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robertburdett
Samba Member
Joined: July 13, 2008
Posts: 15
Location: San Diego
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 Posted: Wed Jun 22, 2016 8:37 pm Post subject: Tire size |
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I am looking for some advice. I have a 1967 Karmann Ghia and I was wondering what a good tire size is? The car has 2.5 inch drop spindles on a stock width beam. The tire size is 135SR15 in the front and 165SR15 in the back. I am looking for a tire that is going to provide more stability while cruising the highway. I was thinking 195/60-15 in the front and 205/65-15 in the back. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Robert |
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Danwvw
Samba Member
Joined: July 31, 2012
Posts: 8892
Location: Oregon Coast
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| Posted: Wed Jun 22, 2016 8:41 pm Post subject: Re: TIRE SIZE |
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No need to go bigger than 165's on the front.. 135's are funky! Do what you want in the rear 165's or bigger.
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1960 Beetle And 1679cc DP W-100 & Dual Zeniths! |
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kiwighia68
Samba Member
Joined: October 20, 2013
Posts: 2878
Location: Auckland, New Zealand
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| Posted: Wed Jun 22, 2016 8:59 pm Post subject: Re: TIRE SIZE |
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| robertburdett wrote: |
I am looking for some advice. I have a 1967 Karmann Ghia and I was wondering what a good tire size is? The car has 2.5 inch drop spindles on a stock width beam. The tire size is 135SR15 in the front and 165SR15 in the back. I am looking for a tire that is going to provide more stability while cruising the highway. I was thinking 195/60-15 in the front and 205/65-15 in the back. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Robert |
I had 185/60/R15s with the same set-up (2.5" drop with stock width beam) but the tyres were too big and damaged my newly painted fenders. The rear can take tyres up to 195 or 205 in width, but the front is problematic. I think 155's are going to be the widest you can go at the front, provided the tyres don't stand higher than 24.5". Perhaps the 145/65/R15 - found on Smart cars.
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Festina lente - hasten slowly
1968 Ghia named Emiko
Resto completed Dec 2015 |
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sactojesse
Samba Member
Joined: November 21, 2006
Posts: 2655
Location: Sacramento, California, USA
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| Posted: Wed Jun 22, 2016 10:06 pm Post subject: Re: TIRE SIZE |
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195/60R15 won't fit in front with a stock width front beam and drop spindles. What rims do you have? Depending on your rims and offset, you can probably fit up to a 165/65R15 up front.
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1966 Karmann-Ghia convertible |
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lonotch
Samba Padrino
Joined: August 28, 2004
Posts: 3304
Location: So. Cal. Oceanside GFK!
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| Posted: Thu Jun 23, 2016 7:48 am Post subject: Re: Tire size |
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205's in the back will work but will be very tight, I would go with 195's to be safe.
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It's not about the window, it's about the people.
German Folks |
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mlhsquared
Samba Member
Joined: October 13, 2008
Posts: 1482
Location: Strasburg, VA
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| Posted: Thu Jun 23, 2016 9:45 am Post subject: Re: Tire size |
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'67s have a "long axle" in the back. Anything other than stock is very iffy. It largely depends on the wheel that you use. I am running 155s on Porsche 2-liter replicas and it is very tight!
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Mike
'67 Ghia Coupe |
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sactojesse
Samba Member
Joined: November 21, 2006
Posts: 2655
Location: Sacramento, California, USA
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| Posted: Thu Jun 23, 2016 9:52 am Post subject: Re: Tire size |
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| mlhsquared wrote: |
| '67s have a "long axle" in the back. Anything other than stock is very iffy. |
Very true.
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1966 Karmann-Ghia convertible |
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NWGhiaGuy 
Samba Member
Joined: March 16, 2005
Posts: 700
Location: Bellingham, WA
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| Posted: Thu Jun 23, 2016 3:24 pm Post subject: Re: Tire size |
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| sactojesse wrote: |
| mlhsquared wrote: |
| '67s have a "long axle" in the back. Anything other than stock is very iffy. |
Very true. |
These are 185/55/15s with SHORT axles on the rear of my '66, but the wheels are 5.5 wide/ET15. Just switching to a 5.5/ET25 made all the difference.....
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