I have a couple of questions regarding drop spindles and tyre/wheel combinations.

What size tyres do you run with drop spindles?

Will 5.5 inch Flat 4 - Fuch replicas wrapped in 175/65/15 or 185/60/15 tyres fit under the guards, when the front has been lowered using drop spindles?

The opinion at thesamba.com seems to be, that a 145 is the maximum size tyre that can be run when using drop spindles. True or False?

CB drop spindles widen the front track - 0.5 inch L&R and lower the front by 2.5 inches.

My car - 1966 Beetle
Link pin front end, disc brakes, lowered via adjusters.

The front end is stiff and the ride is harsh over rough roads. (Imagine that)
The geometry of the front beam has changed due to the adjusters.
The camber of the front wheels is different, eg: left front wheel has positive camber, the right has no camber.
Suspension travel is compromised.

The planis to improve the ride/handling of the front by restoring the geometry of the front beam and tie rods etc to the standard settings, while keeping the front lowered.

To achieve this:
Install CB drop spindles.
Standard width front beam, adjusters turned so that the geometry of the beam is back to stock.
Disc brakes.
Bilstien shocks - Heavy Duty (they're available in the USA & from CSP). Maybe KYB, maybe Koni... this would make another good discussion.
Flat 4 Fuch replicas - 5.5 inch.
Tyres: Continental Conti Contact 2 - 175/65/15 or Yokohama C:drive - 185/60/15

Will 175/65 or 185/60 tyres fit?
Does anyone run 175 or larger tyres with drop spindles?

I don't want to use a narrowed beam, and don't want to run 4.5" wheels shod in 135 tyres tucked up under the guards.
It looks cool, but... I want my Beetle to drive in a straight line, turn corners and stop.

I have looked over numerous threads @ thesamba.com.
Most people write, that when using drop spindles, the only option is a 135 or 145 tyre. Possibly due to the hot rod rake or super low stance of their cars?
CSP advertises drop spindles - the car in their advertisment has 6 inch Cookies shod in 185/60 tyre.

If the front track is widened 0.5 inch, will reducing the width of the front tyres and wheels "balance" the increase in track?
Does this "scientific guess" have any merit?

Oh yeah, and the offset of the wheels...

Fuch 5.5 - 42mm
Fuch 4.5 - 42mm
Cookies 6.0 - 36mm

Any answers or help would be great.

Thanks,
Bryce

Hi Bryce

not sure if i can answer all your questions but have recently fitted some drop spindles myself and had some issues-

my car runs a stock beam and stock brakes on the front - its a 67
the spindles increase the track a bit and i have fitted 145R 15s on the front with standard 5inch rims - see second pic
i have also attached a pic of the same set up with 195/60/15s on the rim (it might give you a better idea of where your at?) - i couldn't go anywhere with these on!

goes great in a straight line, but catches on the guards when i turn (definately time for some new shocks!) and i am thinking i may have been better with a low profile tyre

i guess you need to find out if your disks (and the relevant disk spindles) increase the track and consider the offset of the wheels your going to fit

good luck

we added dropped spindles and new front end steering and discs to our 68 semi auto beetle
165 r15s were rubbing in a straight line and on turning
our fabricator cut the centres out of our wheels and re welded them with 15mm offset to drag the tyres under the guards - the wheels balanced well and now don;t rub in a straight line - full lock is dicey
this is a ball joint front end with stock discs and new cofap shockers




left is stock right is new offset


new offset wheels painted in gun metal grey


on the Rat

I think your fabricator is a turd : )

you'll never get 60 series tyres under a standard lowered bug with dropped spindles......period. adding discs to an early model makes it even worse. the reason they all use the 145 and other old school narrow tyres is cause they still have some side wall as opposed to using something like a 195/45 (which is what im running) which is very small profile and makes a cats eye feel like running up a gutter.
as above changing your offset on the wheel is your best option. or widened guards.
i have mags on mine (which i think are after market 944 wheels) which are 15x5.5's, disc brake conversion lowered with adjusters but no spindles.
ive had to get the front wheel centres machined back to bring the wheel in (6mm was as far as i could go). and ive rolled and lipped my guards a bit.
next will be a narrowed beam, as i still wanna go a bit lower.
But the most important thing is to leave your bump stops in to act as a bit of a sway bar or you'll be scrubbing guards everytime you steer

Hey Guys,

Thanks for info on drop spindles & tyre sizes.

135s or Smart car 145s or 165s (i think 45 series)

Thought drop spindles were designed & manufactured to make life easy?!

Guys, thanks for the information. The research & development you have done is most impressive!

I will keep the standard beam - lowered about 2 inches via adjusters, and run a set of 5.5 Flat 4 Fuch replicas shod with 185/60s. The geometry isn't perfect, but the tyres don't rub and the car drives straight @ 65 miles/hour.