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Running different size rims front/rear!
Baldy - March 26th, 2007 at 01:20 PM

Hi,

Question specific to 1971 SuperBug.

Is there any benefit of running different size rims front and back?

I was looking at running 15" x 5" on the front with 185/60s and
15" x 6" on the rear with either 195/60s or 205/60s

Or would I be best just to run 15" x 5" all round?

I would appreciate some feed back/ thoughts on this.

Regards
Baldy.

greedy53 - March 26th, 2007 at 03:54 PM

bit bigger on the back with the motor back there is a good idea for grip if you are running a bigger donk there is a lot of extra weidht back there with the motor riding on the back tyers just my opinion

VWCOOL - March 26th, 2007 at 04:28 PM

No problem with that in fact I reckon it would be ideal for a road car. Supers aren't real accepting of a 6-inch rim at the front. Make sure you get the offsets right, too

[ Edited on 27-3-2007 by VWCOOL ]

modulus - March 26th, 2007 at 05:01 PM

It rather depends what you want out of the car. For a road car, even a fast road car, the benefit you get out of larger rear tyres and 1" extra width will likely be negated by the additional unsprung weight. Additional unsprung weight is a really bad deal on a road car that has to deal with variable surfaces, and it works your shocks much harder. You would get better value for your dollar with the 5" and a good, high-performance tyre (think e.g. Falken); the front/rear balance can be tuned with anti-roll bars and fine-tuned with tyre pressures. And you'll have a spare that fits.

Just my 2 cents.

hth

[ Edited on 26-3-07 by modulus ]

VWCOOL - March 27th, 2007 at 03:11 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by modulus
It rather depends what you want out of the car. For a road car, even a fast road car, the benefit you get out of larger rear tyres and 1" extra width will likely be negated by the additional unsprung weight. Additional unsprung weight is a really bad deal on a road car that has to deal with variable surfaces, and it works your shocks much harder. You would get better value for your dollar with the 5" and a good, high-performance tyre (think e.g. Falken); the front/rear balance can be tuned with anti-roll bars and fine-tuned with tyre pressures. And you'll have a spare that fits.

Just my 2 cents.

hth

[ Edited on 26-3-07 by modulus ]


A few extra hundred grams each side won't make much difference to unsprung with an 8kg rim on the street... But two extra inches footprint will.

shaihulud - March 28th, 2007 at 12:57 PM

Until recently my 1968 Baja had 15 x 4 1/2 running 165 x 80 profiles on the front and 15 x 7 running 9.50 LTs on the rear. It did not run well on the street. The front with stock wheels was OK, but the rear tyres were too hard, even at low pressures. It was set up for off road where that was a good combination.

I now have 15 x 6 all round with the inner rim of the new wheels in the stock position, the outer rim 2" out and the centres 1" out giving a 2" wider track from stock, both front and rear.

The front tyres are 195 x 65 and the rears are 215 x 65, the maximum legal difference.

The car goes well on the road. I have just come back from a trip to the SW of WA and the car ran very nicely with good road holding and castor on the straights. The car also has a very good looking stance. It's a good combination. I like it.

I hope that this is helpful.