Wide tyres in standard rims?

What's the widest tyre size I can have on a standard early rim? I also wanted
low profile. Is there such a size as 185x50x15? Would it fit on standard
rim?
Thanks
Raf

The widest tyre you can legally fit is th 165 (a "plus two" fitment.) Wider tyres on the stock rim are not allowed because they can pop the bead out...

Never seen a 185/60/15 tyre, checked the catalogues of most manufacturers.

Correct me if I am wrong but I think the A-class mercedes (those little ones that look like vans) run 175/15 x 15in tyres. They look quite nice and the profile looks pretty low. Not sure where to find them though?

Alan

Trouble with Odd tyre sizes is that they start to get expensive...
On a 5.5X15 you can put a 195X50....
A real easy tyre to get as they are a bombadoor or falcoon tyre.
Bout $125 for a good brand tyre...

ive got some 215r15's
on a standard later model beetle rim
probably not leagl though but works fine
marcel

I've got 195/60/15 on my 72 beetle

215 on 4.5" rims? Wow. You wouldn't have a pic, would you?
Raf

[Edited on 6-4-2003 by karmannghia60]

yeah, I would love to see a photo of 215's or even 195's on a standard 4.5" rim - can anyone say balloon ? 🙂

🙂 Having been involved in rallying, I can say "tyre separation."

why be so critical of this oversized tyre choice?
If driven below 80 km/h and not driven around corners they would be fine (as long as correct tyre press). and not hit any big bumps.😀

I've run 205/60/15 on standard rims - but on the back only. Never had one pop, but then I never really hung it out. Put plenty of long distance k's on them without any problems. Each to their own.

Supposed I'd better mention that this was on 5.5 not 4.5 rims.

Squiz......

[Edited on 9-4-2003 by squizy]

Dont get me wrong, I'm not knocking you for doing it, its just that every tyre place I've talked to has said 165 is the max you can put on them safely....

Each to their own.

Tazzielittle wrote:On a 5.5X15 you can put a 195X50....
A real easy tyre to get as they are a bombadoor or falcoon tyre.

falcadores are 205/65/15 at least the regular company hacks are, obviously prolly not XR's and HSV's which would be larger again I can only assume.

amazer wrote:falcadores are 205/65/15 at least the regular company hacks are, obviously prolly not XR's and HSV's which would be larger again I can only assume.

Yeah - but thats are using a 6 inch (or therebouts) rim - not the narrow 4.5 inch VW rim!

If you put a too-wide tyre on a narrow rim, it causes the tread to round off rather than sit flat on the ground so you loose some effect of the wide tyre anyway. And when you corner, a too-wide tyre will roll under on the sidewall, causing the car to feel unstable, and causing the tyre to jack up on to the outer edge of the tread - once again it defeats the purpose of a wider tread.

In the USA, they don't generally use wider the 175 on a 4.5inch VW rim.

If you can find them here you'd probably get away with that OK.

But don't forget that originally the 4.5inch VW rim came with 5.60inch cross plies which translated into the earlier 155/15 radial tyres (I've owned the same 70 bug since new and have gone through this process from dredful Goodyear crossplys on the new car, to 155/15 Michelin X, and then to the wider 165s (Michelin XZ, then XZX, then MX).

The 155s gave way to the 165s which became "stock" for many years.

Another consideration is the overall diameter of the tyre.

A 165/15 has a 75 or 78 profile (I forget which) and has an overall diameter of about 24 inches (sorry for the mixed measurements).

A 185/70/15 tyre would have almost the same diameter but a 185/75/15 would be larger in diameter, and it's the diameter of the tyre which determines the overall gearing of the car, and the accuracy of the speedo connected to the left front wheel.

Go to a smaller diameter tyre and your acceleration improves at the expense of top speed and fuel economy, plus your speedo will tell you you're are going faster than you really are (under-read).

Or if you use a larger diameter tyre, your accelerationwill be less than normal, and the cops will really love you as you'll be going faster than your speedo says!

i know that you people are talking about stock wheels here, but I have 215/60's on my 5.5inch Five spokes. And a freind of mine has 205/70's on his car. Sometimes smaller tire shops will try different sizes on your rims to see which is the best for you. I say this because if you dont, you will get the opinion for the masses, not for the individual. I do stuff to my cars that could be seen as unsafe to some people, ( like not running shocks on the front). but, they dont know how i drive or how often i drive it. If VW sold cars with 135's on the front, they would be junk due to poor handling and braking. But that is for the individual, do get what I'm saying? Im not sue I do. ohh well, heres a pic of my friends car on 205/70's on a 5 spoke

HOLY CRAP MAN!
Thats one hell of a ride you got there!
Should be in Members rides!
Sweeet!

You can usually convince the authorities to allow your 215's on a 5.5" rim, 'cos they've been used on production cars. While I can accept that some have gotten away with 205's on a stock rim (have a look - they're actually 4" {this is the bead width, Yanks quote the outside measured width,}) they are not legal and will eventually cause problems. Such fitments were originally banned back in the days of crossplies after a number of deaths were traced back to such tyres separating or even disintegrating! I admit tyres have improved a lot since then, but I don't recommend taking the risk.

P.S. Tyres of 205 (8") and wider are usually not allowed on VW's as they tend to cause aquaplaning on such a light vehicle. 🙁 There are new tyres out designed to counteract this, but the authorities tend to be a bit behind the times... 🙁

I've got the reverse problem:
front tyres scrub the ghia's guards at hard lock.
What's the narrowest tyre you can fit on a 5.5" Mangels?? (Currently running 165x15)
I don't think 4.5" Mangels are available?