TheSamba.com :: View topic

Wed Oct 15, 2008 7:00 pm

I have a 1972 Baja Beetle, that has little to no lift to it, and the stock 15 inch wheels.

the front tires are your typical skinny beetle tires, and for the rears I have 235 wide truck tires on the stock wheels.

I am looking to put some more tire under my car, and was wondering what the widest tireI can run on the front is, as I am looking into buying new wheels for it.

I'm thinking anywhere from 7-9 inch wide wheels in the back at least, and am very unsure about the front, and would not like to end up rubbing on the inside of the wheel well.

thank you for any help/advice/links provided.

Wed Oct 15, 2008 7:03 pm

you dont really need anything overly wide up front. its just not nessicary and it will make the car kind of hard to steer. think tall not wide :D

Wed Oct 15, 2008 7:53 pm

Let's start with what is the use of this bug in New Hampshire? It's a long way fom the southwestern desert! So sand dunes are probably not the situation. Muddy forest trails? Gravel backroads? Crawling rocky jeep trails in the local mountains?

For the use I perceive most likely, flotation on soft sand is probably not a concern, so wheels should be narrower than tires to protect rims from rocks. And tires shouldn't be all that wide. The 235s are pretty decent size for the rear. I would mount them on 6" to 7" rims. The biggest rear tire I would recommend for an IRS bug with stock suspension is 31 x 10.50s on 8" rims. They will work fine on 6" rims too. Unless you are going to be using it in a lot of mud, an All-Terrain tread is probably the best choice for you.

For the front, I would go no wider than 5" rims and the stock VW 4" rims are really a very good choice other than in the looks department. They are strong and lightweight. Now for bigger than standard tires up to a 215-75 on a 5" rim like a whitespoke for some offset to give you a little rub clearance. The 7.00-15 off road tires sold by VW shops is pretty big for a stock suspended bug and may present some rub problems on the sides of the pan/body and fenders. They are very rare now, but I used to use some 6.50-15 tires on 5" white spokes which worked great.

Thu Oct 16, 2008 8:42 am

Thanks for the help guys!

and yes it is in New hampshire, but i have found an abandoned drive in movie theatre with a bit of sand that i got stuck in (due to driver error lol), and I would love to take this time down some trail next year.

I appreciate all the advice!