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oasis
Samba Member
Joined: December 12, 2002
Posts: 2168
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 Posted: Tue Apr 22, 2014 11:02 am Post subject: |
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First caveat ... do what you want, and forget the opinions of others (including me) if you like something. If you're on the fence, here's what I think:
Color: I like pearlized paint in general. On a larger car like the 412, the orange will show nicely if the orange isn't too washed out by the pearlized effect. The lighter color will be welcomed in Alabama as I am sure it gets kind of toasty there in the summer months.
Personally, I would not dechrome or debadge the 412. I think one would want some brightwork or blackened trim to help offset the color on a larger car. (Note: I tend to be anti-bling in general, and I bought a European black grill for the front of my black Eos. My Eos has a totally different profile and the bright VW still in the grill pops out with the headlights to offer contrast. A car with a larger presence like the 412 should have features throughout to offer contrast.)
Tires: I know nothing of Nexen tires. I was unimpressed with the 320 treadwear rating until I starting searching for similar sized tires and only found worse ratings. My adjusted thinking is 320 is pretty good for a somewhat narrow tire. I found a tire with an A temperature rating -- the Nexen is a B -- but I didn't like the tradeoff. An A rating for traction on a 165 width tire is pretty darn good. The price is unbeatable. Despite having no experience with those tires or knowing anyone who has, that looks like a dynamite deal. I wouldn't hesitate buying them.
Wheels: Here's where you might throw a shoe at me should I ever make a second trip to Alabama. I'm not a fan of those wheels. To be as fair as I can, I have never seen those wheels on a larger platform like a 412 which could make all the difference. I have only seen them on Beetles, Super Beetles and Karmann Ghias.
However, try getting them from Mid America (mamotorworks.com). I found the wheels I wanted from them for my Thing to be more expensive but their shipping was so much more reasonable. On top of that, they called me when the wheels were in transport and discounted each wheel slightly and they nixed the shipping altogether because they said normal shipping to me (Maryland) usually takes two days so paying for two-day shipping seemed silly. I'm not sure if that was a sale I lucked into or what, but I went from saving some money to saving quite a bit.
One more thing. Your project seems like something you are doing with care. (Not all people give me that impression.) You might want to go ahead and get new wheels. I investigated a lot of used wheels for my Thing and seeing the "hardly noticeable" nicks and curb rash chase me to buying new rims. Besides, I haven't seen too many iron crosses come up for sale, much less for a set of four.
my opinion only
_________________
Now: 2003 New Beetle Turbo S / 1990 Single Cab Transporter / 2014 Tiguan R-Line 4motion / 2013 Tiguan S / 2002 Golf GLS TDI
Past: 1974 Thing Acapulco / 2009 Eos Komfort / 1997 Jetta GT / 2002 Cabrio GLX / 2002 Passat GLS / 1971 Super Beetle / 1993 EuroVan MV Westfalia / 1981 Pickup LX / 1985 Vanagon / 1986 Jetta GLI |
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19super73
Hardcore Stock Nazi
Joined: October 18, 2007
Posts: 4351
Location: Cité Soleil
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UltraSheen
Samba Member
Joined: January 17, 2014
Posts: 44
Location: Huntsville, AL
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| Posted: Tue Apr 22, 2014 2:48 pm Post subject: |
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| 19super73 wrote: |
| I think black trim would look great with orange. If you are going with 5.5X15 wheels, 165/80/15's are a pretty narrow tire to put on a wider rim like that. A 185/65/15 may be a better choice. |
That is a great catch and one that I overlooked. I'd been pressed to get tires since the car is down with a flat, so I'd been looking at that tire size. Then I find that rim I like. (No offense, Oasis!)
And sadly, all 10 parts (5 tires, 5 rims) are on their way. The tires may not fit well but if they do there's no guarantee they won't look goofy. Maybe Walmart will let me exchange them for wider ones like the size you mentioned. That would mean another 10 day wait. But that's the price I pay for being too anxious. |
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19super73
Hardcore Stock Nazi
Joined: October 18, 2007
Posts: 4351
Location: Cité Soleil
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Mike Fisher
Samba Member
Joined: January 30, 2006
Posts: 17969
Location: Eugene, OR
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| Posted: Tue Apr 22, 2014 4:51 pm Post subject: |
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Get WalMart to swap you for 185 or 195. 
_________________
https://imgur.com/user/FisherSquareback/posts
69 FI/AT square Daily Driver
66 sunroof,67,70,71,71,71AT,72,72AT,73 Parts
two 57 oval ragtops sold
'68 Karmann Ghia sold
Society is like stew. If you don't keep it stirred up you end up with a lot of scum on the top! - Russ_Wolfe/Edward Abbey |
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oasis
Samba Member
Joined: December 12, 2002
Posts: 2168
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| Posted: Wed Apr 23, 2014 5:50 am Post subject: |
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| UltraSheen wrote: |
| 19super73 wrote: |
| I think black trim would look great with orange. If you are going with 5.5X15 wheels, 165/80/15's are a pretty narrow tire to put on a wider rim like that. A 185/65/15 may be a better choice. |
That is a great catch and one that I overlooked. |
I was thinking of mentioning tire size when I saw you were going with the exact same wheel size as I am with my Thing, but I thought you may have had a reason or two to go with a 165 (although I figured driving in snow wasn't one of them).
| UltraSheen wrote: |
| Then I find that rim I like. (No offense, Oasis!) |
Oh good golly, I was more concerned about me offending you. Actually, the more I think about it, the more I think I might like those wheels on a larger car like the 412. I'm anxious see the final results.
Two more ideas ... One, I agree about getting the 185/65-15 or similar sized tire. If WalMart won't do an exchange, consider buying four from some place like TireRack. There's no reason you can't use one 165/80 as a spare, and it would be easier to sell four new tires here or locally than five. (It will tie up your money for a while, and you will take a slight hit. You'll have to decide if it is worth it or not.) I mention TireRack because tires from them arrive within two days, and they can send them to you or to whoever is mounting and installing (WalMart, I presume).
Two, another orange color that struck my fancy when skimming eBay ads is Fahrenheit orange. Originally, it was for the Lamborghini but VW used it on some special Mk V editions. I saw it on an '07 GTI on eBay but it also looked dynamite on a Jetta I saw in person a little while back.
_________________
Now: 2003 New Beetle Turbo S / 1990 Single Cab Transporter / 2014 Tiguan R-Line 4motion / 2013 Tiguan S / 2002 Golf GLS TDI
Past: 1974 Thing Acapulco / 2009 Eos Komfort / 1997 Jetta GT / 2002 Cabrio GLX / 2002 Passat GLS / 1971 Super Beetle / 1993 EuroVan MV Westfalia / 1981 Pickup LX / 1985 Vanagon / 1986 Jetta GLI |
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19super73
Hardcore Stock Nazi
Joined: October 18, 2007
Posts: 4351
Location: Cité Soleil
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| Posted: Wed Apr 23, 2014 8:05 am Post subject: |
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| oasis wrote: |
| UltraSheen wrote: |
| 19super73 wrote: |
| I think black trim would look great with orange. If you are going with 5.5X15 wheels, 165/80/15's are a pretty narrow tire to put on a wider rim like that. A 185/65/15 may be a better choice. |
That is a great catch and one that I overlooked. |
I was thinking of mentioning tire size when I saw you were going with the exact same wheel size as I am with my Thing, but I thought you may have had a reason or two to go with a 165 (although I figured driving in snow wasn't one of them).
| UltraSheen wrote: |
| Then I find that rim I like. (No offense, Oasis!) |
Oh good golly, I was more concerned about me offending you. Actually, the more I think about it, the more I think I might like those wheels on a larger car like the 412. I'm anxious see the final results.
Two more ideas ... One, I agree about getting the 185/65-15 or similar sized tire. If WalMart won't do an exchange, consider buying four from some place like TireRack. There's no reason you can't use one 165/80 as a spare, and it would be easier to sell four new tires here or locally than five. (It will tie up your money for a while, and you will take a slight hit. You'll have to decide if it is worth it or not.) I mention TireRack because tires from them arrive within two days, and they can send them to you or to whoever is mounting and installing (WalMart, I presume).
Two, another orange color that struck my fancy when skimming eBay ads is Fahrenheit orange. Originally, it was for the Lamborghini but VW used it on some special Mk V editions. I saw it on an '07 GTI on eBay but it also looked dynamite on a Jetta I saw in person a little while back. |
X2. If it was a Beetle or a Type 3 I think they look bad and are overdone but on a Type 4, they would look much better. Another look I like are the Baja/Marathon wheels from '72.
_________________
1970 Campmobile [url=https://www.vw-mplate.com/mplate-47260.png]Click to view image[/URL]
1970 Fastback 1600 TL
1971 Doka [url=https://www.vw-mplate.com/mplate-14845.png]Click to view image[/URL]
1973 Super Beetle
1973 Westfalia [url=https://www.vw-mplate.com/mplate-31892.png]Click to view image[/URL]
1974 412 Variant
1975 La Grande Bug
1984 Vanagon |
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UltraSheen
Samba Member
Joined: January 17, 2014
Posts: 44
Location: Huntsville, AL
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| Posted: Fri Apr 25, 2014 10:22 am Post subject: |
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I'm looking at 195/65R15 tires that are a really close match except in width. Does anyone have experience with 195 width tires on these? I'd like the extra width if it won't rub. If it will rub, I'll just take the 185.
Any first-hand knowledge?
http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/tirecalc.php?tires=165-80r15-195-65r15
It's about 1.18 inches wider.
Thanks! |
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Mike Fisher
Samba Member
Joined: January 30, 2006
Posts: 17969
Location: Eugene, OR
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| Posted: Fri Apr 25, 2014 11:12 am Post subject: |
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Buy 2 or 4 good Used tires to try & run for a year or 2. They are cheap! The 185X60 Firestone & 205X70 TOYO used tires on my square have been on there for 2+ years and still have tread left. The rich guys take them off with 1/2 their tread left, so they are usually top name tires with 1/2 tread. 
_________________
https://imgur.com/user/FisherSquareback/posts
69 FI/AT square Daily Driver
66 sunroof,67,70,71,71,71AT,72,72AT,73 Parts
two 57 oval ragtops sold
'68 Karmann Ghia sold
Society is like stew. If you don't keep it stirred up you end up with a lot of scum on the top! - Russ_Wolfe/Edward Abbey |
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UltraSheen
Samba Member
Joined: January 17, 2014
Posts: 44
Location: Huntsville, AL
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| Posted: Fri Apr 25, 2014 8:17 pm Post subject: |
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Well, DHL was really great and delivered my wheels today about 2pm. I called up Walmart and they had Douglas tires, which are apparently made by Goodyear, in stock in the right size 195/65R15. I took the rims to the store, got my other tires refunded and bought 5 of these tires. The Douglas tires were actually 50 cents less per tire than the 165/80R15. I considered the Douglas brand, but for my purposes I think they're just fine. I don't think I'll put 2500 miles a year on these.
Anyway, everything worked out fine mounting them on the rims. I got home tonight and put them on. I took the 412 for a little drive and the car handled completely differently. It was like night and day. There were no issues -- no rubbing, no wobbling, nothing!
The rims came with center caps that I haven't put on yet, because I want to get some VW stickers to put on them. (They came with CIP stickers which I will not use.)
Here are some pictures. It was at night, in my garage, on my cell phone, so they're not great. But I hope it shows you what the tires look like. When I can take better ones, I will.
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19super73
Hardcore Stock Nazi
Joined: October 18, 2007
Posts: 4351
Location: Cité Soleil
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oasis
Samba Member
Joined: December 12, 2002
Posts: 2168
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| Posted: Sat Apr 26, 2014 10:46 pm Post subject: |
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I really dig the car! The wheels look nice at the angle displayed. I hope to see more updates and maybe a profile pic at some point. Very cool. 
_________________
Now: 2003 New Beetle Turbo S / 1990 Single Cab Transporter / 2014 Tiguan R-Line 4motion / 2013 Tiguan S / 2002 Golf GLS TDI
Past: 1974 Thing Acapulco / 2009 Eos Komfort / 1997 Jetta GT / 2002 Cabrio GLX / 2002 Passat GLS / 1971 Super Beetle / 1993 EuroVan MV Westfalia / 1981 Pickup LX / 1985 Vanagon / 1986 Jetta GLI |
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UltraSheen
Samba Member
Joined: January 17, 2014
Posts: 44
Location: Huntsville, AL
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| Posted: Sun Apr 27, 2014 3:16 pm Post subject: |
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Profile:
Corner shots:
Plenty of room:
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oasis
Samba Member
Joined: December 12, 2002
Posts: 2168
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| Posted: Sun Apr 27, 2014 8:22 pm Post subject: |
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I'm impressed. 
_________________
Now: 2003 New Beetle Turbo S / 1990 Single Cab Transporter / 2014 Tiguan R-Line 4motion / 2013 Tiguan S / 2002 Golf GLS TDI
Past: 1974 Thing Acapulco / 2009 Eos Komfort / 1997 Jetta GT / 2002 Cabrio GLX / 2002 Passat GLS / 1971 Super Beetle / 1993 EuroVan MV Westfalia / 1981 Pickup LX / 1985 Vanagon / 1986 Jetta GLI |
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UltraSheen
Samba Member
Joined: January 17, 2014
Posts: 44
Location: Huntsville, AL
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| Posted: Fri May 02, 2014 9:02 am Post subject: New problem |
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Ok, new problem. Now that I have tires, I decided to drive it. Well...
The transmission, like I said when I first got the car, waits a long time to shift into 3rd. No big deal, I'm patient.
But downshifting into 2nd from 3rd when accelerating does not happen.
Here's an example of when it happened. I was going up a railroad overpass and I was going about 40 miles an hour. I was in 3rd gear. As I started to go up, it tried to downshift into 2nd, but it was like I had the clutch depressed. It just revved and would not change gear. (Obviously, this is an automatic transmission.) I shifted it down into 2nd manually and it was fine. I thought for a second I wasn't going to be able to make it across this bridge, but fortunately I could manually downshift.
So, any first leads? As long as you don't say "bad, unrepairable transmission" I'll be okay. |
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KTPhil 
Samba Member
Joined: April 06, 2006
Posts: 33986
Location: Conejo Valley, CA
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| Posted: Fri May 02, 2014 10:20 am Post subject: |
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Check the modulator vacuum hose for leaks. Check if your kickdown switch is working and adjusted properly.
(I know the T3s have them, I presume T4s do, too.)
After this, things get more expensive, like adjusting pressures. |
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Mike Fisher
Samba Member
Joined: January 30, 2006
Posts: 17969
Location: Eugene, OR
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| Posted: Fri May 02, 2014 12:36 pm Post subject: |
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Mine will downshift to second with the throttle/kickdown switch, but going up hills I Always shift manually if needed to save on the wear & tear.
_________________
https://imgur.com/user/FisherSquareback/posts
69 FI/AT square Daily Driver
66 sunroof,67,70,71,71,71AT,72,72AT,73 Parts
two 57 oval ragtops sold
'68 Karmann Ghia sold
Society is like stew. If you don't keep it stirred up you end up with a lot of scum on the top! - Russ_Wolfe/Edward Abbey |
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UltraSheen
Samba Member
Joined: January 17, 2014
Posts: 44
Location: Huntsville, AL
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| Posted: Fri May 02, 2014 2:44 pm Post subject: |
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| Mike Fisher wrote: |
| Mine will downshift to second with the throttle/kickdown switch, but going up hills I Always shift manually if needed to save on the wear & tear. |
Mine tries, it just doesn't engage the gear. Like I said, when I'm moving in third and it kicks down to second, it's like I'm revving the engine with the clutch in. Problem is, I don't have a clutch pedal!
Perhaps the previous owners should have used your method to decrease wear and tear, but I'm afraid it's worn and torn.
Fluid is topped up and light cherry red. |
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19super73
Hardcore Stock Nazi
Joined: October 18, 2007
Posts: 4351
Location: Cité Soleil
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UltraSheen
Samba Member
Joined: January 17, 2014
Posts: 44
Location: Huntsville, AL
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| Posted: Tue May 06, 2014 1:49 pm Post subject: |
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Solution to that was very easy. Do not trust PO's words. Checked fluid level. Topped up. Works great.
In other words, my idiocy reigns supreme. |
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