Tire size for lowering a super beetle

[Emerson5057]

Hello,
I have read the lowering sticky, was not very helpful. I have purchased new springs and new strut inserts, and adjustable housing. Now I need to know what tires I should go for. I am not going for super slammed, but maybe just a little tuck, or pretty flush with the fenders. Does anyone have pictures of what the 155 looks like compared to the 145 on a beetle?

Any help or insight would be great!

Thanks
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1974 Super beetle-long gone
1972 super - Sold for the Van
1982 Vanagon Westy aircooled auto O.o

[VolkswagenNate]

Im not sure what size i have, i can look tomarrow. But wheel backspacing makes a difference on a super. I had to go back to stock steelies because my 8 spokes stuck out to far.

[VolkswagenNate]

Not sure if this helps at all, but here's what i've tried. 185 65 15, rubs bad while turning (but I'm pretty low) and probably not recommended on 4.5" wheels. I like them in the back though.

And currently i have 125 temps in the front. ( i dont recomend this, i'm barely driving it til i get new tires ). Only reason i bring this up is because they're close to the same height as 155 60's, which is what i think I'm about to go with.

This is all with stock 4.5s which have close to 4" of backspace.

185

125

[Emerson5057]

Both of you guys are helpful thanks for the reference. I'm thinking about going with the 155. would love if someone could show a pick of that
_________________
1974 Super beetle-long gone
1972 super - Sold for the Van
1982 Vanagon Westy aircooled auto O.o

[GearHeadKeith]

I have 145SR15 in front and 165SR15 in rear on a vintage set of American Eagle 8-spoke with 3.75" backspacing. It just barely works with Topline front struts set at 2.5" of drop.

John at Topline knows what works when lowering a Super Beetle and sells top-quality parts. It is worth talking to him.

_________________
Keith Gilbert - DdK
1971 Super Beetle sedan, Shantung yellow with black interior. Cosmetically unrestored with over 366k miles.
1776cc: 9.2:1 compression, dual Weber 40DCN on Deano intakes, Primo Petrucci 40mm/36mm round-port heads, Crower VW284F cam, Kymco 1.5" exhaust
SSC trans with 3.78/2.25/1.48/1.04 & 4.12 Gleason R&P, Type IV output flanges, Berg Shifter
Topline front struts/springs/sway bar, Sway-a-Way rear bar, 4-wheel disc brakes
Owned since 1994: 3rd owner since new!

[Emerson5057]

[vwoldbug]

That yellow super beetle is nice .

[57BLITZ]

[Buggeee]

Hey Emerson, I went 175/55 up front and I love them. No rubbing and plenty of meat.

[Mikedrevguy]

I’ve got 185/60 on front with the 914 sport wheel 5.5” with ET40.
No problems, no rubbing. Looks great. Imnsho
_________________
74 1303 (RevBug): plan for German Look
76 914 with 2260
79 VW Iltis
69 Bwajaja
"The wise speak because they have something to say; while the foolish speak because they have to say something." Plato

Illigitimi non-Carborundum!!

[VERTED71]

_________________
Aloha'z and have a great day!

71 Super Beetle Vert
15x4.5 Front
15x6.5 Rear
155/60R15 74T tires FRONT
205/65/15 tires REAR
1600 Dual Port
Progessive Carb
Electronic Ignition
Tri Mil "hotdog" exhaust

[[email protected]]

73, and earlier Supers have different requirements than the 74, and later ones. It's great you've gotten some feedback, but it looks like most of the cars are early. Some combos work with both, and there are combos that don't, so look for combos to fit the later cars. I personally run the "Cal Look" 145 80 15's on a stock style 4 1/2 chromie on my 74 that's lowered about 2 inches. If I'm taking a sharp off camber corner, or diagonally entering a parking lot with a huge curb when one wheel would receive a lot of weight while almost at full lock, they will rub the fenders a little. There have been a lot of wheels come out, and a lot of different tire sizes in the last 10 years, or so. If you're thinking about going the stock painted route, there are 2 widths, and 4 different offsets of stock 4 bolt "slot" VW wheels. Another thing to consider is if you have an OEM VW drum, or disc with the center hub/ring used to center the stock wheel. A lot of aftermarket wheels won't clear this, and you need to either have it machined off, or get drums/discs that don't have it. I'd talk with Topline as well, and keep doing research. I'll see if I can post some old pics I have later today.

[Buggeee]

Here is a link to a web site that I found very useful when I was trying to size my tires, wheels, and offset.

https://tiresize.com/wheel-offset-calculator/

That link opens to the wheel offset tab and the web page also has tabs for tire sizes and other things related to the project. The calculator provides before and after comparisons so you can play around with different size rubber, wheels, etc. and visualize how any of the changes impacts the presence of the tire. It also provides speedometer information so you see what the new speed calculations are after you change tire sizes. I plan to print a new face for my speedo at some point with the numbers in the correct place for tire size I am now using.

Have fun.
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1966 Sportsmobile Camper https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=...mp;start=0
72 Super Duper http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=672387
(adopted out) 61 Turkis Pile https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=728764

[[email protected]]

[volksnhousin]

145/80/15, 165/65/15, 165/50/15, and 175/55/15 are some lowered VW tire sizes that come to my mind at the moment. 165/80/15 is considered original size for your VW.

Type what ever tire size you want into this thing and it will tell you what you might want to know about them. https://www.tacomaworld.com/tirecalc?tires=145-80r15-175-55r15

[house of dubs]

Its been 4 years since anyone has posted here and I was wondering if there has been any new info around lowering a super beelte and what tires/wheels everyone is using.

[boxer74]

I've got a 74 super and am about to try:

155/60/15 on et41 4.5" sport wheels in front
185/65/15 on et40 5.5" sport wheels in rear

This is with adjustable struts on highest setting and tapered red springs.
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74 Super
84 Westy

[H2OSB]

This is 185 65r 15 front, 205 60r 15 rear
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(o\_i_/o) I'm not a vegetarian because I love animals, I'm a vegetarian because I hate plants.

[Epilog79]

House of Dubs, there hasn't been any new "break throughs" in lowering and tire sizes. It is always an adventure trying to cram as much tire under the front and rear as possible. Backspacing is the key, especially the front.
I have a 79 with the Topline tapered springs and adjustable strut. With 914 wheels with the ET40 offset I had 195/60/15 stuffed under the front and 205/60/15 in the rear.