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Newbe66
Samba Member
Joined: March 12, 2025
Posts: 1
Location: Washington
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 Posted: Fri Jun 27, 2025 12:22 pm Post subject: Tire size recomendation ?? |
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I purchased a set of Foosh wheels in 17" with 4.5 wide in the front for my 66 Beetle
The recommended tire size is 155-50-17 or 165-50-17
I can't find either size !
Is anyone running these JBW wheels and can suggest a source or if they are running wider wheels in the front ?
It is a Porsche lug pattern with 2.5 drop disc spindles
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OldSchoolVW's 
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Joined: July 03, 2020
Posts: 1593
Location: San Diego
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| Posted: Fri Jun 27, 2025 1:22 pm Post subject: Re: Tire size recomendation ?? |
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The sizes they are recommending are equal to or narrower than the stock 165/80-15 size. Check out this calculator and play around with different sizes to see what options will give you a wider width tire. I'm not sure how much wider you could go on a 4.5 wheel and when you'd start running into rubbing issues on the inner fender and outer edge. Keep in mind that the offset on those new wheels will be a factor to consider as will any offset on a disc brake kit if you have that installed.
https://tiresize.com/calculator/
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Shonandb
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Joined: January 12, 2019
Posts: 2280
Location: Vancouver, BC
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raygreenwood
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Joined: November 24, 2008
Posts: 23505
Location: Oklahoma City
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| Posted: Fri Jun 27, 2025 2:02 pm Post subject: Re: Tire size recomendation ?? |
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The widest tire you will be able to get on a 4.5" rim will be a 185mm.
BUT...whether it actually fits safely will also depend on the sidewall profile. Most sites and calculators will say a 185/70 is pretty much the lowest sidewall series and widest tire that willSAFELY fit on a 4.5" rim.
When you get to 185/60...most will move you to a 5" rim.
Ray |
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EVfun
Samba Member
Joined: April 01, 2012
Posts: 6370
Location: Seattle
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| Posted: Fri Jun 27, 2025 10:59 pm Post subject: Re: Tire size recomendation ?? |
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I'm not really seeing any 17 inch diameter tires less than 195mm in width, except for temporary spares. A P195/60R17 tire would be 26.2 inches tall (slightly taller than stock) and manufacturers says it requires a rim width of at least 5.5 inches.
One manufacture seems to have a slightly narrower width in the recommend rim width range, the Toyo tire from Discount Tire.
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