TheSamba.com :: View topic - Pictures of tire, wheel, and suspension thread for FAQ's

Sat Mar 18, 2017 7:15 pm

What about a 165/55 or 175/55? Where are the rubbing? Do they need to be narrower or just shorter? Based on the height of the 145/65, either of these would be close.

Sat Mar 18, 2017 7:15 pm

What about a 165/55 or 175/55? Where are the rubbing? Do they need to be narrower or just shorter? Based on the height of the 145/65, either of these would be close.

Sat Mar 18, 2017 7:49 pm

Update:
Took front from 145/65 (too bumpy), to 175/65 (rubbing @ stops, slight dips or bumps), and ended up with 175/55s. Only very occasional rub on left fender. I believe because the lip of the fender @ 10 o'clock is untucked and sticks out. (it's visible in the close-up pics).

Wider footprint on road = much noticeable improvement in grabbing road, and for some reason, bumps in road (live in country with beat up pavement) are greatly buffered.
So, at least with only the driver in the car, I'm loving the improvement in comfort. I'll add a 230# passenger to see how that goes... but very happy.

(I had a sweet lowered bug 20 years ago, and only recently remembered that it had wider tires than what was allowed on the rims. But the car hugged the road like a slot car. If only I could locate those old service receipts)

Fri May 05, 2017 2:21 am

So here is mine.

Front;

Standard width beam with adjuster nearly all the way up
145/15 on stock rims

Rear;

Adjusted 1 notch
165/15 on stock rims

Drives pretty well with no rubbing at all.

I plan to remove the decals, band the rear wheels to 6", paint them deep red with portwalls and maybe drop the front slightly more, maybe with drop spindles.

Sun May 28, 2017 2:35 pm

Can anyone suggest tire size? I've bought some 15"x5" radar rims and the tires I have now are Michelin 15x5 .Should I just go with same size?im looking for a 2" whitewall also.Ive got 2.5 "drop spindle and a 4" narrowed airkewld front end installed in pics with drum brakes.

Sun May 28, 2017 2:56 pm

I like 195/70 rears and 145 fronts on something like yours.

Sun May 28, 2017 2:58 pm

Buguy thanks for response any suggestions on a whitewall tire?

Sun May 28, 2017 3:06 pm

https://callitw.com/index.php?route=mobile_store/home

http://www.dbtires.com

http://www.widewhitetires.com/American-Classic-Low-Profile-Whitewall-Tires.html

https://www.cokertire.com

Sun May 28, 2017 5:32 pm

I was going to buy white walls for my last one. They are pricey. I liked the radials that looked like bias

Mon May 29, 2017 1:40 pm

1968 Standard

Front:
Stock beam
2.5" drop spindles
Disc conversion
New shocks
145/15

Rear:
Stock height
Stock wheels
165/15

For the future. Possibly adjusters up front. One click on the back. Sprintstar wheels. 195s for the back.

Wed May 31, 2017 1:39 am

Hi guys,
Newbie here that could do with some advice.

I've just purchased a 1970 Karmann Beetle cab with stock suspension etc. It has Beetle marathon wheels on it at the moment with all 4 tyres the same, all 165/15.

I want to put some original wheels on it and the wheel company are selling the following for the car;

2x 4.5 for the front with 155/60R15 and 2x 5.5 for the rear with 185/65R15.

My question is, is it ok having the wheel and tyres sizes that different on the front and rear for my model of car, or is it quite normal rather than being all the same?

Thanks in advance
Ken

Wed May 31, 2017 4:01 am

Typically staggered wheel/tire sizes are to accommodate lowering. If it's stock height and staying that way, no real reason not to have stock sized tires.

Mon Jun 05, 2017 1:39 pm

cb 4" narrowed, adj beam, drop spindles, one inner spline with stock plates, 135 on 4.5 and 205/65 on 5.5 black SprintStars. Studded drums.

Fri Jun 09, 2017 7:27 pm

That's a good looking ride. Have any side shots?

Sat Jun 10, 2017 2:29 am

Here's my 72 standard bug
Front
- stock width adjustable beam
2.5" dropped spindles
165/65/15 tyres
4.5" marathon wheels
Rear
- 2" dropped adjustable rear spring plates
195/55/15 tyres
4.5" marathon wheels soon to have a 1.5" band put on them to give them a deeper dish look

Sat Jun 10, 2017 1:53 pm

buguy wrote: That's a good looking ride. Have any side shots? .

Its for sale on CL, lots more pictures.

Mon Jun 12, 2017 7:09 pm

Front: 3" German beam, shock towers narrowed and leaned out, 2.5" spindles and 5x130 disc kit from CB, torsion adjusters, 5.5" Fuchs, 195/50-15 tires.

Rear: One outer splines, early 6" Fuchs 195/60-15 tires, bump stops removed.

Fri Jun 16, 2017 6:51 pm

I took the 165's off the rear of my bug and put on 205/65's. Thought I'd share a pic of the difference in case anyone wondered. And just a note, the 205 is mounted and has 30 psi in it and the 165 is off the rim.

Fri Jun 16, 2017 6:54 pm

205/60's are probably going to be closer in size.

Fri Jun 16, 2017 7:03 pm

Yeah I actually wanted them to be a bit taller than they are. I have a turbo motor and the low gears don't load it very well. I'm still rockin the original 6v trsns. So I was hoping to "gear it up" a little with the tires. I was 2 outer splines down in the back and I raised it to only one down. Had a bit more camber than I like.