My Beetle, Beebo

[Riaan.N]

No no no... you cannot have pictures yet

There are somethings that needs to happen first and as the saying goes... all good things comes to those that wait... well maybe not always, but I had to type something

One of the things that must happen is, I want/must/need to have it registered on my name ASAP and some things requiring attention before the road worthy test is new tires.

I am looking at getting tires that will be close to the original size without having to buy the 165/80R15s. I want something with a bit of a bigger surface area on the road... so I can make wider black marks...LOL... no just want a bit more rubber in contact with the road. I'm thinking about 185/65R15, but have seen some beetles this past weekend at Ferdi's that have 195/65R15s front and rear. The rims will be 5.5J Sprintstars with the spare a 4.5J Sprintstar. I also have the option of making the front rims 4.5J, but I am not looking at that kind of stance at the moment. The spare will obviously not be a 195 tire (I'm considering a 175/65R15 for the spare, it seems that there is not a 70 profile for a 175 15"), but I am liking the idea to keep the brand and model of tire the same for all 5 tires.

The 195/65R15s seems to be the closets in diameter to the 165/80R15s (1,6 % smaller according to https://tiresize.com/comparison/ with the 185/65R15s being 3,5 % smaller than the reference 165/80R15). I understand that it will have an impact on the gearbox gear ratios and the speedometer. But I don't know if there will be clearance issues with the 195/65R15s... fenders, rubbing at full steering lock. Will it be a problem? The beetle is a standard '75 1600TP with drums all around, standard front beam and it has not been lowered. This is how I would like to keep it for now... maybe looking at replacing the drums in front at some point, but still keeping with the wide 5 205 rims.

My first requirement is that the tires must have very good grip wet and dry and not mileage. This will be for my family to enjoy as well, so safety is high on list. The brands I'm considering are Michelin Energery Savers (available in all sizes for my needs i.o.w. 195/65R15 + 185/65R15 + 175/65R15), Continental PremiumContact2 (all 3 sizes and then there is PremiumContact5 only in 195). If the Pirelli Cinturato P1 Verde didn't have such bultching sidewalls, then it would also have been high on my list. One salesman told me that Hankook Kinergy Eco is supposedly also very good... I don't know, Hankook has never been on my radar. For now I'm leaning towards Michelin.

Any comments/experience with running 195 vs 185 will be appreciated. The 195 will probably also cause me to have a slightly bigger petrol bill.

To throw another tire in the works.... I have a full set of 5.5J rims, but 2 of them is not with me at the moment so I am left with the 15" Rostyles that is currently on the beelte. From what I gather, 195s might be a bit to big or borderline for the standard 15" Rostyles (4.5J)... is this correct?... it will only be until I have refurbished the Sprintstars. So long as it passes road worthy and I can wait to drive it on the highway if it will cause the rubber to move to much on the narrow rims.

I will be using the Beetle on occasion and the idea is that it won't be my daily driver.... a lekker Sondag ry kar!

OK, you can wake up now

[retrovan]

No no no... you cannot have pictures yet

AAAAGgg NOOO MANNN......

..........If the Pirelli Cinturato P1 Verde .......... For now I'm leaning towards Michelin........

Just beware that these makes normally have nylon in most of their tyres, and thouse are very slippery in the wet....

Herman

[Herr bmw]

what,no pictures? unfair,lol

[Tony Z]

I always liked the stance and handling that I had with 195/60/15 rears and 195/50/15 fronts.
It is something to consider, slightly smaller in the front to bring the nose down (you will have to lower the front suspension to make it look good) and improve the handling.
What I have found though is that larger tyres, 195 for example are very quick to slip in the wet as the car weighs very little. For this reason, if you will be driving it in the rain, maybe consider 185/70/15 and 165/60/15 or similar. Smart car tyres are supposed to be a good size for the front end.

[Riaan.N]

No no no... you cannot have pictures yet

AAAAGgg NOOO MANNN......

..........If the Pirelli Cinturato P1 Verde .......... For now I'm leaning towards Michelin........

Just beware that these makes normally have nylon in most of their tyres, and thouse are very slippery in the wet....

Herman

Those 2 models are what different sales people rate to have some of the best grip.

My initial thinking was that a fuel efficient tyre would probably not have good grip as it was designed for economy and mileage as the priority and one way is to ‘toor’ with the different ingredients that goes into the tyre which inherently does not provide good grip. But then I saw a review of the new Michelin AT tires where they claim that some of the squares/knobs actually presses against its neighbouring knob under braking which increases the surface area which translates to better grip under breaking. I don’t know... maybe just over thinking it.

[Riaan.N]

I always liked the stance and handling that I had with 195/60/15 rears and 195/50/15 fronts.
It is something to consider, slightly smaller in the front to bring the nose down (you will have to lower the front suspension to make it look good) and improve the handling.
What I have found though is that larger tyres, 195 for example are very quick to slip in the wet as the car weighs very little. For this reason, if you will be driving it in the rain, maybe consider 185/70/15 and 165/60/15 or similar. Smart car tyres are supposed to be a good size for the front end.

Thanks Tony, didn’t think about the force that is required for the tire to be effective in displacing water.

I couldn’t find any 185/70/15 tires only 185/65/15.

With my 1st beetle I placed a tractor nose weight in the nose of the car. It handled and looked much better Will be looking at it at some point.

[Tony Z]

I always liked the stance and handling that I had with 195/60/15 rears and 195/50/15 fronts.
It is something to consider, slightly smaller in the front to bring the nose down (you will have to lower the front suspension to make it look good) and improve the handling.
What I have found though is that larger tyres, 195 for example are very quick to slip in the wet as the car weighs very little. For this reason, if you will be driving it in the rain, maybe consider 185/70/15 and 165/60/15 or similar. Smart car tyres are supposed to be a good size for the front end.

Thanks Tony, didn’t think about the force that is required for the tire to be effective in displacing water.

I couldn’t find any 185/70/15 tires only 185/65/15.

With my 1st beetle I placed a tractor nose weight in the nose of the car. It handled and looked much better Will be looking at it at some point.

I was just thumb sucking some numbers when I came up with the 185/70/15. You can play with the wheel size calculators to see what works. It was the idea I was trying to convey.

[Riaan.N]

Where can I buy good quality tie rod ends and a king pin and link pin sets?

I would prefer to stay away from Midas etc. unless they sell the same exact part as what I could buy from say VW (I know VW probably does not stock these, but maybe they still use the tie rod ends somewhere, or there is NOS )

[Buged]

Give Calooker a ring.
He sourced rod ends, steering damper, drop spindles, selecta drop links all for my car.
And its top stuff all round.

[Riaan.N]

Give Calooker a ring.
He sourced rod ends, steering damper, drop spindles, selecta drop links all for my car.
And its top stuff all round.

Thank you Buged, but Rui is out if town/country for 3 weeks and I may need the spares before he can land a shipment.

[buggyfan]

Volkspares in Jetpark or Helmut spares in Vereeniging

[Riaan.N]

Volkspares in Jetpark or Helmut spares in Vereeniging

Thanks buggyfan, I did call Volkspares in Pta and some of the parts are empi...prefer not to buy empi. Will call Helmut tomorrow.

[Riaan.N]

So Beebo has finally been registered!!

Here is some fotos

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[Riaan.N]

It seems that my beetle does not have a normal fuel line filter that is usually located at the gearbox. It looks like that the fuel pump might have a built in sieve... can this be? The screw at the top leads me to think this.

Does the ‘dop’ come of and what should I expect if I am to open it? Is there a seal or o-ring that would need replacing?

I will however still add a fuel filter near the gearbox.

IMG_0148.JPG

[Riaan.N]

It seems that my beetle does not have a normal fuel line filter that is usually located at the gearbox. It looks like that the fuel pump might have a built in sieve... can this be? The screw at the top leads me to think this.

Does the ‘dop’ come of and what should I expect if I am to open it? Is there a seal or o-ring that would need replacing?

I will however still add a fuel filter near the gearbox.

IMG_0148.JPG

Is there anyone out there.....anyone?!