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jeffrey8164 
Samba Member
Joined: January 06, 2018
Posts: 3817
Location: Georgia
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 Posted: Mon Jan 27, 2020 12:44 pm Post subject: Re: Tire wheel and suspension thread |
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I remember a shop telling me that my 5.5" rims were too narrow for a 195.
That was back in '94. I did the same thing...went to a different shop.
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Turning owners into mechanics since 1938.
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FRNKNSTNGHIA
Samba Member
Joined: March 05, 2010
Posts: 411
Location: Kissimmee, FL
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| Posted: Sun Mar 29, 2020 4:46 pm Post subject: Re: Tire wheel and suspension thread |
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| e033788 wrote: |
1972 Karmann Ghia convertible
stock width front beam but with adjusters top & bottom
adjustable spring plates on IRS rear
two caster shims on lower beam
ride lowered so top of fender arc is 24" from ground
Koni's all around plus 3/4" sway bars front and rear
stock Ghia disc up front with drum brakes in rear
Sports Bug 15" x 5.5", stock offset
195-50-15 Fulken Azeris RT615k
no rubbing or clearance issues front or rear |
Pics? Very interested |
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futhark
Samba Member
Joined: March 12, 2004
Posts: 184
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| Posted: Sun Apr 19, 2020 5:06 pm Post subject: Re: Tire wheel and suspension thread |
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| Just got the new starter motor back in my '72 coupe a week ago. It is working great! The procedure is not as easy as the YouTubers claim it to be. Thanks for the tip on the availability of a tool substituting for the wheel mounting bolts, making reinstalling the wheel much easier than trying to hold the wheel up while trying to thread lug bolts into the brake drum. |
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chris fryer
Samba Member
Joined: November 12, 2017
Posts: 82
Location: Australia
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didget69
Samba Member
Joined: July 22, 2004
Posts: 4927
Location: Raleigh, North Carolina
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| Posted: Wed Oct 14, 2020 4:21 pm Post subject: Re: Tire wheel and suspension thread |
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| jeffrey8164 wrote: |
I remember a shop telling me that my 5.5" rims were too narrow for a 195.
That was back in '94. I did the same thing...went to a different shop. |
The shops are covering their tracks from a liability perspective...
bnc
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I never found the need to impress people with any mechanic certifications, trophies or track wins... unless it was for Mom to post on the refrigerator door. |
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scottandhis68
Samba Member
Joined: August 05, 2018
Posts: 7
Location: TN
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| Posted: Sat Oct 17, 2020 6:15 am Post subject: Re: Tire wheel and suspension thread |
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Friends,
I have a 68 Ghia swing axle coupe. I went with the 145/65/15 on the front with the 4.5 inch BRM's. Now I am trying to determine what to put on the rear. I have 5.5 inch Empi BRM's for the rear w 3.875 inch backspace and 15mm offset. I had been using Nexen 165/80/15 that I mounted but those are too tall and wide now with the wider rim.
I am thinking about 155/60/15 which according to stats should be 6.1" tread width. I guess what I need to know is how wide will this tire be when put on this 5.5 inch rim so I will know if it will fit. Will the wider wheel make the sidewall too wide?
When I mounted my original tire off the stock rim to this rim, it increased the total width too much to where it hits the fender plus it is so tall, it gives too much of a rake.
Any ideas? Thanks. |
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Obi-Sean Kenobi
Samba Member
Joined: December 20, 2016
Posts: 24
Location: Dover, Delaware
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| Posted: Mon Oct 26, 2020 6:41 am Post subject: Re: Tire wheel and suspension thread |
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Hi all,
I am going for the wire wheel look on my 69 Ghia coupe.
I’ve found an adapter that will allow for centerline rims to fit on the 4 lugs.
I’m looking at a NOS set of Jaguar XKE E-Type wire wheels. They are 15” x 5”.
I currently have new Calli tires on the Ghia - 165/80R15.
Will these wheels fit with the 4 lug adapter?
Will this set up work?
Experts please help!
Best,
Sean |
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sputnick60
Samba Moderator
Joined: July 22, 2007
Posts: 3915
Location: In Molinya Orbit
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| Posted: Wed Oct 28, 2020 1:19 am Post subject: Re: Tire wheel and suspension thread |
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Sean,
I don't think anyone has done that before.
You might have to provide more information before you get any bites.
Can you specify the offset of your original wheels, the tyre size you currently have and if those rub? Does your '69 have an original from beam or a narrowed beam? The new rims, what offset do they have? Hoe much offset do the new rims have and what tyre size is being proposed?
There are many variables and you need to state a few of them before anyone can assist.
Nicholas
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'66 Karmann Ghia Cabriolet...
'65 Porsche 356C Coupe...
2005 Mecedes Benz C180 Kompressor Estate
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kent70ghia
Samba Member
Joined: June 15, 2020
Posts: 176
Location: Tacoma, WA
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| Posted: Sat Jan 30, 2021 11:13 am Post subject: Re: Tire wheel and suspension thread |
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| Hi, has anyone shaved the back hub of an EMPI Riviera? Because of a crappy repair job 20 years ago I have a rubbing issue on the left rear. I am thinking about taking 1/8 to maybe 1/4 inch off, probably 1/8 or 3/16. I have been told up to 3/16 should be ok. I have a 70 coupe with stock IRS. Thanks |
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chris fryer
Samba Member
Joined: November 12, 2017
Posts: 82
Location: Australia
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sputnick60
Samba Moderator
Joined: July 22, 2007
Posts: 3915
Location: In Molinya Orbit
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| Posted: Sat Jan 30, 2021 10:39 pm Post subject: Re: Tire wheel and suspension thread |
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| chris fryer wrote: |
| I wouldn't want to be the one recommending machining the rear face, but I would be confident taking about 1/4" off my Enkeis if need dictated. |
I have the same ones on my Ghia. They are quite thick and meaty. The spindle cap at the centre, is that something you made? The Enkei spindle cover is just chromed plastic and can be improved upon. I was thinking of a modern VW logo and mounting that on a flat piece like you’ve shown might be good looking.
Nicholas
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'66 Karmann Ghia Cabriolet...
'65 Porsche 356C Coupe...
2005 Mecedes Benz C180 Kompressor Estate
Stop dead photo links! Post your photos to The Samba Gallery! |
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kent70ghia
Samba Member
Joined: June 15, 2020
Posts: 176
Location: Tacoma, WA
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| Posted: Sat Jan 30, 2021 11:26 pm Post subject: Re: Tire wheel and suspension thread |
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| sputnick60 wrote: |
| chris fryer wrote: |
| I wouldn't want to be the one recommending machining the rear face, but I would be confident taking about 1/4" off my Enkeis if need dictated. |
I have the same ones on my Ghia. They are quite thick and meaty. The spindle cap at the centre, is that something you made? The Enkei spindle cover is just chromed plastic and can be improved upon. I was thinking of a modern VW logo and mounting that on a flat piece like you’ve shown might be good looking.
Nicholas |
Nicholas,
When you say they are quite thick and meaty, about how many mm? Mine are about 12 mm from the back to the beginning of the acorn nut bevel, then probably another 12mm or so. Just trying to get a feel of how much can be safely removed.
On a side note I hope you have seen some of the races. Amazing machines!
Thanks, Kent |
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sputnick60
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Joined: July 22, 2007
Posts: 3915
Location: In Molinya Orbit
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kent70ghia
Samba Member
Joined: June 15, 2020
Posts: 176
Location: Tacoma, WA
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| Posted: Sun Jan 31, 2021 8:36 am Post subject: Re: Tire wheel and suspension thread |
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| Sorry, the America's Cup sailboat races. |
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kent70ghia
Samba Member
Joined: June 15, 2020
Posts: 176
Location: Tacoma, WA
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| Posted: Tue Feb 09, 2021 10:12 pm Post subject: Re: Tire wheel and suspension thread |
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| kent70ghia wrote: |
| Hi, has anyone shaved the back hub of an EMPI Riviera? Because of a crappy repair job 20 years ago I have a rubbing issue on the left rear. I am thinking about taking 1/8 to maybe 1/4 inch off, probably 1/8 or 3/16. I have been told up to 3/16 should be ok. I have a 70 coupe with stock IRS. Thanks |
For future reference, a machine shop took .15 inch off the rear of the hub on my EMPI Riviera, they said that was the max they would take off. Fortunately it provided the clearance I need. Now have to wait for the short lug nuts to arrive, long ones hit brake stuff when I spun it by hand. |
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Vladiiiii
Samba Member
Joined: February 24, 2019
Posts: 518
Location: Munich, Germany
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| Posted: Mon Feb 15, 2021 8:22 am Post subject: Re: Tire wheel and suspension thread |
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| J1 wrote: |
| Dal Churchill wrote: |
| J1 wrote: |
| Would 185’s be ok on my current rims? |
185s will be fine. I've run 215s on my 4.5s for more than 10 years with no problems |
Learned there are very few options of 185’s that have a similar diameter to stock, so I went with 195-65-15 in the rear on stock 4.5” rims. I like the wider look better.
The nearby America’s Tire would not mount them stating the rims are too narrow so I just went to the mom and pop shop and they gladly obliged mounting and balancing two wheels for $30.
This is a mellow driver and based on other people’s experience, I see no issues. Not even the bulging sidewall issue some have raised.
Even the center hubcap still extends beyond the sidewall.
Next step: See how low I can get the rear without rubbing |
Thanks for that! It gave me trust, so I found 4x 185 / 65 R15 Michelins like new for around 140 euros delivered. This size is a very common size in Europe for smaller economy cars. (Think Polo, Fiesta, etc....). Mostly have rolling resistance optimized versions, but a few have the normal versions.
I had a look in the garage, my car is a 72 swing axle. So with the standard rims (4,5x15 ET41) and tires (165 80 R15), I can get a good fat finger (almost 1,5 fingers) between the lip and the tire.
Measuring this to be over 20mm (just under an inch) clearance on the outside, I think the theoretical 10mm that the 185 will extend to each side, will work   I'll feedback if that's the case.
When restoring, I asked for the rear arches to be slightly massaged on the inside (I didn't want anything visible on the outside), but I cannot confirm if that was done or not, because of.... let's say because my friend is no more. But the arch lip is horizontal and not too tiny at that, so I presume it's the stock setup.
This is only for the secondary wheel set, I am keeping the standard 155R15 Michelin whitewalls as a primary 
Best Regards
Vlad
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Vlad's 72 Ghia (Once in a Lifetime Restoration topic)
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=9237746#9237746 |
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Reekardo
Samba Member
Joined: December 07, 2013
Posts: 1
Location: United States
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| Posted: Sun Mar 07, 2021 5:50 pm Post subject: Re: Tire wheel and suspension thread |
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| I need new tires and wheels for my 72 Ghia. I'm just going for stock silver painted steelies with 165R15s. Should I get the 5.5" or 4.5" wide rims? Will the 5.5" wide rims fit in the standard front tire space? Any recommended vendor for these? |
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Ian Godfrey
Samba Member
Joined: September 25, 2006
Posts: 1137
Location: Melbourne Australia
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| Posted: Sun Mar 07, 2021 9:34 pm Post subject: Re: Tire wheel and suspension thread |
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I could not get a 5.5 into the space for the spare.
Some people have struggled to get a 165r15 into the front as well. I ended up using a 155R15 on a 4.5' rim which fitted the space nicely.
You could use a different size tyre on your road wheels. |
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kent70ghia
Samba Member
Joined: June 15, 2020
Posts: 176
Location: Tacoma, WA
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| Posted: Sun Mar 07, 2021 10:08 pm Post subject: Re: Tire wheel and suspension thread |
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| I put a 165r15 on a 4.5 stock wheel, and it fit very tight in my 70. No way a 5.5 inch wheel would fit. |
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dv73
Samba Member
Joined: March 11, 2021
Posts: 8
Location: British Columbia
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| Posted: Fri Mar 12, 2021 6:02 pm Post subject: Re: Tire wheel and suspension thread |
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Older Empi 8 spokes @ 5.5" width
175/55 R15 up front with rolled fender lips.
185/60 R15 on the back.
2.5 " dropped spindles with stock beam.
Rear lowered to match the front , though the 60 series rear gives a slight rake. (185/55 R15 would make it level , but I felt this would increase rpm on the freeway.)
The front will rub slightly on tight corners going into gas stations , but no problem with hwy driving. |
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