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Fri Mar 12, 2010 10:32 am

I'm in the market for some new tires soon and was trying to find something with a more agressive tread pattern than my stock street tires. Im running a stock wheel/tire and want to keep the tire size the same but the 165s are hard enough to find as it is around here let alone your choice of patterns. Any suggestions/pics? Thks

Fri Mar 12, 2010 11:59 am

I think no matter where you look, you won't find but a couple of tire styles available anymore.

TireRack still shows 4 styles:

http://ssl.delti.com/cgi-bin/rshop.pl?details=Orde...p;dsco=135
http://ssl.delti.com/cgi-bin/rshop.pl?details=Orde...p;dsco=135
http://ssl.delti.com/cgi-bin/rshop.pl?details=Orde...p;dsco=135
http://ssl.delti.com/cgi-bin/rshop.pl?details=Orde...p;dsco=135

After digging up those links, I went to check out the size 155/80R15 - and found this one - but remember, with that size it will be both shorter and thinner than your current 165s are - but it is a BF Goodrich T/A tire:

http://ssl.delti.com/cgi-bin/rshop.pl?details=Orde...p;dsco=135

Coker Tire shows that one as well:

http://store.cokertire.com/p155-80r15-bfg-t-a-rwl.html

I find it interesting that BFG makes those in 155 but not in 165. I just checked BFG's website and they have no 165 sizes, that 155 is the thinnest tire they list, 175 is the next one up.

You can look at Coker's other tires via this page (they do have some other non-whitewalls, but you have to look at all the HR, SR, 80-series variants to find them all)

http://store.cokertire.com/15-inch-tire-sizes.html

-Andy

Fri Mar 12, 2010 5:13 pm

^
I think the OP is looking for an AT, i.e., all-terrain, tire. If so, I don't think there's anything available for 165R15, as AT tires are typically made for trucks. I know many VW bus owners w/ their 14-inch rims can run the smallest size available BF Goodrich AT tire, a 195/75R14, which is nearly identical in diameter to a 165R15 at 25.5 inches. You'd obviously have to get some 4-lug 14-inch rims to run those though. (Much easier for the 5x205 early bugs as they can use 5x205 14" bus rims. Late model 71+ buses are 14" but are 5x112 pattern, not 4x130 like the OP's beetle.)

There are also some small off-road only tires made for baja bugs available such as the Mickey Thompson Mini Mag E78-15, which is 27" in diameter, 1.5" taller in diameter than a 165R15 but nearly identical (6.5") in width. I don't know how those would do on the street though.

http://www.mooreparts.com/store/product/3462/TIRE-MT2551/

Fri Mar 12, 2010 6:49 pm

Cool. thanks for some ideas. I think those MTs are a bit too much for my bug to handle. :wink: I did find a set of firestones today but when i checked them out at the shop they have a very thin sidewall to em. I passed and the search continues..I think Uniroyal made some decent tread patters in this size back in the day so I will keep lookin

Fri Mar 12, 2010 8:35 pm

ive always liked the OLD offroad looking ones
Like the military ones

what ever happened to a 4wd VW
damn id love to have that drivetrain

these are more what i was thinking

or you could try some of these...Ha

Sat Mar 13, 2010 12:31 am

I tried some really aggressive bias-ply tires on the back of my Baja once - at the time it had 14" rims with adapter back there, and I got the tires via a local farm/ranch store. Well, those tractor tires or whatever they were (7.00x14 I think) did NOT like to run with my swingaxle rear end. They caught every little crack and dip in the road and the car would not drive in a straight line. So I took them off and went with something different.

I think those 155/80R15 BFG tires about the only radial 15" tires in the bug-range of sizes with offroad style tread you'll find.