What is the biggest tyre to fit on a standard 14" wheel

[KarlT]

I've got a couple of these.......

[IMG:640:480]http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e377/ ... ics014.jpg[/img]

Would they fit?

Or did VW do a slightly wider (non)standard 14" wheel?

[peasant]

VW did a 205/80/14 on the Syncro ...but the wheels for that are 6" wide. The normal steel wheel is 5.5". I wouldn't put the 205/80 on it for fear it might pop off the rim when going round a sharp bend.

On your tyre there it says both 205/75/14 and 205/14 (which would normally be 205/80-82/14) ...which is it?

[peasant]

I drive 195/80/14 on the normal 5.5" rim.

As it happens, I was rotating tyres today and used the spare 185/80/14 to prop it up while doing so. As it happens I also took a picture

Here you can see the 195 on the front and the 185 on the rear. As you can see, the 195 gets quite baloony, its flanks are well over the rim.
I'd be weary about putting anything wider/taller on the 5.5" rim

[img681]http://img375.imageshack.us/img375/7508 ... rgejt0.jpg[/img]

[redstar]

i have 205's on mine.... believe they are standard rims. it came from karmann with that size on the log book....

[peasant]

205/70 was an official VW size as well.
These tyres are hard to get now though and they are 9 mm smaller in diameter than 185/80 's

http://www.tyresave.co.uk/tyresize.html

Karls 205/75's (if they are that) on the other hand are quite a big bigger ...

They would be 5mm smaller in diameter than the 195/80's that I run ...so they should fit. The only two questions are: how far does the flank stand out over the rim of the wheel (is it too far) ...and are they really 75's or are they just misnamed 80's. That could be the critical difference between them staying on the narrow 5.5" rim or popping off in a sharp corner.

[KarlT]

VW did a 205/80/14 on the Syncro ...but the wheels for that are 6" wide.


On your tyre there it says both 205/75/14 and 205/14 (which would normally be 205/80-82/14) ...which is it?

Are you saying all syncros came with wider rims? I think I have my originals somewhere.


Don't know, Not here. But we want to know if its 75% of 205mm, or 82% of 205mm. Is that correct?

[peasant]

[

Are you saying all syncros came with wider rims? I think I have my originals somewhere.

Don't know, Not here. But we want to know if its 75% of 205mm, or 82% of 205mm. Is that correct?

1)The 205/80/14 tyre was an option on some petrol syncros (not on diesel afaik) and it came only in combination with 6" wide rims. Standard rim width was 5.5"

2) In my humble opinion 205/80 would be unsafe on the standard 5.5".

205/75 may just work (I have no experience with it) What is confusing is that it mentions both sizes on the tyre you got there


If I were inyour shoes I'd get one of those tyres mounted on your rims and then look long and hard at it and ask myself ...would I trust this not to pop off?

Sorry ... but that's about as "qualified" as my advice gets in this case

[peasant]

This is what I'm on about:
[img681]http://img521.imageshack.us/img521/471/ ... rgefz6.jpg[/img]

At its widest point the flank of the tyre is a guesstimated 30-35 mm wider then the rim of the wheel (on my 195/80's). (about 5-8 mm shy of being flush with the center of the hubcap). That's about as wide as I'm comfortable with. Any wider tyres and you'd really want a wider rim as well.

[Aidan]

205R14C is correct fitting for both 5.5 and 6 inch syncro rims, not all syncros had the 6" rims

[KarlT]

Ahhh. The mud is clearing! (alittle)

[peasant]

205R14C is correct fitting for both 5.5 and 6 inch syncro rims, not all syncros had the 6" rims

Why would VW stock and distribute two different sizes of steel wheels if one size fits all, as you say?

To my knowledge any Syncro that came from the factory with 205/80/14 tyres on steelies definetly had the 6J 14 rims and not the 5.5J 14 that were standard on everything else.

Sure, you can fit the 205/80's on the narrow rim ..but is it safe to do so?

[Aidan]

check the handbook that came with the vehicle it's clear that both rims are ok for the 205R14C, and german TUV certs I've seen show that it's ok to change to the larger tyre on the skinny rim, it's only 12mm different and means that you have more wall to protect the rim.

[Syncro G]

This is what I'm on about:
[img681]http://img521.imageshack.us/img521/471/ ... rgefz6.jpg[/img]

5.5J rim^^^

[IMG:640:480]http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e224/ ... Small2.jpg[/img]
6J rim^^^

Note the hubcap apears flush with the tyre on the 6J instead of pertruding out a bit. An easy way to spot the difference without looking for the part number is look at where the centre of the wheel is welded to the rim, if its about level with the step in the rim its a 5.5, if its set back a bit its a 6J. As the hub sits further inside a 6J you can run crappy plastic wheel trims off a golf, if you really want to.

I think 185R14's with 5.5J was the norm for a syncro and 205R14 on 6J rims was an option, probubly a common one on 2.1's. If the van had 205's and 6J's from the factory it had the little plastic spats on the back of the arches - probubly stops the door handles getting covered in road salt as mine seems to suffer that badly without them and I'm sure our old 2wd caravelle with 185R14'snever suffered like that. They wouldn't have fitted 205's to 5.5J rims I don't think because if they did why bother making 6J's?

Pritty sure the 205/70R14 size was for the alloy wheels option which again are wider than 5.5J.

I used to have 215R14's on my 6J's and they seemed fine. Now running 27x8.50R14 on the same rims which, though slightly less tall are the same width - BFG claims they are safe to fit to rims 6J+ so scaleing that a 5.5 probubly shouldn't go above about 195R14. That said I know loads of people with landrovers running 205R16's on 5" rims which aparently you shouldn't do (should be 5.5"+ on a 16" rim), infact I do it myself and my tyres ware very evenly and it doesn't wonder much (for a series 1 landy), if I change the rims I'll fit 5.5's but it doesn't seem to matter, there will be a safety factor in it afterall so as long as you don't take the pi$$...