# whats the WIDEST rim you can safely fit on a 01 Beetle? HELP



## R32GTIGUY (Feb 5, 2004)

my buddy is going crazy tryin to get wheels, he wants to know the widest you can go with rubbing, being able to turn, etc? anyone can help me that would be awesome... Thanks in Advance , hes going for a 19" rim


----------



## gt2437 (Jul 29, 2000)

*Re: whats the WIDEST rim you can safely fit on a 01 Beetle? HELP (R32GTIGUY)*

FastandFurious has 9" front and 10" rear and I don't believe he has any rubbing issues.
I have 8.5" front and 10" rear, but mine rub in the rear. 
Depends on the tire sizes, which explains why mine rubs and F&F's don't in the rear.


----------



## 99BeetleTX (Jan 26, 2005)

Would these widths apply to 18" wheels also?


----------



## gt2437 (Jul 29, 2000)

*Re: (99BeetleTX)*


_Quote, originally posted by *99BeetleTX* »_Would these widths apply to 18" wheels also?

yep, forgot to mention the widths above are on 18" wheels.


----------



## FastAndFurious (Feb 2, 2002)

*Re: (gt2437)*

Hello, I'm Mr. 10inches







This has been a controversial subject around here for years now and still is even after the fact that i went and got 10 inch rears and showed everyone YES it is possible but people don't understand how to achieve that.
Do a search on this topic it has been discussed many times before but many ppl tend to ignore what i recommend because its either "too wild" or "too extreme" ...or whatever u want to call it.
To answer your question..
Its not so much about fitting the widest wheel its about what look you want. If you want the wider look in the back you should be able to fit 10" rears without problems as long as you have some adjustable suspension where you can adjusst even the stiffness. Also on another note, sometimes being slammed, theres less rubbing then where you are lets say a half inch higher in the rear because when you drop it so low your tires go inward more and theres less suspension travel making it a harsher ride but who cares when everyone will point and say
"wow baby got back"








If your doing a 18 inch wheel it also depends on the offset of the wheel. for a 10 inch wide rear you need anything between an offset of 25-30 would be fine. That is 18x10 with a tire of 225/35-245/35 which would be stretched. If your doing a 19x10 Id say go with either a 235/30/19 or a 245/30/19 and your suspension must be low enough to create the wheels sitting at an angle.
gt2437- i'm almost sure that if you went all the way down in the rear you would have less rubbing or no rubbing but I know you can't


----------



## no-BUG-me (Jun 27, 2004)

*Re: (FastAndFurious)*

235s belong on 8 inch wide wheels.
on a 10 incher, 265s or 275s.
of course this won't fit on a beetle, but then why go so wide with the wheel if you are going with a stock sized tire width?
yeah I know..... so people look at you.


----------



## FastAndFurious (Feb 2, 2002)

*Re: (no-BUG-me)*

This thread is not about what belongs on what. The person simply asked whats the widest that you can fit without rubbing issues and I explained.

_Quote, originally posted by *no-BUG-me* »_235s belong on 8 inch wide wheels.
on a 10 incher, 265s or 275s.
of course this won't fit on a beetle, but then why go so wide with the wheel if you are going with a stock sized tire width?
yeah I know..... so people look at you.












Stock size tire? we're talking about 18 inch and 19inch wheels, since when did beetles come with stock sized wheels in 18 and 19?


----------



## FastAndFurious (Feb 2, 2002)

*Re: (FastAndFurious)*

For no-BUG-me's lack of imagination I have provided pictures free of charge.
Enjoy!


----------



## Lorem (Nov 19, 2003)

*Re: (FastAndFurious)*

Sick! 
That last photo is my favorite pic of your car http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif 


_Modified by Lorem at 4:10 AM 1-28-2005_


----------



## FastAndFurious (Feb 2, 2002)

*Re: (Lorem)*

thanks http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif


----------



## no-BUG-me (Jun 27, 2004)

*Re: (FastAndFurious)*

stock sized tire WIDTH. 
yes, my 2001 GLX came with 17" wheels with 225/45/17 tires.
this all on rims that are only 7" wide.
I love the wheels on your bug, but they need some fat rubber on them.
It's not how wide your wheels are, but how wide your tires are.
the wheels don't contact the ground, or do they?
I guess I'm just not into the overly stretched tire look. 
I'd rather put 245/40/17s on a 17x8 wheels, than go with huge 19" wheels and skinny tires.
I don't mean to judge or p1$$ off anyone, I'm just being an instigator I guess. Your cars look great, just not my style I guess.



_Modified by no-BUG-me at 10:54 AM 1-28-2005_


----------



## gt2437 (Jul 29, 2000)

*Re: (FastAndFurious)*


_Quote, originally posted by *FastAndFurious* »_
gt2437- i'm almost sure that if you went all the way down in the rear you would have less rubbing or no rubbing but I know you can't

it'd definitely be worth a try, but the 3" exhaust already hits over the axle on large bumps -- as you know







. If I can tweak the GHL to be more cooperative I will give it a try. We both know how fun the rear suspension is to adjust.








The rubbing is not so bad though, but I may try to 'roll' (ie. cut since it's plastic) the inside of the rear fender lip which should give me another 1/8" clearance or so. 
255/35/18 on 18" x 10" rear:


















_Modified by gt2437 at 11:17 AM 1-28-2005_


----------



## FastAndFurious (Feb 2, 2002)

*Re: (gt2437)*


_Quote, originally posted by *no-BUG-me* »_stock sized tire WIDTH. 
yes, my 2001 GLX came with 17" wheels with 225/45/17 tires.
this all on rims that are only 7" wide.
I love the wheels on your bug, but they need some fat rubber on them.
It's not how wide your wheels are, but how wide your tires are.
the wheels don't contact the ground, or do they?
I guess I'm just not into the overly stretched tire look. 
I'd rather put 245/40/17s on a 17x8 wheels, than go with huge 19" wheels and skinny tires.
I don't mean to judge or p1$$ off anyone, I'm just being an instigator I guess. Your cars look great, just not my style I guess.

_Modified by no-BUG-me at 10:54 AM 1-28-2005_

I understand what you like and prefer but by what your saying this has no place in this thread. No offense. The person asked whats the widest wheels that they could fit. And your talking about 17x8's. I have a lot of experience that is first hand and i know what works and what doesn't that is why i replied to thread. I'm not saying its the best thing in the world to do but if it floats your boat then why not. Yeah its a bit more dangerous then putting a wider tire on the wheel because of ****ty roads we have here...i think everyone knows that. 
But in the end its been proven for years that it works. I have brought existing proof that it even works on a beetle, and for those of you who deny it still then thats your problem but for those who know me and seen my car in person know that i roll in and out of shows just the way you have seen my car in pictures.
On another note the person asked for widest wheels on a beetle and them being 19's or 18's you would assume that this is going to be done more for the show factor then the go. Especially with 19's. Also the beetle being a FWD car it would defenetly be more for show of course where you don't need fat tires. Some german cars come standard from the factory with stretched tires. Not as much but enough to tell the difference.
Explain that one to me?


_Quote, originally posted by *gt2437* »_
it'd definitely be worth a try, but the 3" exhaust already hits over the axle on large bumps -- as you know







. If I can tweak the GHL to be more cooperative I will give it a try. We both know how fun the rear suspension is to adjust.








The rubbing is not so bad though, but I may try to 'roll' (ie. cut since it's plastic) the inside of the rear fender lip which should give me another 1/8" clearance or so. 

_Modified by gt2437 at 11:17 AM 1-28-2005_

ugh i hate adjusting my rear. BTW i just broke an axle and i was so lazy to lift the rear to get it on the flat bed that i only raised the front and it looked like it has hydrolics lol
I never thought about cutting..maybe that could work... but the fenders are very very flexible and one time I had topull my fender because of a small fender bender and i pulled the fender with my own hands...so Id give it a try and pull them a bit. They are very flexible but try not to pull too much to crack your paint.







http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif


----------



## gt2437 (Jul 29, 2000)

*Re: (FastAndFurious)*


_Quote, originally posted by *FastAndFurious* »_
ugh i hate adjusting my rear. BTW i just broke an axle and i was so lazy to lift the rear to get it on the flat bed that i only raised the front and it looked like it has hydrolics lol
I never thought about cutting..maybe that could work... but the fenders are very very flexible and one time I had topull my fender because of a small fender bender and i pulled the fender with my own hands...so Id give it a try and pull them a bit. They are very flexible but try not to pull too much to crack your paint.







http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif 

lol, yeah I just did the same thing w/ emissions testing








the fenders are definitely very flexible, especially with the inner fender liners removed. That's part of the reason I don't care for the aftermarket body kits that don't use the inner fenders (along w/ the fact that everything is exposed and it just doesn't look right). 
As for modifying the fenders, I'm going to look into it farther and see what can be done.







http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif


----------



## no-BUG-me (Jun 27, 2004)

*Re: (FastAndFurious)*

I'm just being a jacka$$, don't mind me. 
you are definately brave driving that around the crap roads we have here by NYC. I used to live in NYC and on a BMW, I bent a wheel the 2nd day I had it on there (man I was pi$$ed!). I cringe when I hit those pot holes and the suspension bottoms and the whole car make a wicked bang noise. 
I give you credit for running the wheels you do. They are beautiful wheels, (definately NOT cheap) and I hope you don't have the luck I did on the roads around here. 
cheers.


----------



## KrGs_MrN-Kusinagi0 (Dec 9, 2003)

*Re: whats the WIDEST rim you can safely fit on a 01 Beetle? HELP (gt2437)*

I got 18 8x5s in front and rear.
REar can definitely go bigger.
oh and my offset is 38
but the front NOway cant go any bigger with that offset..
I got 225/40s on front and 235/40s on rear
should of got 245/40s on rear.
but the front is tight fit.


----------



## FastAndFurious (Feb 2, 2002)

*Re: (no-BUG-me)*


_Quote, originally posted by *no-BUG-me* »_I'm just being a jacka$$, don't mind me. 
you are definately brave driving that around the crap roads we have here by NYC. I used to live in NYC and on a BMW, I bent a wheel the 2nd day I had it on there (man I was pi$$ed!). I cringe when I hit those pot holes and the suspension bottoms and the whole car make a wicked bang noise. 
I give you credit for running the wheels you do. They are beautiful wheels, (definately NOT cheap) and I hope you don't have the luck I did on the roads around here. 
cheers.


I only put my wheels on for spring and summer and I try to avoid going places I don't know that well.. I have been successful so far and im on a 3rd set so im crossing my fingers i dont bend one of these. With the crappy US exchange rate, they have gone up so much over the past few months making it an almost impossible replacement IF i was to find that same offset and size.
I was just browsing through on tirerack. They want for 18x8 $1000 and for 18x9.5 they want $1100 per wheel. So I'm assuming finding the same wheels would be tricky in the offset of et50 in 5x130 (18x9 &18x10) which would probably be more then what tirerack has them for which is not including the modifications. I don't know maybe I need to find myself another decent set of wheels to roll around on this summer and keep them for SHOW only. If the US exchange rate keeps up its good work like it has, pretty soon they will be worth more than the KBB value on my car








NYC roads are horrible... I just hit a huge pothole with my stock 16 inch wheels and snapped my axle.


----------

