With respect to Marc, you *can* squeeze 8" wide rims inside stock rear fenders, but only just, and only with "narrowed IRS trailing arms"...
http://home.att.net/~tomnotch/notchpix/notchrearsuspdetaillg.jpg Ten years ago, a fellow named Bruce Tweddle from California Import Parts manufactured what he called "narrowed IRS trailing arms" that allowed him to slip his 8" wide Porsche wheels inside his stock rear fenders. He also had to use LEFT rear torsion arms from an auto-stick Type III to make things work. AFAIK they are no longer for sale anywhere. Bruce hangs out in the ShopTalk forums and is a member of DVKK, so he might be of some help to you. Of course, if your car has a swingaxle rear end, you're SOL. Or you can install wider fiberglass rear fenders. That's what I did over ten years ago and I currently run 255/40R17s on 9.5" wide rims with no clearance problems whatsoever. I could probably fit 11" wide rims back there, but I wanted to run the same brand/model of tires front & back, and the particular tires I'm running weren't available in anything wider. I'm also running a *severely* narrowed balljoint front beam which allows me to fit 205/50R16 on 7" wide rims up front under stock steel fenders. But as Marc hinted at, your turning radius will most likely be increased with anything larger than 5.5" wide rims. Mine is, and it is a sacrifice that I am willing to live with, and the outer shoulders of my front tires still sit about 1/4" inboard of my fender lips. My front rims have 0.0" offset (3.5" backspacing), which makes a big difference regarding how the tire "moves" within the wheel well while turning. http://members.shaw.ca/sharkeysgarage (ps: looks like I have to revamp my website to make it more use-friendly) Unless you're willing to make these massive modifications, I'd stick with Marc's suggestion and go with 195/65R15s on front and 205/60R15s on the back -- all using 6" wide rims. You will also have to measure the offset or backspacing on your chosen 15x6" aluminum rims and see how close they are to the factory offset of stock steel wheels. Or stick with 195/65R15s all the way around and enjoy being able to rotate your tires any what you want. -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of marc vellat Sent: February 2, 2007 10:09 PM To: Air-Cooled Volkswagen Discussion List Subject: Re: [vintagvw] tire rim question Go with four 6" rims. It's all but impossible to fit anything wider than 7" under stock fenders...even with the ideal offset, you'd need to trim the upper snubber stops down and flip the front springplate bolt after grinding the head thinner - and that's with the `71-up single springplate, I don't think it's feasible with the double springplates on a `70. In front you may have issues with inner sidewall clearance to the beam and swaybar/clamps and may have to screw in the steering box stops (resulting in a larger turning circle)...it'll depend upon the tire size choice and rim offset, but 6" is "do-able" if the front isn't lowered too much. Do you know the offset ("ET" number), or the backspace measurement on the rims you're looking at? You can compensate for too much with spacers, but if it's too little you'll be screwed. BTW, I disapprove airshocks on a VW for a multitude of reasons. You should be adjusting your rear ride height if needed by reindexing the torsion bars instead. 195/65-15 would be a comfortable fit on a 6" rim and approximately the same diameter as the stock 165-15 - stay close to that. 195/60 or 205/60 are possible alternatives that won't mess with your gearing/speedo accuracy by too much. --- Henry Yap <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > A question from our local club, I thought I would > post to the great > minds on the list..... Henry > > > > > > I sincerely hope that you can help me. I have a 1970 > beetle that I have > renovated and I'm in the process of getting new rims > and tires, but here > is my dilemma. > I can buy four aluminum rims 15x6 for the car or I > can buy two rims 15x6 > for the front and 15x8 for the rear. I want the rear > tires to be a > little wider and taller than the front tires. > I also have air shocks on the rear. Now my question > is this can I buy a > wider tire and put it on the 15x6 for the rear and > buy a lower tire for > the 15x6 for the front, or do I have to go with the > 15x6 for the front > and 15x8 for the rear. > > The other question is with air shocks what size > tires can I put on the > rear? ____________________________________________________________________________ ________ Expecting? Get great news right away with email Auto-Check. Try the Yahoo! Mail Beta. http://advision.webevents.yahoo.com/mailbeta/newmail_tools.html _______________________________________________ vintagvw site list [email protected] http://lists.sjsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/vintagvw _______________________________________________ vintagvw site list [email protected] http://lists.sjsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/vintagvw
