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Thu Nov 15, 2012 9:21 am

Will 135/60R15 and 145/60R15 work on the front and back of a 65 vw bug. I have been hearing different things about tire size and these are the two that I have been hearing of the most.

-Andrew

Thu Nov 15, 2012 9:36 am

135 and 145 series tires are generally run on the front of a lowered bug. 165 series was the stock size so 165, 185 and sometimes 205 series or wider are run on the rear.

Thu Nov 15, 2012 10:03 am

Hi Keith,
I would like to add that if one wants to run tires wider than 185's, then a wider wheel rim commensurate with the tire width is recommended. I have first hand experience with a PO putting 195's on a 4.5 inch rim--not optimal results to say the least.
Jon

Thu Nov 15, 2012 11:12 am

For stock 15x4 wheels.
Will yes..
The sizes you most likely are considering at are 135/15 (135/80/15), 145/15. (145/80/15).

Small and skinny......
Will work ok for the fronts on lowered cars, but a bit small in height for the rear.

Tell us your plans on suspension/wheel setup for the best advice.

Thu Nov 15, 2012 12:20 pm

Anything less than a 165 on the real is going to severely hamper your top speed and mileage.

e: in the rear.

Thu Nov 15, 2012 3:57 pm

You need to understand something before you mess the car up.

Ive never heard of anyone that makes either of those tires, but if they did...

They are both terrible ideas. You want a rear tire with correct diameter...or your gearing and engine will HATE you and you will hate this car. The factory set up these cars to run the rear end with a 25-25 1/2" tall tire. That is correct for proper gearing, cooling, and fuel consumption.

As for the front= that is a bad contact patch, regardless. You want a 145/65, 155/60, or 165/60= all Smart Car and toy car tires- common here in the states, now. I have used all these tires. I used to have 135/80 on a bug years ago. Years ago, they were some of the only tires you could get for a slammed bug. They slide in the rain, have a bad contact patch. I also ran them on the back of an IRS converted bug for a few years. Terrible mileage and handling.

I do a LOT with suspensions and wheels/tires on these vws. I am very familiar with this stuff. Do it correct or not at all.

Fri Nov 16, 2012 7:52 am

Hi Smitty - Are you saying that 145/65, 155/60, or 165/60 are a good choice for a lowered front end? I need to buy something soon.
Jack

Fri Nov 16, 2012 8:39 am

jackro wrote: Hi Smitty - Are you saying that 145/65, 155/60, or 165/60 are a good choice for a lowered front end? I need to buy something soon.
Jack

For the front... IMO
The 145/65/15 are great for slammed and narrowed.... pretty damn small, great for stock 4.0 inch wide wheels, and stretch to a 5.0.
The 155/60/15, in my personal choice for lowered Beetle front tires. Work well on 4.0- 5.5 inch wide wheels.
They are shorter than the old 135's, last longer, have more contact patch, and handle better.
The 165/60/15 or 175/55/15 are good choices if you have a 4.5-6.0 wide wheels.

Nice to have modern tires available these days....

Fri Nov 16, 2012 11:55 am

145\65\15 conti eco contact ep is what i run on a 4 1\2 brm in front.the 135 nanking SUCKS! plus the lip of rim sticks out 3\16 past the tire.the conti's have a lip procter.

Fri Nov 16, 2012 1:16 pm

You really want to get a decent contact patch under the car.

We can't just answer your question about whats the best tire for a lowered car without knowing how low and what meathod was used to lower it.

Its kind of like asking what size shoe would your fat girlfriend wear without telling us how fat she is. And that still has little to do with how big her feet are.

So how was your car lowered, and how far was it lowered? What are you running on it now and what issues are you having with those tire sizes?

Fri Nov 16, 2012 2:23 pm

As the Doc stated= that was our next question. You need to show a picture of what you want and how the car looks now. The goals here (at least mine) are to make cars be better by having a tire that actually looks good for THAT vehicles height, but that is also safer for handling/braking, and has proper height for rpms (more important for the rear tire). You don't want something that allows brakes to lock up, nor that leaves huge tire to fender gaps.

Fri Nov 16, 2012 2:25 pm

64 ragtop volks wrote: 145\65\15 conti eco contact ep is what i run on a 4 1\2 brm in front.the 135 nanking SUCKS! plus the lip of rim sticks out 3\16 past the tire.the conti's have a lip procter.

I have 145r15s on my Fuchs repros and there's a bit of stretch, but it's not excessive. Expecting your tires to save your rims from curb damage is naive anyway.

Fri Nov 16, 2012 3:05 pm

Where you guys been... I asked it in post 3 :lol:

VOLKSWAGNUT wrote: Tell us your plans on suspension/wheel setup for the best advice.

Fri Nov 16, 2012 5:16 pm

the 145\65\15 conti's WONT save the rim from curb rash ,just look much nicer then the 135 nanking does,cause the lip doesnt stick out past the tire especially with alum rims.i run a 235\60\15 indy firehawk on 6 1\2 repo brm in the rear,but i have a little 2176 and a prostreet trans with 4.37 r&p.cruises ? at 3000rpm @ 65 mph.