Stretched Tyres...

[sitting_budda]

Ok after some advice... I know the standard route with 13x7 is to fit 175x50s which looks great. But has anyone done something similiar 15s?

Im currently running 195x50s (they came with the wheels.)

 

As they sit at the moment...

 

So which tyres to fit? Sizes, profiles etc and where to get them from? I dont want to go to the extremes that some vw guys go to...

That looks plain dangerous.

 

Im thinking something along the lines of this...

 

Nothing major, just want something subtle. The main reason for this is so that I can lower the back end down an inch or so

because the moment it is riding quite high. So the idea is gain clearance by changing the width and height of tyre by stretching it.

 

As with all oldskool fords they are designed to go sideways, I dont want anything too extreme that will blowout and wont allow me to enojoy roundabouts etc

[antz]

stretched tyres are....GAY!!!!!

 

just buy some tyres that fit instead. it looks much better.

 

i keep telling all the local VAG boys their tyres dont fit just to wind them up i get stick contantly about ownign a ford in a VAG populated county so i give them stick back about their gay tyres

[sitting_budda]

agreed, but im not going the extent that the VAG crowd go to.

 

Im based on what we do when fitting 7x13 (superlites/ rs4 spokes etc), instead of fitted 185x60x13, some people opt for 175x50x13, which is in effect to stretching, just not to the same extent.

 

So with 195x50x15s on there are the moment, would say 185x50x15 or equivilant produce the same results? Has anyone done this?

[sitting_budda]

* the alloys are 15x7

[Von Loxlee]

a 175 on a 7 will not really look stretched at all will be fine.

[FredTransit]

stretched tyres are....GAY!!!!!

 

just buy some tyres that fit instead. it looks much better.

 

i keep telling all the local VAG boys their tyres dont fit just to wind them up i get stick contantly about ownign a ford in a VAG populated county so i give them stick back about their gay tyres

 

Thank god it's not just me that thinks it then, I thought I was just getting old! Stretched tyres, what's that about?

[Copey]

glad i am not the only one that hates this look!!

[mk1super]

Them looks down right leathal How does that get through an Mot?

[Mad Mex]

change to a old set of steels

[H.P.E harry]

My advice would be to stretch away! Think its called the euro look and looks the nuts. Would show a pic of mine but its not loading at the mo

[FredTransit]

Nope, it completely misses me. What is the point of this? Not going to make your car go faster is it?

[mk2_escort_chick]

Must admit I'm not really a fan

[countrybumpkin]

stretched tire just look like you couldnt afford the right size and also you hve to think the the correct sized tire protect you expencive rims from the kerbs and alot of stretched tire do look like they will come off under hard cournering

[antz]

stretched tire do look like they will come off under hard cournering

 

and ive heard they do

[aden]

195/45x15s look spot on ask deano1351

[Anglia68]

I like the stretched look but some people take it too far imho.

 

I'm running 165/65 x 13's on 7's on the front and 185/60 x 13's on 8's on the rear.

 

[ban1216]

To take this one step further what would you guys recommend for

9 inch rears and 7 inch fronts fited to a tarmac arched mark 2 escy

was thinking 185 50s on the front and 205 50s on the rear

[jamesmk1]

To take this one step further what would you guys recommend for

9 inch rears and 7 inch fronts fited to a tarmac arched mark 2 escy

was thinking 185 50s on the front and 205 50s on the rear

 

 

 

 

215,50,13 and 175,50,13

[sitting_budda]

a 175 on a 7 will not really look stretched at all will be fine.

 

So 175x50x15 then??

[Rich Sav]

i seen a car at retro rides last year goin round mallory with streached tyres on

they where streached so much they had no play in the side walls and when he went round a corner the tyre came off the rim leavin him spinnin out

[Retromotorsport]

Nope, it completely misses me. What is the point of this? Not going to make your car go faster is it?

 

To a point, yes it will make the car go faster, around a lap ..

 

with atyre that looks like this (___) they sidewalls flex under the rim, and you run on one edge under hard cornering \____> like that. the inside edge will lift of the ground as the outside one get longer than the inside.

 

When you have the right size tyre for the rim, for handling, no comfort.

your tyre should look square edge or slightly 'shrunk' |____| \____/

 

the rule of thumb is on a sliding scale ... under 8" use 1/2" under rim width * over 8" use 1" under rim width* .. so a 9" may use a 8 3/4 .. a 6" rim a 5 3/4 and some hillclimb single seaters will use a 13" rim with an 11" tyre.

 

the wider the rim, the larger the difference if you get me

 

* this measurement is the acctual footprint of the tyre, not what is written on the sidewall , as manufactures include all the tread in their measurement. Go and measure a few road tyres, the surface that is in contact with the ground can be quite a lot smaller than whats on the sidewall .... and it gets worse with the price of the tyres, we measured a cheapie that had 185 on the side and the contact patch was on 135.

 

 

People who poly bush their cars then stick a 185 on a 5.5 rs 4 spoke have wasted their money.. if you have a normall standard road car near you, go and bounce it sideways, push near the headlamp and watch how much it moves sideways .. that keep the car comfy and noise free, but its not the best for handling. You have tightend up the bushes but its all lost on the tyre squirming under the rim.

Fit good tyres before replacing standard good bushes for polysports.

 

 

I had Mark Fowlers capri in , he had a lot of understeer, and wanted me to get rid of it, i took one look at his tyres and said change them from 215 to 195, he said he needed more grip not less, i said less is more, ... he did change them, and phoned to say hes no longer understeerring and challenging for wins now.

 

Lots of places advertising tyres will have a rim / tyre width guide...

This guide is for road cars, comfy roads cars, they have to sell you a tyre thats not going to show up every dimple in the road, and make lots of noise, so take their guides as just that, they quote those figures so your not ringing them up saying " fitted your tyres and they drone, rumble and make my steering shake "

 

That said, the VW look, yes you can go too far, also tyres coming off the rim is normally down to wheel and tyre design, the seat on the rim is cheaply machined on some aftermarket rims, and the tyres seat can be a bit thin. I've seen more 'road going' width tyres come off at trackdays then slightly stretched tyres, due to the roll they can unseat the tyre like a tyre machine, each revoloution moves the tyre further away from the seat.

 

So dont go mad... just go sensible

[wallis]

im normally a lurker on here and am in the VW community so thought id add my 2p (selling up for some OSF) and as said stretching tyres is pretty much on every watercooled VW at theminute and ive had stetched tyres on quite a few sets of wheels, biggest strectch being a 215/35 on a 9j rim.

 

it tends to be more a form over function thing to be honest, wide wheels are popular so an equally wide tyre wouldnt work in an arch etc. this was the start of the stretching, then it caught on as more of a look. i was never going to get the 275/40 tyres on my car that the wheels originally had and they would look like balloons so a smaller tyre has to be used in order to get the wheels i wanted on my car!

 

its something thats been disputed to the nth degree for years, ive never seen a tyre come off, ive never had a tyre come off, yes they handle 'different' and takes some getting used to but in my opinion are not unsafe at all (if you keep it in sensible limits, ive seen 185 width on 10j rims where inner tubes have to be used etc which i think is dangerous).

 

175 on a 7j is a perfectly safe stretch and probably within manufacturers limits, ive seen 165 on a 8j with no difficulties.

 

all drifters stretch tyres and have no issues, something to think about, used to stretch tyres on race cars too.

 

just a VW persons thoughts on the matter its been a while since i posted on here, my sig is about 4 years old

[Von Loxlee]

a 175 on a 7 will not really look stretched at all will be fine.

 

So 175x50x15 then??

 

yeh that should be pretty sweet. for reference my 175s on a 6 inch rim still have a fair amount of bulge in them

 

 

and retromotorsport a man that talks some sense and is not just taking internet rumours as the gospel truth.