looks wrong, works right. Looks right, works wrong... which one?

[Rocket Ron]

155 are the best tyre on the street, but I' m getting old and soft. They run soft with a good amount of grip and still have enough feed back through the steering 

135 and 145 are best left for the strip IMO

[Zach Gomulka]

IMO, 155's are too tall and don't let the front come down enough for proper rake. 135's are too short so the nose needs to come too far down in order for the tire to fill the fender well. The height of a 145 is perfect for a Cal Looker, IMO. If you want more grip, get a 175/65 or a 185/60, but you'll probably have to narrow the beam. Looks, and works right, too.

[Worm]

I put Smart Car tires on my son's 66 a few years ago on repop alloys.  Worked and looked fantastic.  Can't remember the exact size.  Nice height and width.  Snug

[TexasTom]

I put Smart Car tires on my son's 66 a few years ago on repop alloys.  Worked and looked fantastic.  Can't remember the exact size.  Nice height and width.  Snug

either 155/60-15s or 175/55-15s, or both

pretty short, both sizes

TxT

[der60er]

I run 165-65 R15 and i'm very happy with them...

[Erlend / bug66]

Is that beam narrowed?

[hotrodsurplus]

IMO to follow a strict guidelines for a certain looks get boring after a while.  After a while it looks like all the cars are just cookie cutter stamps of each other with just different sprinkles or toppings.

Leave it to a newbie to see truth. Ah yes, an unpolluted mind. We'll take care of that in no time! 

There are two things to consider. One, in the strictest sense Cal Look represents a cultural expression from a specific period. For me Cal Look represents simple, stripped-down, drag-inspired cars built from the early '70s to the early '80s. Elements of the era were fairly narrow front tires, nose-down stance, vertical rear tires, and a few body modifications made to simplify the car or make it better match its owner's wants. Sure you can CALL a car slammed over 17-inch alloys but you can also call it a Zephyr Wombat. It just won't BE either one of those things. That's not to say that car wouldn't be cool. It might be the coolest thing on earth. It just wouldn't be a Cal-Look bug.

Two, a lot of us have fixated on a certain style or group of parts. I have every Hot VWs in binders. I can almost quote chapter and verse. I can tell you this much: there was no set rules in real-world Cal-Look land of the '70s. Rivieras, chromies, and flames even. Mustang seats. To#¤ta Corolla seats. Steering wheels most of us have never seen before. Stock shifters with goofy knobs. Kadrons. Single Webers. SUPER BEETLES! And those are the cars in the Cal Look issues. Hell, Gary Berg's car ran 155R15 tires up front and NOBODY would question that car's credibility.

Can you use more modern parts on old-style cars? Sure you can. Some really fit the image. Take the 175/65-15s on the front of Tom's bug. They look the part--in fact they look awesome. In fact most people would have to read the sidewall to tell they weren't tall, high-profile tires. Even the 185/205 combo works. If anyone says they don't belong on a Cal Look car I'll show them a set of the F7015s and 205/70s that have gotten so trendy lately on 'true' lookers. I have yet to see that tire size on a Cal Look car in an old magazine. Understand I'm not bagging on those tires. They look great and fit the part. I'd run either (though with rag tires on the front with the F70s--it's not a good idea to run radials up front and rags out back but that's another topic). Also new parts like the wide-five discs can improve our cars without detracting from 'the look.'

Can you evolve the Cal Look aesthetic? Probably not without creating a new category. At the same time the movement doesn't need evolution. It just needs a few brave souls to venture out and use some of the other era-correct parts that haven't been done to death. With all the parts available to us there's a million ways to shuffle the deck.

[/rant]

p.s. you people who have extreme traction problems with your 135s and 145s. You're probably doing something wrong.

A 135 has a 4" tread and a 145 a 4.1" tread. Bear in mind that a 5.60-15 tire has a 3.8-inch tread. I've run 'em on everything from VWs to pre-war hot rods (really fast ones, too--I've done 11s with 5.60s in the front) and I've NEVER had a traction problem with them. No, they're not a 235 but they work well.

Here's the way to get them to grip on a VW: use the tire pressure VW specified. The pressure designated on the sidewall is just the maximum pressure required for the tire to bear the maximum load...which in some cases is almost as much as the whole car weighs. Instead, use the pressure that Volkswagen specified. It works just the same with altered tire sizes and radials too. Over-inflated tires merely ride poorly, wear quickly, and slide in the rain or under braking.

[Sarge]

NICE rant!

[hotrodsurplus]

NICE rant!

Thanks! I try (and I get good practice).

[der60er]

Is that beam narrowed?

about 3 inch , because big brake and dropped spindles

[richie]

For me Cal Look represents simple, stripped-down, drag-inspired cars built from the early '70s to the early '80s. Elements of the era were fairly narrow front tires, nose-down stance, vertical rear tires, and a few body modifications made to simplify the car or make it better match its owner's wants. Sure you can CALL a car slammed over 17-inch alloys but you can also call it a Zephyr Wombat. It just won't BE either one of those things. That's not to say that car wouldn't be cool. It might be the coolest thing on earth. It just wouldn't be a Cal-Look bug.

that is the truest statement I have read in a long while,why would you want to build a modified beetle whith a modern twist then call it Cal look,its not!!!!  be original and call it something else,anything else but not Cal look as we know it

Can you evolve the Cal Look aesthetic? Probably not without creating a new category. At the same time the movement doesn't need evolution. [/rant]

 

Again very well put,if you evolve it into something else,it is something else,dont kid yourself its cal look if it has a super narrow front end,still has chrome moldings,has a stock engine,modern tyres,fake wheels etc etc,that is not what cal look was about,and never will be,dont be fooled by what is written in magazines,they just want your money

[Neil Davies]

Can you evolve the Cal Look aesthetic? Probably not without creating a new category. At the same time the movement doesn't need evolution. [/rant]

 

Again very well put,if you evolve it into something else,it is something else,dont kid yourself its cal look if it has a super narrow front end,still has chrome moldings,has a stock engine,modern tyres,fake wheels etc etc,that is not what cal look was about,and never will be,dont be fooled by what is written in magazines,they just want your money

Richie, I agree totally. For me, your cab (the floorpanned one!) totally nailed Cal look when it was in the Volksworld show in the first year of Outlaw Flat Four. I've still got a picture of it on my computer and it's one of my revolving desktop wallpapers - the dechromed body and the Fuchs alloys make it for me.
The new cab shows Cal look influences but I don't think you'd ever claim that it was a Cal Looker - it's obviously a street legal Pro Mod.

[mg]

I like the cantilever slicks, maybe 15x6 inch rims with 8 inch GY or Hoosiers bias ply slicks.
remove the camera platform and it might kick ass at the autocross.
Photo may have been in front of the hot pits at Fontucky.

[Jesse/DVK]

In the looks right works wrong department...

Just a normal turn with zero degrees Celsius and wet road.. Makes me really think what to do with my car. How streetable is it really? Close ratio gearbox, 190hp etc.

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[Tobi/DFL]

SHIT!

I hope that at least you didn´t get hurt?!?

Tobi

[Jesse/DVK]

Thanks Tobi, I'm ok, just a little headache and a sore body.

[stretch]

 

Hope you get it sorted Jesse.

Glad your OK though.

[Zach Gomulka]

That'll buff out!
It sucks, but believe me it could have been a LOT worse!

[Bendik]

Well, if it helps I did something similar with an almost stock 1600 in the rear. Limped home and found that the drum was cracked between all the bolt holes.. With the miles You have on that bug I'd call it streetable just avoid 0 degrees and wet roads...

Sorry to see this, good luck with the repairs!

[wolfswest]

OMG, that just hurts.  I hope it's "just" the two fenders? 

I've been thinking the same since a long time now.  I really had it with those stupid 135 / 145 tires up front for even a longer time.  You just can't do sh*t with these sizes.  I've upgraded in front to 175/65/15 pirelli cinturato tires (new looking profile tough)
These tires are exactly the same height as 145's and with my narrowed beam they tuck nicely under the fenders.  They fill my arches real nice and I even must commit that I like the look better!  I struggled with the look in my mind for a year but I'm so glad I did it!!    You don't have that extreme contrast anymore of a silly bicycle tire up front and that steam roller 205/70 in the back.  It's way more in proportion now!  I still need to drive my car but I'm positive about it.  When my car is ready I'll start a new topic with all the changes I"ve made to make it more streetable and how I experience them.
And with streetable I mean really use it on the street like a proper modern car, not go fast for 200 meters and then chicken out in the corner...  Drivebility, cornering, breaking, all the aspects of a fast enjoyable car.  A classic racer, not a classic "looker"

Texas Tom really opened my eyes with his tire combo, just look at it, it's mean and usefull!  And that's I like, but like I said, I will post a new topic soon when I'm on the road again.

Dem

[Jon]

Sorry to see that Jesse, hope you get it fixed quickly. That's bad luck!
That being said, I think you could have that experience with most powerfull rearwheel drive cars... (without anti spin).

[modnrod]

OUCH! That sucks mate. Hope you're OK though, cars can get massaged back pretty easy, heads don't, keep a close eye on the usual irritations like headaches and sudden blurry patches.

Skinny tyres with soft rubber (like 165s or 175s with new silica compounds), and the good old-fashioned bag-of-cement right on the nose, it should cut through the ice sheet and grip a bit, more pounds-per-square-inch should help.

I hope you're back cruising soon mate.

[Fiatdude]

A lot of great info here -- -- but I always thought that the "front down - back up" was for the gas mileage --- 'cause you're always going downhill.

[cedric]

Omg! Jesse good luck.....
Hopelijk frame niet krom!

[BeetleBug]

A lot of great info here -- -- but I always thought that the "front down - back up" was for the gas mileage --- 'cause you're always going downhill.

 

Dam... now you tell me....

[Eddie DVK]

In the looks right works wrong department...

Just a normal turn with zero degrees Celsius and wet road.. Makes me really think what to do with my car. How streetable is it really? Close ratio gearbox, 190hp etc.

Common, you don t mean that Jesse. Just a little sit back.
Just drive it the same as you do your bike and you ll be fine .

Hope you restore it and have fun with that nice car.

[mg]

Just a normal turn with zero degrees Celsius and wet road.. Makes me really think what to do with my car. How streetable is it really? Close ratio gearbox, 190hp etc.

Just a guess.  
When I read you had a spin in the rain with a close ratio box.
Was the spin related to perhaps a slight lift of the throttle when you entered the wet corner?
If so thats called trailing thottle oversteer. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lift-off_oversteer
Its an important technique for rotating the car, pitch it by lifting and then catch it by adding throttle (pitch and catch).
Close ratio gears=increased engine braking=sudden/increased weight transfer to the front=severe trailing thottle oversteer.
To help balance/calm the car on wet roads try cruising at lower RPMs, or upshifting to the next gear.

If the roads are always wet then agree I would change the set up to best suit the wet roads.
Wet set up stock gears, big front sway bar no rear sway bar, soft torsion bars and shocks.

[henk]

that is a shame Jesse.
hope you get it back on the road before the summer so you could enjoy it again.
don't know if it would made a difference if you had bigger tyres up front,if the rear end starts to slide i don't know if bigger tyres up front would be better.

henk!!!