Backspacing Per Model Year

[fredybear]

Do you folks know what model year and the backspacing per year difference??

Like 1968 has 4 inch, 1978 has 4 1/2 inch.

Do different years have different spacing??

I searched but nuttin come up

[ashman40]

I'm certain there were different backspacing measurements, but this is because there were different width wheels over the years. Up thru the '72 Beetle manual wheels were 4" wide.

In '73 the Beetle manual indicates the wheel width was upgraded to 4.5" wide.

I'm sure there were exceptions to the above with different special models over the years. I think there may have been a special model w/ 5.5" wide wheels too (someone can confirm this for me).
Also, there may be a difference in wheel offset between STD Beetles and Super Beetles due to the different front suspensions.


The other thing to consider is that there are two ways to measure wheel backspacing/offset and there is no direct conversion. All VW wheels came with an offset measurement.
Wheel offset (eg. ET33) is the distance between the wheel centerline and the mounting surface.
Backspacing is the distance from the wheel inner lip and the mounting surface. This backspacing measurement includes the width of the inner lip which varies depending on the wheel design/make.


So I don't have an answer for you. I'm just trying to say it is not as straight forward as different offset/backspacing by model year.
_________________
AshMan40
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'67 Beetle #1 {project car that never made it to the road }
'75 Beetle 1200LS (RHD Japan model) {junked due to frame rot}
'67 Beetle #2 {2019 project car - Wish me luck!}

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I’m not sure of the exact offset of a 4 inch wheel. It’s my understanding the 4.5 inch wheels came about with the intro of the Superbeetle. The early suspension on 71-73 Supers used a 34mm et/offset, and the later 74-79 used the 41mm et/offset. Ghia’s had a unique 46mm et/offset. So there are actually 4 different 4x130 OEM VW rims. You can probably find out more/better info if you search “et”, “offset”, or “backspacing”.