I'm currently running 185/65-15 cheapo tires. I want to upgrade to some performance tires (g-Force Sport COMP-2) and the only size I can get is 195/55-15. My passenger rear tire has the closest gap between the tire and fender being about 1/2" calculating for the widest part of the tire. None of the gaps on the other tires are the same and all are bigger. Also my rear tires have a rather significant negative camber as my inside threads are significantly more worn than the outside.

Should I be concerned about changing tire size at all and especially if I get an alignment which may reduce the camber (so the top part of the tire would be moved outwards)?

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Yes, you should be concerned. The 195-width tires are going to be about 10mm wider than the 185s. (The actual widths can vary from brand to brand, even from tire model to tire model!) That means about 5mm inboard, and about 5mm outboard. 6mm is about 1/4", so you're going to have the sidewall about 1/4" closer to the fender, if you make no other changes.

If you take out some of the negative camber in the back, that will move the top of the tire outward, reducing your clearance further. Not sure how much, though.

And finally, your photos are presumably taken at static ride height. But the wheel does move up and down relative to the body as the suspension gets compressed by bumps or cornering. So there's a good chance that the widest part of the tire will wind up going up to the fender lip, or maybe beyond.

Add all three of those factors together, and I would definitely worry.

What wheels do you have on the car? If they're not specifically 914 wheels, that may be one of the sources of your troubles. Real 914 wheels move the tires inward in the fender more than Bug-offset wheels do...

--DD

I'm running the Mahle 4 lug wheels.

The space on the drivers rear is about 3/4" between the widest part of the tire and fender. So this one tire is really the only concerned spot.

There just aren't that many performance tire options. The Yokohama s.drive is in 185/55 but that reduces the diameter by 6% 24.5 to 23. My car is already lowered so I'd probably need to raise it back up a little.

You can always run 205/50-15 FALKEN AZENIS RT-615K 50R. A very sticky high performance tire.

Not without massaging the fender, he can't.

All 914s are slightly different. That's why we tell people that "205s will fit on most 914s." Because there are cars where they don't, like this one.

Pat, you can pull the fender out slightly to give yourself more clearance. You can also use the "baseball bat" method, or use graduated pieces of PVC pipe, or a dedicated fender roller tool, to pull the fender out a little bit.

Do you know if your 914 has been hit on that side? If so, the repairs may have moved the fender in a little bit. Other repairs may have done so as well--for instance, if the suspension pickup points were repaired. Or if the trailing arms were reinforced, they could have been warped slightly.

If you don't want to modify the body of the car, you may be stuck with skinny tires.

Remember, though, that these originally came with 165/80-15 tires. So the skinny tires will be closer to the original experience... (He says, looking for the silver lining.)

--DD

I ran 195 60 15s on racing tires and was tight with 1/4 spacers. I ran 205 60 15s on street tires and was really tight with 1/4 spacers.

Results may vary.

Dave is right about having to roll the fenders, but not on every corner. I was OK on one side, but not on the other.

I have these on the '74 2.0 I bought recently. Revolution wheels.

fender roller machine will not work on flat topped 914 fenders.

show us your fender. it looks pushed in, a bit concave. i would not roll that nice lip but rather pull the center 1/3rd of teh fender face

tire tucks as it travels upward

taller profile tires sidewalls balloon out more than low profiles

195/55 will be closer to correct rolling diameter

I was running with camber as well.

Yeah it definitely has a nice lip that would be ruined. Do I need a body guy to pull the fender out without touching the lip? I've never done any body work. It looks like my drivers side sticks further out which explains the increased gap over the passenger side. I don't know the history of the car so who knows what is original or if it has been hit.

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

This handle is about 16mm / .62". I'm running 140 Weltmeister springs on Bilsteins that are set to the 5th notch from the bottom out of 6. How far would the tire come up in operation? My dad weighs 220 and can't compress the suspension that much shoving down on the fender. Second thoughts on it being safe adding .4" total (.2" on outside) to tire width .51" reduction in sidewall.

It would definitely be close.

Click to view attachment

Bump! Any opinions on getting that fender out more or just leaving it as is being that the handle fits in the last picture?

I'm running the exact same rims with Kumho 195/65 rubber. I have negative camber, the tire measures 1/2" from vertical when I put a level against it.

The tires fit fine, as you'll find in the specs noted elsewhere in the forum they are within a percent or so of original spec tires. My springs are very weak, soon to be replaced, but with these tires clearance looks fine even if I put new springs and align...let me know if you need any pics or measurements. This is an original unmolested car, it should give you a good idea of what might fit

Click to view attachment Click to view attachment

That's nice for your car, but 914s differ from car to car. And even from side to side on the same car! There are no guarantees about tire fitment...

--DD

Dave,

My thinking was that OP would know roughly where his fenders should be vs. where they are now since we have similar rims and tires, that way he only moves the metal where needed. The tough part, as he is requesting, is how to move it