TheSamba.com :: View topic - What is the difference between bus and bug wheels

Wed May 18, 2005 7:44 am

When I bought my 66 westy, the PO said that the wheels on the bus were not original...they were from a bug. As a "bonus" he threw in the original set of four "bus wheels" that had been sandblasted and primed in anticipation of the restoration. I have inspected both sets of wheels and can find absolutely no difference! Both seem to measure up the same. If there is a difference, could someone please explain?

Wed May 18, 2005 7:50 am

Your bus wheels should be 14" to be correct for that year and beetle ones would be 15"

What size wheels do you have, and are they solid or do thay have 4 cooling slots.

14" bus

15" bug

Wed May 18, 2005 5:56 pm

15" bus rims are pictured below, both standard and "crows foot" variety.

Thu May 19, 2005 7:11 am

Well I checked out the rims on the bus and they are definately 15" without the slots.... this weekend I'll be able to look more carefully at the other set. I know they are 15"... but I'm not sure about the slots.... So, 23 window, I'm having trouble understanding your illustration. Could you explain what the yellow line indicates? (please excuse my ignorance)
Thanks
James

Thu May 19, 2005 7:39 am

biggestdaddyo wrote: Well I checked out the rims on the bus and they are definately 15" without the slots.... this weekend I'll be able to look more carefully at the other set. I know they are 15"... but I'm not sure about the slots.... So, 23 window, I'm having trouble understanding your illustration. Could you explain what the yellow line indicates? (please excuse my ignorance)
Thanks
James

Notice the re-inforced lips around the lug holes on a crows foot rim.

Thu May 19, 2005 3:08 pm

early 15" bus rims had 3 extra strength pressings around the bolt hole.

Thu May 19, 2005 4:07 pm

Also, bus wheels have less offset than Beetle wheels, meaning that the centre line of the tire will be closer to the middle of the vehicle with a bus rim.

Thu May 19, 2005 4:33 pm

Ahhhh so thats the "crow's feet". I have always wondered what this meant. Thanks, you helped me out also!

Thu May 19, 2005 4:40 pm

another easy way to tell a bus rim from those "other types" of vw rims is that bus rims have the valve stem in line with a wheel bolt hole.
"other type" vw rims have the valve stem "between" two wheel bolt holes.

Thu May 19, 2005 6:38 pm

biggestdaddyo wrote: Well I checked out the rims on the bus and they are definately 15" without the slots.... this weekend I'll be able to look more carefully at the other set. I know they are 15"... but I'm not sure about the slots.... So, 23 window, I'm having trouble understanding your illustration. Could you explain what the yellow line indicates? (please excuse my ignorance)
Thanks
James

no prob. The lines are to indicate the width of the slots on the two styles of rims.
Regular 15" top,
Crowsfoot 15" bottom.
Notice the on the top rim are on the edges of the slot, and the right line doesn't touch the edge of the slot on the bottom rim. Click on the picture for a better view.

Tue May 24, 2005 5:59 am

Buried deep in the shed, I was able to retrieve my treasures....they indeed do have the four cooling slots and the differing offset. I have pics here that will illustrate (oops, I can't figure out how to paste a pic into this crazy thing!). Measuring from the outer lip of the wheel, they are 16.5 inches (15" wheels I assume) and they have the air valve stem aligned with a bolt hole. They have been sand blasted, then left to rust again by PO. I think I will have them professionally dipped and then primed and re-painted. Oh and they do NOT have the little crow's foot pattern near the bolt holes. Does that make them correct for a 66 Westy? I have pics if anyone is interested....I just can't seem to stick them inside this post.

Tue May 24, 2005 8:39 am

'66s had 14" rims, they measure 15" or so at the outside edge.
The slots are thinner (consult photos above).

Tue May 24, 2005 8:55 am

Here's another pic...

Tue May 24, 2005 9:06 am

biggestdaddyo wrote: Here's another pic...

Those are 15"

Sun Sep 11, 2005 9:13 pm

what is the maximum width of 15 inch bus rims? i am guessing 5.5 inches wide? i am looking for a set of 15x5 or 15x5.5 crows foot bus rims.

Sun Sep 11, 2005 9:38 pm

Riff Raff wrote: Also, bus wheels have less offset than Beetle wheels, meaning that the centre line of the tire will be closer to the middle of the vehicle with a bus rim.

about how much difference is there?

Sun Sep 11, 2005 9:47 pm

Antonio2 wrote: what is the maximum width of 15 inch bus rims? i am guessing 5.5 inches wide? i am looking for a set of 15x5 or 15x5.5 crows foot bus rims.
They are 4.5 inches wide.

You could have them widened...

Tue Mar 15, 2011 9:11 pm

maybe this is discussed in a different section, but was there any rhyme or reason behind the crows feet rims? I got this mid '59 bus that had 1/59 rims. All date stamped the same, 1/59. there was 1 crows foot and the rest were plain bus rims. that's weird that there would only be 1 on a bus.

then, I also have a 6/59 in my collection that is a crows foot. Did they come on buses that were more heavy duty or what was the deal?

Tue Mar 15, 2011 11:34 pm

squirmyman wrote: maybe this is discussed in a different section, but was there any rhyme or reason behind the crows feet rims? I got this mid '59 bus that had 1/59 rims. All date stamped the same, 1/59. there was 1 crows foot and the rest were plain bus rims. that's weird that there would only be 1 on a bus.

then, I also have a 6/59 in my collection that is a crows foot. Did they come on buses that were more heavy duty or what was the deal?

VW sourced rims from a few different suppliers. "Crowsfeet" rims are simply one supplier's slight variation of the theme. They were all put into the general parts bin at VW so no, there's no specifics behind why one bus has one and the next might have three.

This is the story as I know it.

My Alzheimer's is kicking in this morning - the manufacturer eludes me, as does the reason they stopped supplying.

Wed Mar 16, 2011 4:49 am

lemmertz(sp?) was a manufacuter of the crows...at least that's what's on my ?/58 crows