hey guys, i know this has been asked before (well not exactly this... BUT...

what is the minimum offset that is needed so i can fit 17" mags to a 1969 beetle.

thanks,
Yianni


EDIT: scroll down for latest news... now 18x8s with 35mm offset.. will they fit?
[Edited on 13-1-2003 by vdub2c]

[Edited on 14-1-2003 by vdub2c]

G'day Yianni

Unfortunately I don't have the answer....but am interested to find out as well.

Have you picked out the wheels your thinking of running??

Cheers

Brad

Yianni, I dont know exact, but zero off-set will probably be good! Or close to zero!!! Porsche cups work well! they would be close zero off-set!!

But I stand to be corrected, and Im sure I will be!!!

Cheers N!

Zero off-set is when the edge of the rim, is just about where the head of the lug nut is!!!! (I think) A Mate hase got a mini-truck with 20's on it and they are at zero. The good thing about zero is that they will sit inside the wheel arches! Does that make any sense???

I hope Im helping!!!! N!

sorry dude, didn't answer your question... the wheels i'm thinking about are these babys...


http://users.bigpond.net.au/s8n-/wheel1.jpg 

i've built a model of what i want the bug to look like and the tamiya aftermarket wheels i bought for my model are exactly the same! so i'm stoked.. plus they'll fit on my brothers golf SE so we can interchange them depending on what car he wants to drive

[Edited on 14-1-2003 by vdub2c]

Offset is the distance from the centre of the rim to the mounting face of the rim that bolts to the disc or drum. Positive Offset has the mounting face closer to the outside of the rim, Negative offset has the mounting face closer to the inside of the rim. Therefore Zero Offset would mean the mounting face is in the centre of the rim. All the old 70's style cars with the big dip dished rims were negative offset and the newer front wheel drive cars run positive offset. Front wheel drive cars require positive offset wheels due to them having negative scrub radius.
As for what offset you need you will have to measure it.

thanks guys, :thumb
11cab that makes total sense... i now know what offset is and i won't sound like a fool when i chat to people about wheels.

G'day Yianni

The wheels look super sweeeeeet...

You may have already mentioned this but what are you doing for brakes front and back, obviously these are five bolt and wont fit the later model beetle brakes, and di the 69 have drums on rears, how are you going to get around all this????

As I am thinking of doing the same??

Cheers

Brad

but, i'm getting my drums on my 72 superbug redrilled to porsche stud pattern as we speak (should have em back tomorrow!) so i'm basically gunna give em my drums and brakes and ask them to redrill them to the new VW's (i.e golf, NB etc) stud pattern, if they can do it for porsche i don't see why they can't do it for VW. but as i said, i haven't researched it much.. but when i goto pick up my drums HOPEFULLY this arvo i'm gunna ask em.

good luck and let me know.
Yianni.

ok guys i'm going to be a bit specific now...

the wheels in question are 18x8, they have an offset of 35 all round, the rubber is 225/40/18...

just wondering if there are any engineers or vw mech or just dude(and dudeettes) that are real knowledgable and know if they will fit on snuggly..

P>S: don't worry about fitting them under the guards, that doesn't concern me at the moment... + i have aeros so it shouldn't be a problem at normal ride height.

let me know what you think.
Thanks a millions,
Yianni

I guess a good place to start is if you have your body still bolted to your pan with brakes etc still on, is to trial fit the wheel mounting surface to surface on the drum/disc it will bolted to. Your main concern with late model alloys is inner guard clearance. Since most of the rim will stick inside the bolt mounting surface, it may interfere with the shock tower up front, or spring plate in the rear. Best way to check is to trial fit!

Also remember that with large outer diameter wheels, you may have probs with the headlight buckets up front.

I am helping Brad (blup58) to rebuild his 58 beetle - he is hoping to run 17in wheels so I've been looking into this a little. Sorry can't give you exact measurements though as Brad still has to sort out his brakes first!

Alan

Dasdubber: have thought of that/// but if the pcd on the 18" wheels are 5x100... there's no real sure fire way of testing...

unless i just hold them up to the drum and discs.... hmmm... but still a problem as they arn't my wheels... i'm obviously buying them and don't already own them....

Hi

Stick with 7s on the front, I used 7x16 Fuchs on my the front of my bug (a superbug) and they had plenty of clearance. The ET for them is 23.3 On the rear I have ran 8 x 16s with the same ET and they fitted fine. Im now running 17x9s on the rear, they are a tight fit even with Aero guards and 17x8s on the front. Porsche seem to make wheels whose ET and sizes work well with the Beetle. If you are looking at diffrent wheels check here, look under 2nd hand wheel deals.http://www.uniqueautosports.com.au/

Also look at Shoptalk & German look

You find a few familiar people on those forums.

1302Steve

Yianni, what is the equivalent tyre (ie. with the same outside diameter) to fit a standard wheel? If it turns out to be close to stock, or something you've seen on somebody else's car, chances are the tyres will fit.

Offset is a difficult one, but it is generally a good idea to stick with close to stock; not just because of clearance, but also because of steering geometry. Changing the offset dramatically can really change the way a car handles, particularly in the bump-steer department, and tramlining.

Steve: thanks for your experiences mate! it's made me realise that it probably can be done.. if youre putting 17x8s on the front then 18 will probably be too tight...
i'm hopefully getting my redrilled drums from VVDS tomorrowso i'll ask them what they think as well.. but once again thanks a bunch!

KK: i beleive that the offset for most vw alloys are 35mm but i may be wrong... but thay are normmally a 15 inch wheel... not 18
so once again i'l have to trial and error with the boys at the wheel shop.. maybe that's my best bet ... hmmm thanks KK you got me thinking

i'llkeep y'all posted as i know you're DIEING to find out... not LOL ...

thanks guys :beer

wheres some pics Ben, I'm keen to see this marvel.
regards
Jak

I think 18's will fit if you keep the same offset and go for a VERY low profile. 17" tyres are much cheaper than 18's though.

18"s have been done,
On a ball joint beam you can have approx 5.5-6" backspace, (this is measured from the mounting face of the wheel to the backside of the rim) without narrowing the beam. If the backspace is less than this, you'll need to narrow the beam.

You better find an engineer first, b4 you buy those wheels as most of them will not give you the ok for anything bigger than 7" on the front. Unless you have some tricky hubs with big bearings to handle the additional stresses that those wheels will produce.
Cheers

Hi vdub2c

Im often over at vvds, I might bump into you. Check the 4 sales here There is some interesting wheels. Flintstones is right check with an engineer 1st. The late Beetle uses the same wheels bearings as a 6 cylinder Cortina so I think they should be strong enough.

Flinstones, I went to see John the engineer, I have to do a few things, remove the cage, fit a cover over the air cleaner etc.

1302Steve

1302, John called me today, he gave me his new details, as he's started up his own business. How's your bug going?

thanks for all the info peoples.. i'll let you know how i go.

I'll speak to boris when i'm t vvds next as well (once again hopefully tomorrow to pick up my drilled drums!) i have such bad luck with mechanics and spray painters anyone that fixes anything with my car actually! :cussing i must be a pushover. oh well... downfalls of being a nice guy!

i'll keep you posted. next pic on this thread will hopefully b my beetle cruising around on 18inches worth of mag.. and rubber.. now all i need is an engine to push it

thanks once again fellas! :beer

That will be worth seeing!!! :thumb