are going 4.7% faster than my speedo... I'm not all that concerned about it but I've read this can throw off the ABS system if its too different. When I drive with the GPS, the two speeds are off by 3-4km or so when going ~100... I wont be rolling on these in the winter anyway, but I was wondering if anyone knows whether ~4% would be a problem or not...


@Chedman13 You can also check on the inside of the actual cap, the origin country should again be imprinted in the plastic. Mine said China :S

[Chedman13]

BTW, same lug nuts? Or are they lug studs? I've never taken my wheels off yet=)

[wzad]

Any noticeable difference by going larger wheels?

Yes, I notice that I feel like a boss now.

[wzad]

But really, Feels a bit more stable I think. Could be in my head though.


As for the lugs... I had them bolted up at a tire shop using whatever was on there... No issues whatsoever. Took about 5 minutes

[JETwagen]

even more odd than that being a MOPAR part: MOPAR label says "Made in China" while VW logo says "Made in USA"...

[wzad]

225/65R17 (OEM) = 28.51 in diameter
225/55R19 (what you have) = 28.74 in diameter [Diameter Difference: 0.81%, Speedometer Difference: 0.801% too slow)

Looks like you got the perfect tire size -- only other I would recommend would be 235/50R19.

My oem's were 225/65/16... That was my main motivation for upgrading to 19's... if I had the stock 17's on there I might have let them be, but the 16's were WAY lame.

Do they tune each trim package differently, since some of them get different tire sizes?

[wzad]

Let us know if that works out, that's a great cost savings.

@Chedman13

So the center caps I odered on ebay fit my OEM rims perfectly. They are the exact same as what was on there. So if anyone else ever needs to buy them, they must be generic 65mm VW caps because they were listed as jetta/passat/beetle/golf caps and didnt even mention the routan.

There are ones going for even cheaper too. Even saw a set of four going for $0.99. Just search: 65mm vw center caps

[showtz]

After I shaved down the center caps for the journey wheels I put some silicone on them before I snapped them in.

Thanks for the info on the ebay center caps. I just ordered a set for my stock winter wheels.

When you need to replace the Kumo's try Pirelli P Zero Nero 245/50 They are ZR rated so you can drive your Routan 150MPH on the autobahn and they are $250 cheaper!

[TCM GLX]

After I shaved down the center caps for the journey wheels I put some silicone on them before I snapped them in.

Thanks for the info on the ebay center caps. I just ordered a set for my stock winter wheels.

When you need to replace the Kumo's try Pirelli P Zero Nero 245/50 They are ZR rated so you can drive your Routan 150MPH on the autobahn and they are $250 cheaper!

Side note on the Pirelli's guys they have a mileage warranty for 45,000 miles. I killed my first set at 28K miles, and when I went back to America's tire, they prorated... so my second set was less than $500 out the door!! Not too shabby!!