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New2me69
Samba Member
Joined: July 19, 2016
Posts: 339
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 Posted: Fri Aug 18, 2017 6:40 am Post subject: How wide can I go on '69 IRS |
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Really been researching wheels for a while. I've been really tired of the Rivieras I have and haven't been able to contact anyone who knows the specifics on their wheel setups. I've seen later model bugs with 7" wide steel or smoothies at the rear (with no fender roll) and I've been told by some that anything beyond 6" isn't possible without mods to fenders.
Anyone know any specifics on this?
My car is lowered slightly at the rear, and I have a 2" narrowed/adjustable beam with lowered spindles up front. Currently my rims are 15x5.5, 3 7/8 backspacing and 17mm offset.
I was hoping to pop a 6.5 or 7" wheel on the rear and run 5" up front (smoothies if possible).
Can anyone help this guy out. I'm on the verge of just ordering what I "think" will fit and crossing my fingers. Yikes.
Thanks for any help.
Here's a pic of my current setup for reference.
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ALB
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Joined: August 05, 2008
Posts: 3483
Location: beautiful suburban Wet Coast of Canada
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| Posted: Fri Aug 18, 2017 7:37 am Post subject: Re: How wide can I go on '69 IRS |
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If the offset is right you should be able to run 7" rims with 205's or 215's on the back of an irs car. Imagine taking a 5 1/2 or 6" wheel that fits nicely and adding the extra width to the inside. Al
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New2me69
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Joined: July 19, 2016
Posts: 339
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| Posted: Fri Aug 18, 2017 7:53 am Post subject: Re: How wide can I go on '69 IRS |
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| ALB wrote: |
| If the offset is right you should be able to run 7" rims with 205's or 215's on the back of an irs car. Imagine taking a 5 1/2 or 6" wheel that fits nicely and adding the extra width to the inside. Al |
I'm on board with that but my hope is to add the width outward. Currently I'm running a 195/65 on the rear and they fit nice with a 5.5" wheel. Only time they ever touch the fender is when I have my entire family in the car, loaded up with coolers and beach gear and I hit a big bump. They touch then but otherwise I'm good (front end loaded up like that is a different matter haha). Anyway, my thought was that if I kept the offset/backspacing the same and just had 1.5" wider wheels on the rear I don't suspect any real problem. I may rub back there a little more often maybe but I'm ok with stretching a 195 a little.
People "in the know" tell me it's not possible and I'm not one to just discount what someone with far more experience with bugs tells me.
Thoughts? Is ANYONE out there running 7" (even 6.5") on a later bug (without widened or rolled fenders)? |
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chickengeorge
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Joined: August 18, 2004
Posts: 5634
Location: Spokompton Warshington
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| Posted: Fri Aug 18, 2017 8:21 am Post subject: Re: How wide can I go on '69 IRS |
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There are a few guys here who are running a FWD offset tuner-type wheel on their cars. You'd have to swap drums/discs to a different bolt pattern, but not the end of the world. These are 17x7.5
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New2me69
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Joined: July 19, 2016
Posts: 339
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| Posted: Fri Aug 18, 2017 10:00 am Post subject: Re: How wide can I go on '69 IRS |
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| chickengeorge wrote: |
There are a few guys here who are running a FWD offset tuner-type wheel on their cars. You'd have to swap drums/discs to a different bolt pattern, but not the end of the world. These are 17x7.5
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Yeah. I've gotta be careful there. I'm looking to keep them 15" and I think a 35mm or greater offset would probably have my rim rubbing on the inside. I'm pretty tight with 17mm and 3 7/8 backspacing as is. I'm also running disc. |
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New2me69
Samba Member
Joined: July 19, 2016
Posts: 339
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| Posted: Fri Aug 18, 2017 10:07 am Post subject: Re: How wide can I go on '69 IRS |
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| chickengeorge wrote: |
There are a few guys here who are running a FWD offset tuner-type wheel on their cars. You'd have to swap drums/discs to a different bolt pattern, but not the end of the world. These are 17x7.5
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Yeah. I've gotta be careful there. I'm looking to keep them 15" and I think a 35mm or greater offset would probably have my rim rubbing on the inside. I'm pretty tight with 17mm and 3 7/8 backspacing as is. I'm also running disc. |
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ps2375
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Joined: April 24, 2014
Posts: 2471
Location: Meridian,ID
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| Posted: Fri Aug 18, 2017 6:06 pm Post subject: Re: How wide can I go on '69 IRS |
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| New2me69 wrote: |
I'm on board with that but my hope is to add the width outward. Currently I'm running a 195/65 on the rear and they fit nice with a 5.5" wheel. Only time they ever touch the fender is when I have my entire family in the car, loaded up with coolers and beach gear and I hit a big bump. They touch then but otherwise I'm good (front end loaded up like that is a different matter haha). Anyway, my thought was that if I kept the offset/backspacing the same and just had 1.5" wider wheels on the rear I don't suspect any real problem. I may rub back there a little more often maybe but I'm ok with stretching a 195 a little.
People "in the know" tell me it's not possible and I'm not one to just discount what someone with far more experience with bugs tells me.
Thoughts? Is ANYONE out there running 7" (even 6.5") on a later bug (without widened or rolled fenders)? |
How do you expect to add the width to the outside and mot mod the fenders? I have a 205/65 on a 5.5 wide wheel on the rear and there is no way I could ever go wider to the outside. IF I ever do go wider, they will be on a 16 or 17inch wheel and shouldn't need more than 7" for my purposes. There just isn't a decent tire size selection in 15" these days (15 is the new 13)... |
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New2me69
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Joined: July 19, 2016
Posts: 339
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| Posted: Fri Aug 18, 2017 6:26 pm Post subject: Re: How wide can I go on '69 IRS |
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| ps2375 wrote: |
How do you expect to add the width to the outside and mot mod the fenders? ......... |
I've squeezed every last mm out of clearance in cars before and in this case, as it sits, there is room. My theory is, if I keep my offsets and backspacing the same and just widen the rims the tire should stretch and clearance remain relatively the same. Currently the 195's "bulge" slightly over the 5.5's. If I had 6.5's of 7's the side wall would be in line with the rim as opposed to turning back in toward the seat as they do now. Still, as it is now, it would be tight clearance but I'm not sure I'd need to roll......at least not with a 6.5 I think.
Here is an example of what I'm after if I can do it. I tried getting specs for this one (and many others) but no one ever knows the specifics and others just like to keep it to themselves I guess. When I get it figured out, I'll let folks know the EXACT setup I'm running if ever asked. That's just me. I really love how this car sits.
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ALB
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Joined: August 05, 2008
Posts: 3483
Location: beautiful suburban Wet Coast of Canada
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| Posted: Mon Aug 21, 2017 8:59 pm Post subject: Re: How wide can I go on '69 IRS |
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Look at the fit of the rear tire/wheel on your car now- if trying to fit a wider tire, the only way to go wider with a wheel with that offset/backspacing is to add the width to the inside. I'll bet the white car (a '68?) you provided the picture of is a swingaxle and he's converted to '66 and earlier axles and tubes. If it's irs the trailing arms have been narrowed. Running the same width tire, you might be able to widen the rim 1/2" or so to the outside, but it would work best if you added width to the inside as well so you don't move the centerline of the tire further out. For what you want to do it's a trial and error thing... Al
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chickengeorge
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Joined: August 18, 2004
Posts: 5634
Location: Spokompton Warshington
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| Posted: Tue Aug 22, 2017 1:29 pm Post subject: Re: How wide can I go on '69 IRS |
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You could also widen the wheel on the inside. Below is a company who welds bands in aluminum wheels, so you could run just about whatever you want. Measure on the inside what you need and send them off!
www.weldcraftwheels.com |
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SBD
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Joined: October 24, 2012
Posts: 3269
Location: SOUTH DAKOTA
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| Posted: Tue Sep 12, 2017 7:34 pm Post subject: Re: How wide can I go on '69 IRS |
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| New2me69 wrote: |
My theory is, if I keep my offsets and backspacing the same and just widen the rims the tire should stretch and clearance remain relatively the same.
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This can't be done. You can't add width to the wheel and keep BOTH offset AND backspacing the same. It's impossible. You can take a 5" wide wheel and a 10" wide wheel with the same offset and they will both place the tire in the same place in the wheelwell. But their backspacing will be very different.
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