OZ Rally Raid 17 Wheel and Tyre Fitment on VW T6 — Sizes, Spacers and Torque

The Problem

You are running Eibach 30mm lowered springs with 25mm rear and 21mm front spacers and want to know whether switching from 225/65/17 to the more popular 235/65/17 all-terrain size on OZ Rally Raid 17x8 ET35 wheels will cause rubbing. The same fitment question applies across standard, lifted and lowered T6 setups, and on the T6 the wheel/spacer/offset combination also has to stay road-legal under UK rules — the tyre must not protrude beyond the wheel arch lip, the speedometer must not under-read, and the wheels and any spacers must be fitted and torqued correctly.

Solution

1. Fit OZ Rally Raid 17x8 ET35 wheels to your T6. This fitment is commonly run on setups ranging from roughly 40mm lowered to 25mm lifted without rubbing; cross-check your exact suspension and spacer combination against a branded fitment guide (for example the wheel supplier's or a specialist such as VW T6 wheel retailers' fitment charts) before ordering. Colour options include matt black, gloss black, satin black, and bronze.
2. Mount 235/65/17 all-terrain tyres rather than 225/65/17 — the larger size fills the arches better and suits a mild lowering. Note that 235/65/17 has a slightly larger rolling circumference than 225/65/17, which introduces roughly a 1.5% speedometer deviation. Because the speedo will read marginally lower than before, confirm it still never reads below true road speed — UK construction and use regulations require a speedometer to never under-read.
3. Check the wheel arch clearance with the ET35 offset and your spacers fitted. The 25mm rear and 21mm (or 25mm) front spacers push the wheel face outward, so with the van at normal ride height confirm that no part of the tyre tread or sidewall protrudes beyond the outer edge of the wheel arch lip — full arch coverage of the tyre is a UK road-legal requirement and a common MOT/DVSA check.
4. Use only hub-centric spacers, not lug-centric (bolt-centric) ones. Hub-centric spacers locate on the hub and carry the load through the hub bore rather than the bolts, which is the safe and MOT-acceptable arrangement; lug-centric spacers are a known UK MOT and safety concern. Confirm the spacer hub bore and PCD (5x120) match your T6 hub before fitting.
5. Torque the wheel bolts to the VW T6 specification of 180 Nm (confirm the exact figure for your wheels and any spacer-supplied bolts with VW or the spacer manufacturer, as longer bolts may differ). Re-check the torque after the first 50 miles, particularly when spacers have just been fitted.
6. If fitting to a Caravelle or 4Motion, standard suspension with no spacers will take 235/65/17 or 245/65/17 tyres — still confirm arch-lip clearance as above.
7. For cleaning brake dust from the open-spoke design, apply an iron-reactive alloy wheel cleaner regularly rather than relying on a jet wash alone. Car Plan Demon Wheels at roughly £5 per litre is a cost-effective option.