Wheel and tire size

[Buzzfagan]

So I am trying to decide which wheels and tires to get for my Manx style rebuild.

I have decided on 15x10's for the rest and I want to get the widest I can for the front. I already purchased some 15x5's for the front based on what the vendor I purchased them said. I really would like a larger width for the front but my vendor says that if I go any wider he is concerned with the tire rubbing on the chassis/suspension/fiberglass. I have no problem returning what I have and re-buying something bigger if it will work for the front.

Does this sound right? Do you think I can go wider for the front? Any help or advice would be great.

I don't know how to tell what to order to be safe so when I show up to discount tire with the buggy and wheels I know what to order and what will work and not rub.

I am going to try and get the largest possible street type tire (like BF Goodwrench Radial TA) that will fit on the wheel and fit the car correctly without any rubbing.

Here are the details of the 5 lug VW pattern I am going to use:

15x5 - 2 7/8" back spacing
15x6 - 3 1/4" back spacing
15x7 - 3 1/2" back spacing
15x8 - 3" back spacing
15x10 - 3 1/2" back spacing

[germanx]

Guess people are hesitant with replying due to the fact the whole wheel and tire combo thing has been discussed to the moon and back.

I remember you posted a similar request in April. Did the replies not help?

Try the search function for your tire and rim sizes as listed and than check the pics of buggies with those sizes. This will help you to visualize how a certain combo will look like...
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'73 Beach Buggy
'66 T1 Deluxe

[GS guy]

Biggest issue is probably the back-spacing on the wheels you're considering. I think stock is something around 4" on a 4.5" wide wheel? You need to at least get near a 0 offset to preserve some semblance of near-stock scrub radius. Low backspacing numbers will drastically increase the scrub, causing harder steering, tramming, more kick-back (more leverage on the spindles). That'll also help keep the wheels under the fenders, though that doesn't sound like the priority from your post. I'm guessing you're looking for that "super deep" dish look.

Seems like a 6" or 7" wide wheel should be the max width, with BS on the order of 4-4.5" or so. I think at around 5" BS you start having issues with hitting the upper shock mounts.
Jeff
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70's vintage Deserter GS buggy - undergoing transformation to Super GS!

[stevemariott]

[germanx]

You might find some useful info on backspacing considerations here:

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=8036296&highlight=#8036296
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'73 Beach Buggy
'66 T1 Deluxe

[mstevens]

On a Manx that has now been sold off. I was running 15X10s in the back (with 3 1/2 backspacing) and 15 x 8s in the front.

I went with that setup after seeing another Manx with the same wide look.
Unfortunately front tires that wide, while look fun sitting still that drive like crap. My manx wouldnt track at all, and wondered all over the road. I have since gone down to 15x5.5s and15x8s on my current manx and it drives much nicer.

Here are some pics of the old manx

And the new manx

[Frizbal]

[andygere]

Here's a pretty good thread on what I did on my previous Manx Clone, which was based on a '72 BJ/IRS pan. I really wanted 195s on front, but they weren't available in that tire at the time. It looks like BFG has started to produce 195 60R-15s again.

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=7405717&highlight=#7405717

[Frizbal]

[Cammie]

Mstevens: Love your new Manx. Interested to hear your comments on wheels. Ive been running MA 510N 165/80 R15 87T on standard 4" rims at the front. My buggy steers really nicely, but due to looks I've recently bought a set of new 6" rims from JustKampers and plan to run 185/60 R15 84H. Its purely down to looks. The standard 4" wheels are a little skimpy. I have been warned the handling may suffer a little.

[andygere]

My rear tires on the green buggy are 275s. The front track did sit a bit wider, with the drums and adapters. I ordered a set of undrilled drums, but sold the buggy before I ever installed them, so I sold those too.

[oprn]

Cornering should in fact improve with a bit wider rubber it's the drivability that will suffer. Wider tires and more offset make these VWs twitchy at speed and heavy on steering effort in the parking lot.

[Sharp64]

[oprn]

Mine has 205s on the front with adapters so they do have a wider stance than stock. It looks boss but is quite heavy to steer in the parking lot and hunts the ridges badly at speed.

[Frizbal]

[slalombuggy]

My current tire combo is 186/70/15 on the front and 215/65/15s on the rear. Steering and handling is very good. The last buggy I sold had 205/50/15 front and 295/50/15 rear. With 2 sets of caster shims it was very stable at speed on the freeway. I had 225/50/15s on it before I sold it and it was a nightmare on the freeway.

brad

[Frizbal]

I probably won’t be driving on the freeway anyway, so no worries there. Can only do about 55mph. But may look at adding caster shims if it’s a nightmare locally. I would love 185 again but I didn’t want 15” rims up front. Not much of a size difference, but could really tell the difference when comparing tire sidewall heights.

[Over9K]

195/50 fronts, 295/50 rears @ 20lbs psi... I run Cooper Cobra rears, and Nexen fronts.

The tread pattern and compound of the tires matters too.

I drive a lot of super twisty mountain roads. These roads are like riding the tilt-a-whirl down the fair, only you got a steering wheel and a throttle.

Previously I ran Toyo Proxes, and they blew dead goats, especially in the wet. Make that the damp. If someone spit on the road, two days ago, watch out.

The Proxes is a V-Tread design, with large areas of rubber contacting the ground, providing grip in theory. But it also means that the tread of the tire isn't as mobile as a tire with a more conventional tread pattern, which doesn't require as much to make the elements of the tread move around, which generates heat, which in turn generates grip.

The Manx just wasn't heavy enough to get the tires warm enough to make them work like they were intended.

When it was hot and dry the Toyos were decent, but being soft, sporty, sticky rubber, they wore out fast.

The Cooper/Nexen combo grips almost as well, the fronts push a little sooner than the Toyos, but when it rains, the car doesn't immediately start doing a bad Tasmanian Devil impression.

They're also cheaper, and since I'm tighter than a nun's bug, that helps.