Wheels and tires sizes

[Buzzfagan]

So I am trying to decide which wheels and tires to get for my Manx style rebuild.

I have decided on 15x10's for the rest and I want to get the widest I can for the front. I already purchased some 15x5's for the front based on what the vendor I purchased them said. I really would like a larger width for the front but my vendor says that if I go any wider he is concerned with the tire rubbing on the chassis/suspension/fiberglass. I have no problem returning what I have and re-buying something bigger if it will work for the front.

Does this sound right? Do you think I can go wider for the front? Any help or advice would be great.

I don't know how to tell what to order to be safe so when I show up to discount tire with the buggy and wheels I know what to order and what will work and not rub.

I am going to try and get the largest possible street type tire (like BF Goodwrench Radial TA) that will fit on the wheel and fit the car correctly without any rubbing.

Here are the details of the 5 lug VW pattern I am going to use:

15x5 - 2 7/8" back spacing
15x6 - 3 1/4" back spacing
15x7 - 3 1/2" back spacing
15x8 - 3" back spacing
15x10 - 3 1/2" back spacing

[GregR]

The Manx has 15x6 and 205-60 on the front. 15x8 and 265-60 on the rear all BFG Radial T/As and Cragar S/S.
That said, if I had it to do over again I go narrower on the front. Maybe a 175 or 185.
The wider tires on the front IMO tend to follow ruts and sometimes the car will want to wander.
The alignment was good so that's not at issue.
Plus, again IMO the narrower tires look better.
Wider tires than 205 may make turning interesting as the rear of the tire may hit the chassis/body.
Also consider the diameter. Too tall a tire on the front will hit the underside of the fender and if you have VW fender mounted turn signals, it'll hit them too.
On the rear, seems like 28.5 or 29" tall is the magic number. Go over that and you can start messing with the gear ratios and effectively kill and top end HP you have.

[KIM-P]

I have 205 40 16 on the front of my buggy the rim is 16 x 8 with a 4" back spacing, stock width front beam and disk brakes and 2.5" drop spindle and the only time the tires rub is when I had to make a panic stop on the freeway and that was the fender rubbing on the top of the tire. The tires are only 22" tall but I have at least 2" of clearance between the tire and the fender well. Almost forgot about the 3/4" thick wheel adapter so I can use Chevy bolt pattern rims