what is the maximum rear width tyre / rim combination that will fit on a 74 super beetle.
with a large guess and some minor rear suspension mods and gaurds rolled, I figure I might fit a 215 or 225 tyre on there.
any ideas? or suggestions?
vw54 ·
it will be a 6 inch rim but you may get the wider tyres on there
Bizarre ·
I run a 225 x 16 x 50series with 50ET on a 7" rim no worries
You "may" have to turn one of the spring plate bolts round so as the head is on the outside - not the nut and threaded bolt
Fronts are 205 x 15 x 55 series with 40ET on a 6" rim
You would need thin spring struts for this
The wheels are standard 1997 Porsche boxster rims with no spacers
BiX ·
I run on the rear, 7x 15 inch steel wheels. Offset custom to keep them inside as much as possible. With them i run a semi slick 205.... which in reality is more like a 215.
Front 195/55/15, with a 10mm guard spacer on 6 inch rims and std struts.
all above iwth non rolled guards, but with fixed spring plate bot as mentioned above...
VWCOOL ·
shayno wrote:what is the maximum rear width tyre / rim combination that will fit on a 74 super beetle.
with a large guess and some minor rear suspension mods and gaurds rolled, I figure I might fit a 215 or 225 tyre on there.
any ideas? or suggestions?
do you mean wheels that physically fit... or legally?
1303Steve ·
Hi
I'm not sure about WA, but in NSW you can only run a wheel 1.5 inch wider that the widest factory wheel, the sports wheel was 5.5 inch, so legally a 7 inch is it, but Ive seen wider squeezed in.
Steve
Sides ·
If you're talking legally you've also got offset to consider.... in QLD you can increase the "track width" by a maximum of 26mm, and you can't decrease it at all . They define "track width" as distance measured between the center of the tyres immediately below the axle (which apparently is technically termed "tread width" - go figure).
Standard VW steel wheels were (I think) ET34.... so running either ET40 or ET50 would technically be a no-no since they'd decrease your track by 12mm and 32mm respectively.
Bizarre ·
The 74 came stock with ET 41 on a 4 1/2" rim
The sports wheel option was a 5 1/2" with an ET of 26
The wheels i have mentioned actually decrease the track by 18mm in the front by and by 5mm on the rear
compared to the 4 1/2" 41ET the front extends by 10mm and the rear by 33mm
So compared to the 4 1/2 on the front i have extended by 10mm and the 5 1/2 on the back i have extended by 5mm
They are a good fit i reckon for Supers
shayno ·
obviously I need to look in to what "is" allowed, legally speaking.
maybe have it registered with stock wheels.
I was thinking maybe 17" or 18" diameter and a 7-8" width.
Bizarre ·
There is also the rolling diameter rules.
18" you will end up with a 25 series profile or something stupid
17" is probably the limit as i think that uses 45 series.
You just need to find the right wheel with the right offset so as the car WILL be legal when its engineered
Dont just buy any wheel cause you like the price or the colour or..............
Buy the right wheel because it works
VWCOOL ·
shayno wrote:obviously I need to look in to what "is" allowed, legally speaking.
maybe have it registered with stock wheels.
I was thinking maybe 17" or 18" diameter and a 7-8" width.
Without engioneers report etc your car will be liable to defect and uninsurable. It shpuld be easy to find out what is okay in WA with a couple of phone calls
Joel ·
if u stick with stock struts and springs the only width rims that will stay under the gaurd and have no clearnace issues are 5.5" but the offset has to be right
anything 6" or wider will stick out past the gaurd
especially on a 2bolt super which is what urs is
widest ive ever fitted on mine were 18" rims with 225/40 tyres on but u will need custom struts for that to work
but once u go that big ride qaulity suffers as u feel every little fault in the road
i ended up with 215/35s on the 18s and they were like rubber bands, no cushion effect at all
but atleast it cornered like it was on rails