Effect on handling of diff tyre widths from front to back

mrsmythe · Post by **mrsmythe** » Tue Mar 22, 2005 6:12 am

I'm wondering if and how would different widths of tyres from from to back affect the handling of a bug?

I know running skinny little 145s up front are prone to under steering so I thought about scaling this up to say 175x50R16s up front and 205x55R16s or even 225x50R16s out back, how would this make the car behave, under/over steer or improves the cars balance? I would've thought it would make the balance between teh two ends better, is that right?

My bug is 72 with a long axle swing axle rear end, with the usual handling changes, so I'm looking for easy i.e. NOT converting to IRS, ways to make the car handle better.

Ta!

Flow · Post by **Flow** » Tue Mar 22, 2005 8:01 am

basic suspension tuning in this link

http://www.tech-session.com/kb/index.ph ... d=106&c=53

Bugorsh · Post by **Bugorsh** » Tue Mar 22, 2005 8:45 am

I'm running 195/60/15's in front and 205/55/16's in back and the car has a neutral to slightly loose balance to it. I think the 175's in front with 205's or 225's in back will still push real bad. You need a closer tire stagger to get to neutral balance which is good, many racers like it a little loose so you can feel the rear end start to let go and reign it back in as opposed to complete neutral where you can loose both ends at the same time and just slide sideways. When it's loose you can sometimes go faster and just hang it all out whereas with a tight condition all you can do is slow down or tag the wall.

rsrnate · Post by **rsrnate** » Tue Mar 22, 2005 12:50 pm

I agree with Bugorsh that if you have tire stagger at all you want it to be a little closer together for handeling purposes. If you run a 205 in front then you can run a 225 in the rear , or a 195 in front and a 205 in the rear. If you put too much tire on the rear and a skiny up front the car will push very badly when it comes to driving it aggresivley.

DORIGTT · Post by **DORIGTT** » Mon May 02, 2005 8:04 pm

You also don't want 'too much' tire!

Too wide and you can't get enough heat in them for proper traction. Too small and you'll get them too hot and 'greasy'.

Just trying to make sense of a senseless world

Ephry73 · Post by **Ephry73** » Sun Jun 12, 2005 5:51 am

How would this affect a swing axle car? Say one with the cal-look and lowered stance. I was thinking of upgrading to a 185/50/15 fron tire and leaving the 195/60/15 rear. zero camber/toe in the back and negative 2* in the front with stock toe in. Any takes?

Ephry

yeahmag · Post by **yeahmag** » Mon Jun 13, 2005 9:00 am

Ephry,

If you are thinking of that '66 you are getting...

Nate was helping me get some Falken Azenis for the car: 205/55/15. That's what he has on his race bug. For now that car has 195's in the front and 205/65's in the back. They're great for the street, but are not so good for autocross.

-Aaron

rsrnate · Post by **rsrnate** » Mon Jun 13, 2005 10:13 am

The falken azenis is a 205/50/15

They are getting discontinued for the new "better" azenis 615.

yeahmag · Post by **yeahmag** » Mon Jun 13, 2005 10:22 am

It is nice that they will come in two 15" sizes now. I've read some good things about the 615. Too bad the price is so high...

-Aaron

Ephry73 · Post by **Ephry73** » Sun Jun 19, 2005 7:33 pm

Tood bad I could not get the car. But the information is still good. Now, on a Beetle, the track width is what makes the car handle so much better. Wider upfront that back. Does one have to measure the centerline of the tires when getting the changes, or the outerline of the tires?

Ephry