Which tires for a 69 Beetle?

2171 Views 5 Replies 4 Participants Last post by tjl, Nov 27, 2001

FlatFourVW

Discussion Starter · Nov 26, 2001

I know I posted this before, but I have run into a dead end when it comes to getting radial tires for my 69 Beetle. I have the original white and black 4 bolt 15in. wheels at 4.5 inches wide. My bias-ply tires are 5.60 wide. I went to several places with the size 165/15 tires and was told (truthfully) that they could not find 165s. I checked Coker tire (www.coker.com) and was disappointed to see the choices. I may end up with Sears Guardsman radials, which the Sears salesman even told me he would not recommend. He called to find Pirellis, Dunlops, Michelins, etc. and they told him that the 165 is discontinued in their tire lines and 155's are going to be hard to come by.
Maybe with the infinite wisdom from the Vortex, you guys might be able to help me out here...
What size would you really recommend? 165? 155? 145?
Who else might I check with?

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16v po boy

· #2 · Nov 26, 2001

Re: Which tires for a 69 Beetle? (FlatFourVW)

firestone- but i would reccommend a 185-60 i believe. they look alot better and are about the same profile with a wider tread. will mount to a 4.5 inch wheel no problem. handles much better. but check firestone. besides the recall they are really good tires. i think they still carry 165's. http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif

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FlatFourVW

Discussion Starter · #3 · Nov 26, 2001

Re: Which tires for a 69 Beetle? (16v po boy)

I should mention this is for a restoration. My Beetle is all original, so instead of drastic changes and mods, I'm going the route of a cleanup and resto. 185's sound like an interesting choice. I am only worried that they are a little too wide for restoration. I won't pass up this option though! Thank you 16v po boy.

[Modified by FlatFourVW, 5:47 PM 11-26-2001]

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Datic

· #4 · Nov 26, 2001

Re: Which tires for a 69 Beetle? (FlatFourVW)

I just looked at http://www.tirerack.com and they have 2 brands of 165-15 tires. Dunlop and Firestone. Both very inexpensive.

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FlatFourVW

Discussion Starter · #5 · Nov 27, 2001

Re: Which tires for a 69 Beetle? (Datic)

Hahah I'm an idiot. How could I have forgotten about the Tire Rack!?!

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tjl

· #6 · Nov 27, 2001

Re: Which tires for a 69 Beetle? (FlatFourVW)

Tire Rack suggests 165R15 for a 1969 VW Beetle and has two tires of that size available.
However, its tire size conversion chart at http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/general/size_conversion.htm suggests that 5.60-15 is closer to 155R15. But Tire Rack has no 155R15 tires for sale.
165R15 and 155R15 are 82 series (i.e. like 165/82R15 and 155/82R15). The same web page says that wheels used with old numeric sizes like 5.60-15 tended to be narrow, so lower profile tires than 75 series may not work out too well.

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