Wheel sizes

I have an odd problem. Changed tires recently and found that my car has three 4 1/2" wide fives and one 5 1/2"

So question is

Should I get one 4 1/2" or one 5 1/2" and mount an emergency spare tire on the extra 4 1/2"
Will it cause problems with the larger wheels on the rear?

Thanks Jay

The wider the rim the better the footprint.
It all depends what you can fit under the rear wheel wells.
If you plan on staggering make sure the wider ones go in the rear.
Wide fives look best with the deeper dish - 5.5"

The 5.5 should fit okay in the rear, as long as it doesn't have a really low offset and you're careful with your tire width selection.

I'd get a 5.5, verify same offset as the one you have, and put them on the rear. Make the extra 4.5 your spare. Done.

Thanks Guys

The next trick is actualy getting one!

My car had the same and I found the reason when I swapped the rear wheels. One side at the rear had more fender clearance than the other and the 5 1/2" rim wouldn't clear the fender on the tight side.
I spoke to a fellow who used to build Speedy reps locally and when I mentioned this he said it was common and it wasn't caused by, as I thought, the bodies being out but rather the VW chassis having uneven tracks at the rear, measured from the centreline of the car.

Phillip

What offset wheels do you have? The 5.5 come in a 50mm and 25mm offset, the 4.5 come is a 45mm and there are a few other oddball ones out there too. if they are genuine Mangles they will be stamped on the inside lip of the rim. A few others follow this stamping, but some of the Chinese ones do not. The reason I ask is that I have a few oddball NOS Mangles stashed away for occasions like this. One of the speedys we are working on now came in with 3 5.5s 25mm and one 4.5 45mm. You could really feel the car pull one way on acceleration and the other way on decel... Kinda scary feeling at speed. Fortunately I was able to dig out a match for the 5.5s and throw the 4.5 in as a spare.

wheel size is based on what you want fit. I am running 225 wide tyres on 7.5 inch rims and the rears do not rub at all, the fronts (same size) only rub at about 95% lock just like my old beetle with skinny tyres! Lots and lots of measurements along with many visits to wheel dealers resulted in the selection which fit like the proverbial glove. The wheels were added at the time of the brake upgrade and the fronts mounting face was machined to suit. My car has standard fenders that have NOT been trimmed at all.

Jay, if you have a pan based speedster your body may not be perfectly centered. There may be more wheel clearance on one side and less on the other. That is the case with my IM. Make sure to measure BOTH sides.
Ron