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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16 is perfect.
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.
Most of the 15" wheels that I see are 5.5" ---- or 4.5". I don't see a lot of 5" (CIP1 has only 2) ????
Yep, Wolfgang. You are correct. My bad. Great info Terry!
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. 
@MotoCarlo
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...
I should of asked if you consider 205 enough rubber or on the other hand maybe the Ramses tire company could help.
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.
Look at all that tire under there! D@mn IRS Transaxle!
I forgot to mention that the front were 5&1/2 and the rear 7 inch rims on my IM... with an IRS transaxle... just saying.
IaM-Ray posted:I forgot to mention that the front were 5&1/2 and the rear 7 inch rims on my IM... with an IRS transaxle... just saying.
Ouch!
I had 4 bolt wheels on that one... and the rears were just cut and widened.
Racerx not sure why it should ouch? 
IaM-Ray posted:Racerx not sure why it should ouch?
Oh, no problems. I’ll just sit here and sand the letters off my tires so they won’t rub. You and Jim can just cruise around with those big ol’ slicks of yours. 🤙
Shops in and around your area that widen wheels
http://www.stocktonwheel.com/powder_coat.html
http://ericvaughnmachine.com One hour away.
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.
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.
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
IaM-Ray posted:pict you might be able to see the width... worked for me.
Beautiful car Ray. Love the stance.
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.
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.
Look at all that tire under there! D@mn IRS Transaxle!
Killer photo!
MotoCarlo posted:IaM-Ray posted:pict you might be able to see the width... worked for me.
Beautiful car Ray. Love the stance.
I LOVE towel racks......actually I'm a fan of MOST racks
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.
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.
Okay. Who's got 8" wheels with pie cuts in the rear fenders?
The big dog has spoken...
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...
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)
915 with a Porsche 6-cyl
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.
Bob: IM S6 posted:Okay. Who's got 8" wheels with pie cuts in the rear fenders?
The big dog has spoken...
Easy now Kim K.
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
... but what they haven't done, (and what is awful to do after the fact) is a Berg 5-speed.
For that, a pan car would be much, much easier.
I have never heard of IM doing a Berg-5 either but then I only have been with IM since 2009 ish ...
IaM-Ray posted:I have never heard of IM doing a Berg-5 either but then I only have been with IM since 2009 ish
I spoke with Henry after talking to Anthony. He’s never done one. George Brown’s first car had a 901, and I know of several with 916s, but no factory Berg 5s.
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.
I have seen 901's and 915's in IM's as well as my Subie-5speed but no other
