ShopTalk Forums | Aircooled VW Tech & Restoration Help

Hi all,
As I continue to work on my 74' Thing,
I'm now focusing changing the tires.Mine
current has 14" bias ply tires on the
stock rims so I would like to change them
to a more aggressive tire to use for
highway and light offroad.By light I'm
referring to dirt & mud backroads.I want
to keep the stock 14" rims.
Any thoughts would appreciated.
I just complete installing a new center
beam and the engine is stock with custom
exhaust with dual webers ICT 34's and
Bosh 009.I hope this gives me enough
power to maintain highway speeds.

Which model Khumo tires?

Wayne, I`ve tried to link you without success. Go to www.tirerack.com then products then tires then brands then Kumho then Venture you`ll see an excellent 14" tire. You can then click on specs for details. Good luck. Bob Ingman



[This message has been edited by Bob Ingman (edited 02-15-2003).]

Thanks Bob

I like the Khumo 27X14 they are very agressive.

Wayne as already has been reccomended to you the Khumo tires are an excellent choice in 14" tires. Another that comes to mind is the BF Goodrich Radial TA. Good luck. Bob Ingman

I just got my Goodrich All-Terrains on the rear (27/850/14). I like them so far, and have had no problems on any of the several other "real" 4x4s I've had ATs on.

Wayne as you have probably learned by now there is very little available in 14" traction tires. Fortunatly the two recomended here are both excellent. Good luck. Bob Ingman

I happen to be looking tire's also I had a 74 bug and I used a p series I can remember if it was 185-205 60? what is the largest tire you can put on the stock rim to clear the wheel well.



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What about the kelly safari 205 75 14 I have a pare on the rear and they have held up fine ,

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anybody running the 27X8.5X14 BFG all-terrains on the front of a stock height car? I have them in the rear but fear they are too tall for the front. i believe this because when i put them on the front, at full right (or left) turn, there was only 2 to 3 inches of clearance to the fender lip. as expensive as fenders are, i don't want to chance a big bump off-road damaging my fenders. i do like the look of them on front though.

headlight buckets are usually the first to rub. i wore out the backs of mine running studded snow tires (around 28" in diameter, i think.) another thing is that if somebody backs into your front, it can push in your fender and prevent you from turning. plus it cuts the side wall. this really does happen. it happened to me many tires while living in portland, me during the winter months.
-seth

Warning: "The Surgeon General has determined that tire to headlight bucket contact can be dangerous to your health"

When the tire hits the metal it can cause a violent jerk in one direction, very embarassing if there is oncoming traffic or a tree nearby.

You can get some additional clearance by either raising the front a few inches or by "contouring" the back side of the headlight bucket in, there is about 2" before you hit the back of the headlight.

Don't drive yout THING if you have contact at this point.... Turn your wheel hard left or right while doing a hard brake to find out what it's like...

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1966 MANX SR2 (Karma Coachworks), 1974 VW THING

my tires would only hit the buckets when hitting a large bump on a straight away. total clearence when turning. the tires, due to impacts, contoured the buckets by themselves. i have the front raised now so it is no longer a problem. the po ran a similar sized michellin x tire that started the contouring process for me. his tires were wider though, which i replaced in order to turn better (contacted the trailing arms.)
-seth

Seth, do u mind posting the tire size you were running when you were having problems bumping the light buckets. Was your car lowered too?