135's or 145's

[Chris W]

I am going to run original gas burners with 205/70's in the back. Will a 135 look good on a 5.5 inch rim or should I go with a 145?

Looking for some pictures of 135's and 145's on 5.5 rims.

Thanks.

[Sam K]

It depends how low your car is and wether or not you have a narrowed beam and stuff. I've run both sizes before and I prefer the look of 135's, but I like the way 145's handle and stop better. With disc brakes 135's lock up very easily. I actually run 175/55 on my 15X5.5 alloys and like the handlig/braking a lot more.

[Chris W]

I just sold my last car so its a fresh start. I will have disc up front. On my old car I ran 125's with disc and the car was pretty low. I don't want to go as low as I was before, but I don't want to have it looked the the tire is stretched. 

[Jason Foster]

I would go for 145's     135's will look stretched for sure on 5.5's
   There also are 165 45's avail. on SAMBA  I think they also have 185 45's    I would only suggest those if you are going really low.

  OG cal-look would be the 145's.    Just my input.     Jason

[Chris W]

Are those gas burners in your avatar above? If so any more pics of your car?

[dyno don]

        145's......!!!

[Zach Gomulka]

On a Beetle I prefer the look of a 145 tire, it's about 24" tall and fills up the wheel wells better than a 135. Both of them will look stretched on a 5.5" rim, of course the 135 more so. If you lay the rim/tire flat on the ground and the rim touches first, you need a wider tire or narrower rim!! A 145 fits great on a 4.5" rim, 135 best on a 4" rim. If you are stuck with 5.5's I suggest a 175/65's, they are the same height as the 145, offer much more grip without looking too wide, and they fit the 5.5" rim very nicely.

What wheels will you be using??

[Chris W]

I will be using Gas Burners. I have ordered some Michelin XZX's, but they are backordered. I just thought I would see what you guys thought.



Thanks for the input.

[Zach Gomulka]

Original 'burners are only 5" wide (I think??) so a 145 will look ok on them... better than a 175/65 I'd say since the look of the wheel just lends itself better to a skinny tire, IMO.

[Chris W]

They are 5.5"s.

[Zach Gomulka]

They real?

[Chris W]

I sure hope so

http://www.356registry.org/Tech/wheels/mahle_robertson.html

[Zach Gomulka]

Wow.... very nice!

It would be a cardinal sin to narrow them! So if you are building a traditional Cal Looker, I would stick with the 145's and get used to the stretch
175/65s would be nice though.... they give you a little more curb protection which is always a good thing on NOS 'burners

[Jason Foster]

Are those gas burners in your avatar above? If so any more pics of your car?

  if you mean my car no they are black 5's  more pics on my myspace page click the globe under my avatar.

[Rick Meredith]

I would go for 145's     135's will look stretched for sure on 5.5's
   There also are 165 45's avail. on SAMBA  I think they also have 185 45's    I would only suggest those if you are going really low.

  OG cal-look would be the 145's.    Just my input.     Jason

OG Cal-Look would have been 135s back in my era... I ran 145s but I was an exception. 145 XZXs were hard to find.

[Rennsurfer]

Chris, those wheels look great in the factory silver color. Good score! Personally, I prefer 145s up front and something no bigger than 185s on the back. But... to each their own. I used to run many different tire size combos 28 years ago. This time around, I'm going with bigger (145) up front. Better handling and braking in my opinion.

[LuftsickTero]

Not sure if these photos give you any idea but here's my Oval with with my friend's Gas Burners and 145s in front and MH Racemasters in the rear.




Here's the same car with my own Gas Burners and 175/60s that came with the wheels and 195-something rears. I should swap them to 145s but so far there has been more crucial money pits with my cars and I like the handling with them.


Here are the both wheels, my buddy's '61 and my '55.

[1957lowlight]

I don't recommand 135's on 5.5 inch wheels.  135's do look and run great on my 4.5 fuchs wheels, but not to recommand on 1 inch larger wheels.

[Rennsurfer]

I don't recommand 135's on 5.5 inch wheels.  135's do look and run great on my 4.5 fuchs wheels, but not to recommand on 1 inch larger wheels.

Good advice... you're right, 'cause the 135 tires weren't designed to stretch... I mean, fit on wheels wider than 4½". At very least, for safety reasons. Especially regarding a car that's going to be traveling/braking faster than a stock one.

[Chris W]

Looks like 145's it will be with some 205/70's in back. I really like how they look in this picture.




Thanks

[Jason Foster]

those tires in the picture there are MH DOT's they are 215 65 15. 

[Chris W]

I saw that. I am just going to be on the street and without huge power so the 205's will do just fine.   

I just looked it up and a the diameter of a 205/70 is 26.3" and a 215/65 is 26" so it will be real close.

[louisb]

Here is some repo burners with 145s front and 165s rear. I will be getting bigger rears when the 2 liter goes in. Either a set of M&H dots or 205/65s

--louis

[benssp]

I'd go 145

[GreenTom]

here is a handy site with wheel size calculator.
its in Polish but you will figure out how it works:
http://www.ostragorka.eu.org/~swietokrzyska/opony.html
some translaitons:
ORGINAŁ = genuine
Zaminnik = swap
szerokość opony = width of the tyre
profil opony = the high of the rubber from rim
średnica koła = diameter of the wheel (whole wheel)
różnica w średnicy koła = diference in wheels diameters
różnica w prędkośći = diderence in speed
prędkość rzeczywista = real speed
hope it will be handy

by the way go for 145/80 (i've got 145/65 and it is too low - antiroll bar dies very quickly)

[Harry/FDK]

Or tweak it a little and go for 155.

[javabug]

I run 145s on my 5-1/2" Fuchs, they fit pretty good but I don't think any smaller would be good.  I have a 155 on a 5-1/2" steel for the spare, and that seems like a good fit.  Going to try it on the front of the car some time.

[Zach Gomulka]

I run 145s on my 5-1/2" Fuchs, they fit pretty good but I don't think any smaller would be good.  I have a 155 on a 5-1/2" steel for the spare, and that seems like a good fit.  Going to try it on the front of the car some time.

145's give you a little rim protection from the sidewall on a 4.5" rim (which I like). I believe Mexi Bugs came stock with 155's on a 5 1/2", and the tire fits just about flush with the rim. You at least want a tire that is about 20mm larger than the width of the rim- so 4.5" wheel = 114.3mm + 20mm = 134.3, or a 135 tire.

[Wünderwolff]

I don't like the pulled look on tires. Exactly for that reason i had my 5,5 BRM (fake of course) narrowed to 4,5. I'll be running either 135 or 145. So pictures of both are nice indeed. But what I read here is promissing.

When I have some tires on them I'll post some pictures myself.

[Bruce]

I believe Mexi Bugs came stock with 155's on a 5 1/2", and the tire fits just about flush with the rim. You at least want a tire that is about 20mm larger than the width of the rim- so 4.5" wheel = 114.3mm + 20mm = 134.3, or a 135 tire.

Where did you get that "formula"?

If you want a base line of where to start, look at what the car makers put on cars.  VW installed 155s on 4" and 4½" wheels.  Same wheels got 165s too.  The rare stock 5½" VW wheels got 175s.  If you research a 2CV, you will find it's wheels are probably 3" or 3½" wide to use 135s.  According to the car makers, a 4" wheel is too wide for a 135 tire.

Mexican Beetles had 4½" wheels.  Never a 5½.

Chris, send your wheels out and get them chopped down to 4½"!  That solves everything.