Just picked up a supercharged 91 sambar van to convert into a micro camper van! Such a cool little machine. Trying to figure out what tire/wheel combo, maintenance, and other things will help keep if from dying while driving it long distances, and even more important, make it stick to the road as well as possible. Is it crazy to use this as a highway machine??? This should be a really fun build, we're planning to keep a blog of the whole process. Anyway, this seems like a good place to start, nice to meet you all.
Welcome to the forum. Lots of good folks and lots of good info here. As you are finding out, there seems to be an amazing amount of inside space from a small outside package. I have the next generation(2002, front wheels at the very front of the vehicle) so I can't really be of any help to you but that the stock wheels & tires seem to work out well for what these vehicles were meant to do. I guess it depends on where you live but where I am (Philippines), the performance is quite satisfactory in stock form. You might go to utube and search "CheapRVLiving" and "Living in a Van" as a start to your conversion. There are some different vids that show how some folks have converted some very small (and even cars) to live in. should be able to pick up some ideas from there. Fred
I picked up some old school Enkei's for my '92 Sambar Van, 13x5.5" with 185/70/13. The tires came with the wheels and I was certain that they would rub. So far so good, I've only heard them rub slightly two times and that was a hard brake with the wheels slightly turned and a bump in the road. I'm giving up some power but the improved ride and handling is worth.
