I'm replacing a set of steel rims with old Fuchs - currently I have 195/65/r15s on the steel rims. When I suggested having these fairly new tires mounted on the Fuchs the tire shop grumbled "they're a bit too wide for that rim" and stated I'd end up with poor performance or at least a shimmy when cornering.

What are folks mounting on their Fuchs?

Thanks -

Hoary d'Grogg
"Niner newb"

Go to another shop. The steel wheels have the same dimensions as the Fuchs 15x5.5".

The type of tire to put on the Fuchs really depends on what you want from a tire. If you are happy with the performance characteristics of your current tires, have them remounted on the Fuchs.

For street tires in a contemporary size that will leave your gear ratios and speedo close to original, 195/65-15 is perfect. They will behave exactly as they do on your steel wheels. Many put 205/60 or 50 but that is pushing the envelope, both for the width of the wheels and body clearance. Tell 'em to mount 'em.

I run 195/65 15 Yokohama AVS with no problems. It's a nice compromise between comfort and handling.

I have run 196/60 also.

No problem fitting and balancing on the Fuchs.

Go find a better tire dealership.

Yup, agreed. I use 195/65/15 for street on American racing mags and 205/50/15 on Fuchs for the track. Track tires are just about gone, and planning to try 225/50/15's on the rear to see if they will fit.
Speedo is about 10% off with 205/50's, right on with 195/65's according to my gps.

or, you could just try this:

914 Tire Size Calculator

Andy

I checked a 345/30/19 and it is just a tad bigger than a stock 165/15


B

345/30 x 17 is a perfect fit !

Andy

215/80 x 12 works too!

I run 205 /50 on my Fuchs. I run the same on my steel rims.

I'm also running 195/65 tires (Pirellis) on my 5.5x15 Fuchs. Bought the tires only two weeks ago from Tire Rack, and they tried to give me some crap about "those are taller tires than we usually sell for that car".

Good tires. Nice ride but the tires aren't so tall the steering is mushy. No clearance issues at all.

205/65 - wide enough and matches the rolling diameter of the stock tire - no speedo error (as if they were accurate in the first place) <_<

as stated they should fit the rims fine. word of caution here, confirm how much torque the lugs get with the installer and double check them when you get home.
when i had my 205 mounted the guy had the the lugs way too light. i asked before i drove the car home.

kevin

Very good point.

Whenever I'm having tires put on any of my cars, I make sure that the installer sees me in the waiting area polishing my torque wrench.

As one installer told me " we set our airguns with a torque wrench"

one minor question. your fuch wheels do have the part #914 361 011 01 on the back? a vw emblem, a fox's head? anytime i have the tire guys touch my wheels i make them write the torque values on the work order. there was another interesting tidbit. the installer put the MAX recomended air in the tires. the sidewall says 44psi. i changed that too .

kevin

My policy is, whenever possible, to just take the wheels and tires to the shop, not the whole car. I install the wheels on the car myself, and set pressures myself. I've had even "good" tire shops try to use 100ft/lbs of torque (manually operated torque wrench, but the guy was a gorilla) "because you drive hard".

There was a great shop in Sacramento called The Tread Mill I miss terribly. Friendly people, and they always used rim protectors when changing tires.

195/60/15 Yokohamas are great.

Just the tire and wheel

I just ordered 195/60/15 Yoko ES100's for my 2 liter Fuchs. Debated with myself about 205/50's for a while but decided the 60's would be a good compromise for street driving.

I too had thought about the 205/50/15 and decided the ride would be smoother on the 195/60.
Next time I may make the sacrafice just to try the handling.