Club 80-90 Forums

Hi. I'm ordering up some whitewall tyres for my van and have the option of the standard 185/14 or a larger 195/14. The standard is 25.6'' top to bottom and 7.4'' wide whereas the 195/14 is 26.3'' top to bottom and 7.7'' wide.

I like the idea of the slightly larger tyre and just wanted to check that I won't get any issues with rubbing/fouling. I can't imagine I would as the differences are small but just want to double-check before I purchase. Thanks for any advice.

Assuming that you're still using the standard VW steel wheels, then 195/R14 tyres should fit okay - they have a nominal diameter of 675mm, which is about 3% larger than the standard 185/R14 tyres, which have a nominal diameter of 654mm.

The largest tyre that is commonly understood to fit a 2WD van is a 215/75 R15, which has a nominal diameter of 704mm, although that is subject to your wheels having a suitable offset, your suspension being in good condition, and your engine being able to handle the more than 7.5% increase in gearing.

I have always put 14x195 C on standard wheels , no issues at all. 

i have 16x215/70 on my two wheel drive camper on merc tolliman alloys , but do have 5mm spacers on the front 
 

Thanks guys. Didn’t think it would be an issue but good to have some reassurance.

Have now managed to track down some whitewall tyres - JK and others have been out of stock for ages. The 185/14s are marked as having a load rating of 95 on the website and the supplier says they have a load rating of 850kg (don't understand how the too figures correlate). From what I've read on here that puts them right on the edge of what's okay for a fully laden camper. They also do a 195/14 with a load rating of 900kg - is that enough to tip me into okay territory? Cheers.

Yep, go with the 195s is my tip.

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