TheSamba.com :: View topic

Fri Jul 04, 2008 7:51 am

i'm in the process of finishing up a 65 beetle showcar and i am in
need of some advice on tire size...up to this point, the car has been
on stock chrome 4 lug rims 4.5 fronts with 145s and 5.5 rears with
very meaty 215/65/15s...i really like the stance of the car with this
combination, the sidewall height looks very proportionate between
front and rear, and there have been no clearance issues that i have
noticed in the limited amount of driving that i have been able to do...

i finally purchased the 'real' rims for the car: a staggered set of
15x6 and 16x7 fuchs...i opted to keep the 145s on the front and...
a few forum members recommended 205/60/16s for the rear, but i
found a really good deal on some 205/55/16s...

once i got everything on the car, i don't like the stance anymore...
the low profile sidewalls on the 205/55s look stupid in comparison to the
taller sidewalls on the 145s and there is quite a bit of gap between
the fender and tire since the overall diameter is 1" less...
surely i can run bigger tires than this...

currently i am considering either a 215/60/16 which has about the
same overall diameter of the 215/65/15s that i had on the car, or a 215/65/16 which is about 1" larger in diameter...

any recommendations? thanks...

bert

Fri Jul 04, 2008 1:34 pm

Yeah, I plugged those numbers into my tire calculator spreadsheet... that 27" diameter you'll get with those 65 series might be a bit much in the rear - Since you say you have room with your existing tires, I take it the car isn't lowered much or any back there? Did you like how the old tires filled the wheelwells? If so then I'd go with the similarly sized 60 series.
-Andy

Sun Jul 13, 2008 6:01 am

http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalcold.html try this its a great tire calc this is the old version you should be able to see the new version on this site as well but the old version works with all computers. Currently i have 16 in fuchs front and rear 16x6 and 16x7 i have the stock 911 combo right now of 205/55 front 225/50 rear but plan on a 205/50 or 195/50 front and 205/55 rear but a 205/60 or 195/60/16 would be slightly taller for better gearing... good luck

Scott

Mon Jul 21, 2008 5:24 am

I would also consider changing over to a 175/65/15 for the front. Same
overall height as your 145, but will fit alot better on a 6" wide rim.
That 145 is going to be stretched to all hell on a 15 x 6. Its not going
to be safe and its not going to look right :wink: