215 tire on a 4.5 inch rim

[Ryan Lester]

I'm building a baja/bush buggy, off road only out of a 73 standard beetle. I
have a number of 215-75-15 tires kicking around. Will they fit on the stock
beetle 4.5 inch rim? Anybody tried tires this size?

[Tim Rogers]

Post by Ryan Lester
I'm building a baja/bush buggy, off road only out of a 73 standard beetle. I
have a number of 215-75-15 tires kicking around. Will they fit on the stock
beetle 4.5 inch rim? Anybody tried tires this size?

...................You need at least a 6" wide rim for that tire. 205's &
195's need at least 5 1/2" wide rims. You might be able to run 185's on a 4
1/2" rim. Of course, since you're going offroad only, maybe you could try it
and see what happens. If they let go more than a days walk from
civilization, maybe the cell phone would come in handy. Better take at least
a gallon of drinking water and a survival knife for the nasty critters.

[Jan Andersson]

Post by Tim Rogers

Post by Ryan Lester
I'm building a baja/bush buggy, off road only out of a 73 standard beetle.

I

Post by Ryan Lester
have a number of 215-75-15 tires kicking around. Will they fit on the

stock

Post by Ryan Lester
beetle 4.5 inch rim? Anybody tried tires this size?

...................You need at least a 6" wide rim for that tire. 205's &
195's need at least 5 1/2" wide rims. You might be able to run 185's on a 4
1/2" rim.

True.

My tire shop refused to mount 185's on 4 1/2" rim, until I SWORE I would
never tell who mounted them if I had an accident because of the
incompatibility. They said it's against the law and if I wasn't such a
good customer, they wouldn't even do it. :) I promised I would never
hold them responsible of any trouble they might cause me. I only needed
them for a little while (a few months) until I could afford two larger
wheels. These were for the front. In the rear I had 205's on 6" rims.

Jan

[Chris Perdue]

From: "Ryan Lester"
'm building a baja/bush buggy, off road only out of a 73 standard beetle. I
have a number of 215-75-15 tires kicking around. Will they fit on the stock
beetle 4.5 inch rim? Anybody tried tires this size?

they will "fit"...not recommended by the tire manufacturers, but they work...i
ran that very size on the front of my baja...on the factory vw rim.....it was a
decent baja, that was beefed up for offroad(which it did really well and often)
yet was also my daily driver....i once talked a tire shop into putting
235/70/15's on the back of a bug on the stock rims.....they looked "funny"LOL
-------------------
Chris Perdue
*All opinions are those of the author of this post*
"Sometimes you're the windshield, sometimes you're the bug"
http://hometown.aol.com/bugninva/MAINPAGE.html
to reply take your PANTS off

[Ryan Lester]

Cool! Good to know someone else tried this.

I forgot to mention that I have my own tire mounting machine, so I wont have
to find a shop to do this for me.

I think I'll just try it out and see what happens.

One question though, did they rub on the body much when making turns? Also,
did it raise the front end up very much and give you more clearance?
--
Ryan Lester
1974 Super Beetle Sunbug
1974 Super Beetle PlowBug
1968 Mercury Cyclone GT 390
www.cyclonegt.com

Post by Chris Perdue

From: "Ryan Lester"
'm building a baja/bush buggy, off road only out of a 73 standard beetle. I
have a number of 215-75-15 tires kicking around. Will they fit on the stock
beetle 4.5 inch rim? Anybody tried tires this size?

they will "fit"...not recommended by the tire manufacturers, but they work...i
ran that very size on the front of my baja...on the factory vw rim.....it was a
decent baja, that was beefed up for offroad(which it did really well and often)
yet was also my daily driver....i once talked a tire shop into putting
235/70/15's on the back of a bug on the stock rims.....they looked "funny"LOL
-------------------
Chris Perdue
*All opinions are those of the author of this post*
"Sometimes you're the windshield, sometimes you're the bug"
http://hometown.aol.com/bugninva/MAINPAGE.html
to reply take your PANTS off

[Chris Perdue]

From: "Ryan Lester"
One question though, did they rub on the body much when making turns? Also,
did it raise the front end up very much and give you more clearance?

Ryan, i can't answer that question...mine was not a "street" baja...i had
modified the front beam extensively and raised it as far as the stock type 1
balljoints would let me...so mine was raised from the time they were
mounted...*I* had no clearance issues...If you already have the tires laying
around, and plan to mount them yourself, then you can only give it a shot...you
got nothing to lose but a bit of time....good luck...
-------------------
Chris Perdue
*All opinions are those of the author of this post*
"Sometimes you're the windshield, sometimes you're the bug"
http://hometown.aol.com/bugninva/MAINPAGE.html
to reply take your PANTS off

[Jay McGraw]

When I bought my ol 70, it had 195's on 4.5" rims and the tires would move
back and forth on the rim. (The side walls would give and the treaded area
would move side to side) When i went to get new tires and the guys asked
what I had, I told him and he told me I must be wrong, so I showed him. His
eyes got huge and he proceeded to tell me how unsafe that was...I bought
165sr15's :)

Just my $.02

Jay

Post by Ryan Lester
I'm building a baja/bush buggy, off road only out of a 73 standard beetle. I
have a number of 215-75-15 tires kicking around. Will they fit on the stock
beetle 4.5 inch rim? Anybody tried tires this size?
--
Ryan Lester
1974 Super Beetle Sunbug
1974 Super Beetle PlowBug
1968 Mercury Cyclone GT 390
www.cyclonegt.com

[Mark Detro]

Post by Ryan Lester
I'm building a baja/bush buggy, off road only out of a 73 standard beetle.

I

Post by Ryan Lester
have a number of 215-75-15 tires kicking around. Will they fit on the

stock

Post by Ryan Lester
beetle 4.5 inch rim? Anybody tried tires this size?
--
Ryan Lester
1974 Super Beetle Sunbug
1974 Super Beetle PlowBug
1968 Mercury Cyclone GT 390
www.cyclonegt.com

I had 215's on a set of 41/2" rims on the front of my baja but they were buggy
style rims with a different offset than stock. I think the biggest problem you
may encounter would be turning radius. you may have to shorten lock-to-lock
witht he adjusters and and pound down the lip near the body/pan seam (you'll
wanna do that anyway on a baja) .

The other problem you might run into is fender/headlight bucket clearence
depending on what style baja fenders you use and how lox the car sits.
Mark Detro
Englewood, FL

[Ryan Moore]

This is what 215/75r15 looks like on a 4.5 inch wide wheel, best description
is "balloon like"
http://community.webshots.com/photo/49408957/49410211kRPcok

6 inch wide wheels is what I have used on my Baja. Perfect for both
215/75r15 and 235/75r15

[Anthony]

Yikes!

Post by Ryan Moore
This is what 215/75r15 looks like on a 4.5 inch wide wheel, best description
is "balloon like"
http://community.webshots.com/photo/49408957/49410211kRPcok
6 inch wide wheels is what I have used on my Baja. Perfect for both
215/75r15 and 235/75r15

[Jim Adney]

Post by Ryan Lester
I'm building a baja/bush buggy, off road only out of a 73 standard beetle.

I

Post by Ryan Lester
have a number of 215-75-15 tires kicking around. Will they fit on the

stock

Post by Ryan Lester
beetle 4.5 inch rim? Anybody tried tires this size?

You can put almost any size tire on almost any width rim, but for
every tire there is a limited range of widths which the manufacturers
recommend. Putting a 215 tire on a 4-1/2" rim is well outside the
recommended range.

Yes, you can do it, but you won't get the performance that you expect
out of the tire, and it will probably handle poorly, possibly turning
unsafe under some conditions, like hard cornering.

The only way I'd ever do this would be if the car was never going to
be driven anywhere.

-
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Jim Adney ***@vwtype3.org
Madison, WI 53711 USA
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