Tire size question....I know I know

[Cali_Army_Guy]

I have some 15x5 BRM's I'm going to put on my '66. I don't know what size tires to run. My car has bone stock suspension. Not lowered no narrowed beam. I want all 4 tires to be the same size. I tried searching for a little while but it seems I'm the only person trying to run aftermarket wheels on factory suspension What size tires should I get?
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2015 VW Passat Wolfsburg Edition
1966 VW Beetle - Sold

[doubledoor64]

stock 165r15 or 165-80-15. The drive the best IMO

[johnR]

Stock size makes sense.

You could also look at 185/65R15. They'll be a little wider and a little shorter (in diameter) than stock but much easier to find and probably a lot less expensive than 165R15.

[911pickup]

Vredestrein Sprint Classic makes a 165/80-15 and a 175/70-15 that would probably fit your car without any rubbing problems.
The Sprints look like a nice tire, but they're not cheap. the Tire Rack sells them.

Try to stay away from cheap Chinese tires.

[rockerarm]

Hi. I think you have a few options.
Personally, I like the 195/65R15 tire. Close to the OD of the 165 tire. Plenty of mfgr's make this size at many price ranges. Plus many come with a warranty. I have used this size for nearly a couple of decades on a '58 and a '74. The wheel used were steel 5.5". You may like this size as you do some freeway driving.
The 185/65R15 tire has many of the same of the above size. It will be a bit shorter and possibly your 1200 might prefer the slightly shorter tire.
The last is the old standby 165R15 tire. Of the few available tires the Nexen seems to be the only one worth recommending to anyone. While Nexen offers tires in the two previous sizes that have a warranty program the Nexen SB802 is without a warranty. To me this isn't the most important concern but if I can buy a tire from the same company, Nexen, with a warranty, why spend the same amount of money and have no warranty. The 185 or 195 tires are getting a lot more miles on them than the 165 tires.
I don't know the backspacing on the BRM wheel but if your '66 has the short axle trans I wonder if sufficient clearance is present on the inboard side with a 195 tire?
I have in the past taken a used tire in the size I was considering to put on someone's car and had it mounted up and check fitment issues for front and rear.
Hope this helps. Sorry for the rant, Bill.

[rockerarm]

Hi.
And to follow up, if you could use it, I have a number of wheel/tire combo's that I could look at and measure the wheel backspacing, spacing from wheel mounting face to inside tire sidewall, overall width of the tire on a certain wheel, etc.
Bill.