Club 80-90 Forums

Hi all — looking for some practical advice from those with experience.

I’ve got a 1.9 petrol VW T25 (1986) that I’m in the process of getting back on the road and lightly upgrading. I’m planning to fit 15" steel wheels along with a modest lift kit (around 40mm), aiming for a bit more of an all-terrain / expedition setup rather than anything extreme.

I’d really appreciate recommendations on tyre sizes that work well with this kind of setup. In particular:

What tyre size are you running on 15s with a similar lift?

Any issues with rubbing (arches, sliding door, steering lock, etc.)?

Usage will be a mix of UK roads and longer touring trips (possibly Europe / light off-road), so looking for a sensible balance rather than aggressive off-road tyres.

Grateful for any real-world setups, photos, or lessons learned.

Thanks in advance

The most common 15" choice is 215/75/15 AT if you're going down the pseudo syncro route.
They will clear the sliding door(s) at ET30.
However, I've done just that before with a fully rebuilt DG in an empty 5 seat Caravelle and its not a lot of fun. That increase in tyre diameter is a significant % increase in gearing and will knock the stuffing out of the performance the moment you meet a hill.
A good 2.1 or an AGG will pull the taller gearing and you'd hardly notice it.

I've got 215/70 ×15" Yokohama Geolandars on Ronal ET 23 on my camper, 2.1 with the Brickwerks lift kit and it pulls nicely enough.

A light T3 will do OK with the common 215/75R15 setup even without a lift kit.

Other great tyres are the Toyo Open Country AT series. They are have a good grip off road, they are quiet on tarmac and sensibly priced.

I have an excellent practice with them on my wife's Jimny for the last 6 years. The first set weas replaced after 5 years and almost 60,000 miles ( I replace tyres @ 3 mm tread depth).

This setup will behave well as long as you won't try to push the car to high speed, and you will work a bit more shifting gears.