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amishman
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Joined: March 09, 2004
Posts: 2888
Location: California
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 Posted: Thu May 12, 2005 6:12 pm Post subject: Tire brand, model, and size roll call |
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Curious what other "current" forum members here are using brand and size wise on their Things. I understand from reading other older posts the stock size for a 73 or 74 Thing were 185SR14.
So, let me know what you are using. My Thing I just purchased came with some wide white walls with very UNagressive tread, not really too good for mud and snow like the ones that came with the Thing. Plan is to ditch these and buy something more multi-seasonal and proper.
Can 185SR14s be had here in the USA or do I have to resort to a close size like 205/75 14s or something?
tj |
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Captain Spalding
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Joined: February 19, 2005
Posts: 2005
Location: . . . in denial.
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| Posted: Fri May 13, 2005 12:48 am Post subject: Re: Tire brand, model, and size roll call |
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| amishman wrote: | | Can 185SR14s be had here in the USA or do I have to resort to a close size like 205/75 14s or something? |
First off, there's a great online tire size calculator here.
The closest size to the one you mentioned, 185SR14, is 195/75R14.
185SR14
Diameter: 25.65"
Width: 7.28"
195/75R14
Diameter: 25.51"
Width: 7.67"
Diameter Difference: 0.55%
Speedometer Difference: 0.542% too fast (That's not bad at all.)
As you suspected, in the 185 your choices are slim, but there are some options. There's the Goodyear Wrangler HT. (Yuck!)
Going to the 195/75R14 gives you more options, while staying within a whisker of the stock size. In this size I like the Bridgestone Dueler A/T:
But my favorite size is 27x8.5R14
Diameter: 26.92"
Width: 8.5"
Diameter Difference: 4.72%
Speedometer Difference: 4.957% too slow
The Bridgestone Duelers can be had in this size as well,
but my personal choice is the BFG All Terrain T/A KO (below.)
On the truck that I wheel, I run BFG AT T/A KM's. BFG All Terrains are awesome. Haven't let me down yet, and I've put them through the wringer.
— Spalding |
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Towel Rail
Horizontally Opposed
Joined: April 15, 2005
Posts: 4407
Location: SW CR IA US NA PE
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| Posted: Fri May 13, 2005 6:05 pm Post subject: |
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I'm running Semperit P205 75R14s in front and Wintermaster Plus P205 75R14s in rear. *shrugs* They were on the car when I got it.
When the time comes to change them, I'll try to find something closer to stock size, but geared for wet traction. Driving in the rain with drum brakes still scares me a little.
- Scott
_________________
1974 Thing -- under the knife
1967 Beetle -- spring/summer/fall driver
1996 Subaru OBW (EJ22, 5-speed, AWD) -- daily driver status while I work on the other two
049 > 070 > 053 > 009 |
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germansupplyscott
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Joined: May 22, 2004
Posts: 5853
Location: toronto
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| Posted: Sat May 14, 2005 8:07 pm Post subject: |
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i have the same bfg a/t that cap'n spaulding mentions. perfect tire for a thing if you ask me. the look great, they are phat enough to look a bit gnarly but not too phat.
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scott lyons
http://www.germansupply.com
VW Bus-Centric Online Parts Source |
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Captain Spalding
Samba Member
Joined: February 19, 2005
Posts: 2005
Location: . . . in denial.
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| Posted: Sat May 14, 2005 10:25 pm Post subject: |
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| germansupplyscott wrote: | | i have the same bfg a/t that cap'n spaulding mentions. perfect tire for a thing if you ask me. the look great, they are phat enough to look a bit gnarly but not too phat. |
Credit where it's due - before I bought my Thing I did lots of research on the internet and found Scott's site, whereon he photographically [url=http://homepage.mac.com/punkinfair/'74_VW_Thing/PhotoAlbum15.html] chronicles the restoration of his car[/url]. Very interesting to see the process. Anyway my choice of tire and fitment of gauges into the dash are both inspired by his work.
I stand on the shoulders of giants, as they say. 
— Spalding
(Link posted without permission - hope that's okay.)  |
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suntour
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Joined: November 25, 2004
Posts: 442
Location: Monrovia, Ca.
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| Posted: Sun May 15, 2005 12:54 am Post subject: |
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| Towel Rail wrote: | | Driving in the rain with drum brakes still scares me a little. |
Don’t worry about it. You’ll soon get used to not being able to stop and learn to just drive up on the curb like all the rest of us.
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Order of the Voodoo Spoon |
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Towel Rail
Horizontally Opposed
Joined: April 15, 2005
Posts: 4407
Location: SW CR IA US NA PE
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| Posted: Sun May 15, 2005 4:28 pm Post subject: |
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| Captain Spalding wrote: | Credit where it's due - before I bought my Thing I did lots of research on the internet and found Scott's site, whereon he photographically [url=http://homepage.mac.com/punkinfair/'74_VW_Thing/PhotoAlbum15.html] chronicles the restoration of his car[/url]. Very interesting to see the process. Anyway my choice of tire and fitment of gauges into the dash are both inspired by his work.
I stand on the shoulders of giants, as they say.
— Spalding
(Link posted without permission - hope that's okay.) |
That's an inspiring site. I always love seeing documented restorations! 
| suntour wrote: | | Don’t worry about it. You’ll soon get used to not being able to stop and learn to just drive up on the curb like all the rest of us. |
That one had me cracking up. Previous generations must have had to (gasp!) pay attention to their driving, given braking technology at the time.
- Scott
_________________
1974 Thing -- under the knife
1967 Beetle -- spring/summer/fall driver
1996 Subaru OBW (EJ22, 5-speed, AWD) -- daily driver status while I work on the other two
049 > 070 > 053 > 009 |
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chinarider
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Joined: November 08, 2002
Posts: 273
Location: San Francisco, CA
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GI Joe
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Joined: April 28, 2005
Posts: 776
Location: E.TN
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| Posted: Mon May 16, 2005 2:09 pm Post subject: Biggun's? |
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UH, I swapped over to 15x5.5", and threw on some 215-75R15 AT's..
They are a nice semi aggresive tire and match the utilitarian look of the Thing! 
_________________
FORWARD: forward is only a good thing, when you're facing the right direction!
'74 Thing, "Our Thing"....
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4...p;start=60
www.NLEOMF.com
Respect, Honor, Remember |
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germansupplyscott
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Joined: May 22, 2004
Posts: 5853
Location: toronto
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| Posted: Mon May 16, 2005 2:33 pm Post subject: |
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| Captain Spalding wrote: | | I stand on the shoulders of giants, as they say. |
oh, puleeeze. i am just a backyard mechanic like most everyone else here.
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scott lyons
http://www.germansupply.com
VW Bus-Centric Online Parts Source |
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bljones
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Joined: February 08, 2002
Posts: 2400
Location: ontario canada
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suntour
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Joined: November 25, 2004
Posts: 442
Location: Monrovia, Ca.
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| Posted: Mon May 16, 2005 11:10 pm Post subject: |
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Question for everyone running 215/75R15’s. Do they fit under the fenders without a suspension mod or body lift? Any rubbing issues?
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GI Joe
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Joined: April 28, 2005
Posts: 776
Location: E.TN
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| Posted: Tue May 17, 2005 4:00 am Post subject: |
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| suntour wrote: | | Question for everyone running 215/75R15’s. Do they fit under the fenders without a suspension mod or body lift? Any rubbing issues? |
No issues here at all, and the only mod is the rear end turned 1 outer(i think?), to battle the "soggy bottom syndrome".
The tires really fit well, and look good. They are on the verge of "too big", without a lift, but not quite there.
_________________
FORWARD: forward is only a good thing, when you're facing the right direction!
'74 Thing, "Our Thing"....
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4...p;start=60
www.NLEOMF.com
Respect, Honor, Remember |
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Big Luni
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Joined: December 29, 2003
Posts: 422
Location: Hartford, CT
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| Posted: Tue May 17, 2005 6:05 am Post subject: |
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| I have the 15x5.5 rims w/ General Ameritrac SUV 205 75R15's. Cheap tires, but cool looking nonetheless. The white letter tires w/ chrome rims give it a nice aggressive look- much better than the skinny, bottom of the line Sears 14" whitewalls I replaced. Actually, I kept my OG rims. I'll have to look the tires on them and post them as an example of what not to put on stock rims. |
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amishman
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Joined: March 09, 2004
Posts: 2888
Location: California
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| Posted: Fri Jun 03, 2005 3:45 pm Post subject: |
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Well, here is what I have ordered. I have been researching all the options from 185R14s to 195/75R14 to what I felt was the closest and best size for me, 205/75R14 Goodyear Ultra Grip tires. They look nice and tuff and I think will make my Thing look nice. Discount Tires web site has a calculator where you type the stock size 185R14 and then what you want to get, in my case the 195/75R14 or 205/75R14 and the calculator showed the differences in sizes between the two. A 195 is a little shorter but fatter and the 205 is a tad taller and a little wider but closer it seemed overall to the 185R14 so I went 205. It even calculates what the speedometer will be off with the new tire size and for a 195, 65 would really have been like 63.xx and the 205 would be 65.43 or something like that. A little closer in terms of the speedo I guess. Anyway, here is what they look like.
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_page.php?pic_id=210282
Once they come in and I get to Sam's Club to have them installed, will take a few pictures of them on the Thing and post them. Sam's was selling these tires for $70 each and like $11 for install for each. Not bad....
tj |
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Towel Rail
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Joined: April 15, 2005
Posts: 4407
Location: SW CR IA US NA PE
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| Posted: Sun Jun 05, 2005 9:28 pm Post subject: |
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Those certainly look cool. I hope they actually grip well for you!
- Scott
_________________
1974 Thing -- under the knife
1967 Beetle -- spring/summer/fall driver
1996 Subaru OBW (EJ22, 5-speed, AWD) -- daily driver status while I work on the other two
049 > 070 > 053 > 009 |
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Towel Rail
Horizontally Opposed
Joined: April 15, 2005
Posts: 4407
Location: SW CR IA US NA PE
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| Posted: Mon Jun 06, 2005 2:01 pm Post subject: |
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Man, some original-style Continentals would be bad-ass, too:
_________________
1974 Thing -- under the knife
1967 Beetle -- spring/summer/fall driver
1996 Subaru OBW (EJ22, 5-speed, AWD) -- daily driver status while I work on the other two
049 > 070 > 053 > 009 |
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amishman
Samba Member
Joined: March 09, 2004
Posts: 2888
Location: California
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| Posted: Mon Jun 06, 2005 2:13 pm Post subject: |
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| Towel Rail wrote: | Man, some original-style Continentals would be bad-ass, too:
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yeh, those Continental Mud & Snow are cool. Just can't find em. Another company I came across made something similar but were 15" only. I wanted to stay 14" rims.
tj |
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Towel Rail
Horizontally Opposed
Joined: April 15, 2005
Posts: 4407
Location: SW CR IA US NA PE
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| Posted: Mon Jun 06, 2005 2:19 pm Post subject: |
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Yeah, 181s *had* 15" rims before 1973, but.... it wouldn't be right to switch. 
- Scott
_________________
1974 Thing -- under the knife
1967 Beetle -- spring/summer/fall driver
1996 Subaru OBW (EJ22, 5-speed, AWD) -- daily driver status while I work on the other two
049 > 070 > 053 > 009 |
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Towel Rail
Horizontally Opposed
Joined: April 15, 2005
Posts: 4407
Location: SW CR IA US NA PE
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| Posted: Thu Jun 09, 2005 11:52 pm Post subject: |
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Damn, I still can't make up my mind. Here are a couple beauties from www.antiquetyres.com.au:
 
I'd have to get new wheels though. But for those, I would.
_________________
1974 Thing -- under the knife
1967 Beetle -- spring/summer/fall driver
1996 Subaru OBW (EJ22, 5-speed, AWD) -- daily driver status while I work on the other two
049 > 070 > 053 > 009 |
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