How big of wheels with stock front beam???

You know, de-chromed, big Porsche rims, Brembos, etc.,... German Look rules!
EZ-PEFORMANCE.COM
Posts: 28
Joined: Wed Dec 18, 2002 12:01 am

How big of wheels with stock front beam???

Post by EZ-PEFORMANCE.COM »

Fellas iam wondering how yall are able to run these 17 & 18s on your beetles with out any problems with steering and rubing. I have a 67 beetle and wondering how big of a rim can i fit with my stock front beam ? its been droped as well.
I love that euro look and trying to makes mines into one.

let me get some info on doing so......
Mudder
Posts: 6
Joined: Sun Dec 04, 2005 11:37 am

Post by Mudder »

Without lowering you can fit bigger wheels pretty easy so long as you get low profile tires and wheels with the right offset. I think TireRack has a calculator.
User avatar
Marc
Moderator
Posts: 23741
Joined: Thu May 23, 2002 12:01 am

Post by Marc »

Right. Assuming you can find a +1, 2, or 3 tire that's not too wide to fit under stock fenders. My son has played around with quite a variety of tire/rim sizes and offset/spacer combinations and has disproved most all of the "no rubbing" claims that people have made for their setups - don't believe everything you read.
By adjusting the steering box stops (perhaps even installing longer stop bolts) you can keep the tires from rubbing - but you may have the turning circle of a Peterbilt. Narrowing the beam helps keep the tires off of the control arms, but does nothing to help the clearance between the back inner sidewall and the pan/inner fenderwell.
http://www.shoptalkforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=57533
EZ-PEFORMANCE.COM
Posts: 28
Joined: Wed Dec 18, 2002 12:01 am

Post by EZ-PEFORMANCE.COM »

[quote="mudder ]Without lowering you can fit bigger wheels pretty easy so long as you get low profile tires and wheels with the right offset. I think TireRack has a calculator.
[/quote]

What u think about 17x6 rims than maybe with a half inch spacer since the biggest on the front with out any complication 5.5 width cause 17x6 is only half inch bigger . bieng that my car is drop 2 inch drop spindles any suggestion with that rim might have to go with a low profile to keep it of the fender right , what about clerence with that half inch biger
User avatar
Marc
Moderator
Posts: 23741
Joined: Thu May 23, 2002 12:01 am

Post by Marc »

The rim offset/backspace is going to determine what thickness (if any) spacer will be required. As an example, with Boxter 16x6" ET42 rims, 205/55 tires (about 3/4" shorter than stock), using CBPerformance drop spindles (they add ~¼" per side to the track width) I found that 8mm spacers were enough to give acceptable clearance between the inner sidewall & lower control arm with the adjustable beam at stock height (equivalent to a 6" ET36 rim). Note I said acceptable, not stock - I still needed to adjust the steering box stops in a little to prevent any rubbing, so the turning circle is larger than stock by a couple of feet. Adjusting the beam downwards, clearance problems developed between the tire sidewall and the shock tower...the steering had to be limited by almost a half-turn at each side (turning circle larger than my 3/4-ton pickup truck's). Grinding away the shock tower and rewelding it will fix that, and the next-closest point will be the back part of the inner sidewall to the edge of the pan. You might be able to get away with stock fenders with a stock beam & drop spindles, but it'll be close if you use tires with near-stock diameter - I'm going with CCC wider fenders so I can make use of the adjustable beam.

A 215/50-17 is about the same diameter as a stock 165-15. You could use an even lower profile 215, or a smaller overall size, to bring that down (introducing speedometer error of course). A 205/50-17 would be about ½" shorter, and a 215/40 about 1½" shorter, for examples.
Post Reply