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Seems most of the wheels and tires are 15  x 5 or 5.5 .

In general how big can you get away with wheel and tire size on a speedster without having to flare the wheel wells, etc...?  

I have always simply left the standard wheels and worked from there. 
But I am mapping out ideas for a  mildly modified Outlaw.

As always, I appreciate you guys.

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Lot of discussion in the past about this. To save you some time: Swing axle, drum brakes up to 5.5" wheel,195 tire. Swing axle disc brakes up to 5" wheel 190 tire. IRS drum brakes up to 5" wheel 185 tire. IRS disc brakes 4.5 wheel 185 tire. Based on steel wheels standard VW/Porsche offset.

I have IRS with disc brakes and I'm running 5.5" Mahle baby burners with 185 tires. Had to shave the rotor face and grind the inner fender lip to fit.

Actually, you can get a fairly wide tire on the rear if you simply have a rim widened sending the depth towards the center of the car.  

You might have to experiment but Carlos essentially you have an IM and Henry can tell you exactly what he has done for his other builds.  A few verification and the rear wheels can have different shoes.

205/60R 15 I remember were my rear tires on my 2004 IM.

YOKo avid envigor 185 65  r 15  front

YOKo avid envigor   205 60  15 backs...

If you are ok with steel wheels.  Late model 914s came with a steel sport wheel that was 5.5x15" ET40 (VW had similiar but offset was only ET34).  They are simple/inexpensive to reset the mounting surface to get more off set.  Looks like you could get at least 1/2 inch.  If you wanted to increase width at same time - suspect 6" would work.  They can be painted or powder coated for different look (as below).  Stock they were dull grey - but a chrome powdercoat would add bling. 

Image result for porsche 914 sport wheels

Here's a set on ebay - but same cost as the new 5" offset CIP1 Fuchs!

https://www.ebay.com/i/263352594422?chn=ps

 

WOLFGANG posted:

If you are ok with steel wheels.  Late model 914s came with a steel sport wheel that was 5.5x15" ET40 (VW had similiar but offset was only ET34).  They are simple/inexpensive to reset the mounting surface to get more off set.  Looks like you could get at least 1/2 inch.  If you wanted to increase width at same time - suspect 6" would work.  They can be painted or powder coated for different look (as below).  Stock they were dull grey - but a chrome powdercoat would add bling. 

Image result for porsche 914 sport wheels

Here's a set on ebay - but same cost as the new 5" offset CIP1 Fuchs!

https://www.ebay.com/i/263352594422?chn=ps

 

Looking at Fuch type wheels, 5 lug. The 914 styles are more flat faced than I would like

WOLFGANG posted:

If you are ok with steel wheels.  Late model 914s came with a steel sport wheel that was 5.5x15" ET40 (VW had similiar but offset was only ET34).  They are simple/inexpensive to reset the mounting surface to get more off set.  Looks like you could get at least 1/2 inch.  If you wanted to increase width at same time - suspect 6" would work.  They can be painted or powder coated for different look (as below).  Stock they were dull grey - but a chrome powdercoat would add bling. 

Image result for porsche 914 sport wheels

Here's a set on ebay - but same cost as the new 5" offset CIP1 Fuchs!

https://www.ebay.com/i/263352594422?chn=ps

 

Thanks man. They look very interesting. Might do the job.

RacerX posted:
MusbJim posted:

Carlos - for visual reference, here is a pic of my set-up;

Swing axle VS with 4-wheel disc, wheels are 15" x 5.5" with 4" backspace, tires 185x60 for lower profile and more aggressive stance. Rear is lowered for very slight negative camber, no tire clearance issues at all.  @MotoCarloCJI_7015

Look at all that tire under there! D@mn IRS Transaxle! 

Killer photo!

We have a lot of Moose racks up north... point to point is how they measure them. 

Motocarlo, your car being a square tube frame IM has more room and if you have or like baby moons on 4 bolt those IM normally widens the rear wheels. 

Of course those wheels above themselves could be widened to a 7 inch for sure as well on your car... Don't ask me about Pan Cars... My name is not Peter after all and on that subject I seem to have lost my marbles.

 

Last edited by IaM-Ray

BTW that car was a coffee dark brown base and clear coat .... on some days it looked totally black other days it had a hue of red which was quite nice... I even though of duplicating it on my new build but instead I went with a Jaguar lunar grey, more classic look, but I kept the same interior colour.  My other choice was Ultimate Black but passed on the wash routine.  

Terry Nuckels posted:

Intermeccanicas with tube frames have more room in the rear because of the forward placement of the engine which allows wider rims/tires.

But they're a b!tch to install a Berg-5 in...

 

I know that Henry(IM) makes further adjustments to the frame on an IM6 which probably facilitates the 5 speed(915)/flat six engine install...whether that applies to a BERG5 is beyond my understanding but could be part of the explanation(?)

Banzai Pipeline posted:
Terry Nuckels posted:

Intermeccanicas with tube frames have more room in the rear because of the forward placement of the engine which allows wider rims/tires.

But they're a b!tch to install a Berg-5 in...

 

I know that Henry(IM) makes further adjustments to the frame on an IM6 which probably facilitates the 5 speed(915)/flat six engine install...whether that applies to a BERG5 is beyond my understanding but could be part of the explanation(?)

 Totally different animal.

Intermeccanica can do just about anything a guy could ask for:

VW 4-speed with a VW flat 4 (Type 1 or Type 4)

  • 901 with a VW flat 4 (Type 1 or Type 4)
  • 915 with a VW flat 4 (Type 1 or Type 4)
  • VW 4 speed with a Subaru 4-cyl
  • 915 with a Subaru 4-cyl
  • Subaru 5-speed with a Subaru 4-cyl

915 with a Porsche 6-cyl

  • Front ends are available with:
  • VW torsion bar and ball-joint suspension, brakes, and steering box
  • VW torsion bar and ball-joint suspension and brakes with a Golf rack and pinion
  • 914 suspension, brakes, and rack and pinion
  • 911 suspension, brakes, and rack and pinion

Converting from one set-up to another ranges in difficulty from "pretty easy" to "please just build a new car".

For example, getting from a 914 front suspension/brakes to a 911 set-up is just parts and labor. Getting from a VW beam front suspension/brakes to a 911 set-up means cutting off the front half of the car (or just starting over, more realistically).

A 5-speed after the fact is another, really rough proposition. Once the car is set up for a VW 4-speed, getting to a 5-er is no easy task. I spoke with Anthony about it this summer, and what he described was a very, very (VERY) labor intensive reconstruction of the back half of the car.

Further to Stan's comment, IM also can do and has done, Powerbrakes, Powersteering, and automatic tranny.  

I was at IM and saw some frames being made up and when the car frame is built the engine and tranny are all pre fitted and the engine mounts and tranny mounts are all welded in ... after the fact I can imagine you get to work upside down trying to do all of it which is doable but cannot be any fun for sure. 

IaM-Ray posted:

Further to Stan's comment, IM also can do and has done, Powerbrakes, Powersteering, and automatic tranny.  

I was at IM and saw some frames being made up and when the car frame is built the engine and tranny are all pre fitted and the engine mounts and tranny mounts are all welded in ... after the fact I can imagine you get to work upside down trying to do all of it which is doable but cannot be any fun for sure. 

As you well know...their skill set and work ethic is amazing. Every time I put gas in and open my trunk, I am amazedat how meticulous the carpeting and fit of the hatches over the various compartments are....and that is only the trunk that few folks get to see. Of course the upholstery and cockpit fitting, along with the whole of the drivetrain and paint are plainly superb and elite....just plain perfection

 

As Terry notes above, the engine placement farther forward in an IM causes the main problem in installing a Berg 5.

The Berg has a significantly larger nosecone than a stock VW transaxle, so even installing it in a pan-based car, you need to clearance the torsion bar tubes to make it all fit.

In the IM, the surgery is more extensive. You have to cut into and re-engineer some important parts of the car's structure. If you don't know what you're doing, you end up with an expensive lawn sculpture.

 

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