Tires for Lemmerz 1555 wheels

[Gordon Watkins]

I'm shopping for a set of wheels and tires for my 62B T6 coupe and am looking at some 4.5 x 15 Lemmerz 1555 wheels with the deeper offset and I'm wondering if I need to be concerned about tires rubbing because of the wider stance. I'm planning on using Vredestein Sprint Classics but I'm not sure what size is best, front and back. Any advice?

Also, a related question: I've read on a vendor's site that these older wheels are tricky for today's tire shops to properly balance. Is that true?

TIA

[David Jones]

Gordon, if the shop has an adapter plate to mount the tires on their balancing machine then no problem. Find an older established shop that maybe did VW wheels back in the day and you should be good to go. Another method that will work in a pinch is to mount each wheel on the front axles then spin them and as long as they spin freely wait for them to stop then add a weight to the top. By trial and error and adding and subtracting weights you can get a balance that will be almost as good as a spin or bubble balance. I have an ancient bubble balancer that I use and I have checked a wheel balanced on car against it and the difference is very small. You can sometimes find these balancers for sale on line. Try Craigs list or E-bay, the cost is likely to equal the cost of getting your wheels balanced. The modern versions new from Amazon are less than $100 and as I believe that new tires should be checked for balance after about 500 miles it is a small price to pay for a smooth riding car.

[Gordon Watkins]

Thanks for the balancing tips David!

[Jim Alton]

I'm shopping for a set of wheels and tires for my 62B T6 coupe and am looking at some 4.5 x 15 Lemmerz 1555 wheels with the deeper offset and I'm wondering if I need to be concerned about tires rubbing because of the wider stance. I'm planning on using Vredestein Sprint Classics but I'm not sure what size is best, front and back. Any advice?

TIA

I don't claim to be an expert on Lemmerz 1555 wheels, but I think rubbing usually happens on the inside so a somewhat wider track shouldn't be a problem (I think). Lots of people manage to fit 5½" wheels with 185/70R15 or 195/65R15 tires so unless the Lemmerz 1555 have a whole lot of offset...

Note that some pre-As have limited clearance at the rear. I know of a '55 Speedster which can only have its 165R15 rear tires changed if they're deflated. That wouldn't apply to a T6.

Coker's website says the Vredestein Sprint Classic 185/70HR15 should have have a rim 5.00 - 6.50 so that pretty much limits you to the 165HR15 (Recommended Rim Width: 4.50 - 6.00).

Here's a test of a few tires on an early 911:

porsche-classic-article.pdf

(2.07 MiB) Downloaded 42 times

You can download it from Pirelli's Cinturato website. The Pirelli Cinturato CN36 came out on top followed by the Vredestein Sprint Classic.

I have the discontinued Kumho Power Star 758s on my 356A and Vredestein Sprint Classic 165HR15s on my 911. Before the Vredesteins I usually rode the 911 on 195/65VR15s on 5½" Fuchs. The Vredesteins are so good I haven't mounted the wider tires since.

[Gordon Watkins]

Thanks for the good information, Jim. The 1555's I was considering were a bit too rough so I'm still looking. Since I'm buying a complete set I have options for 4.5 or 5.5, maybe wider tires on the rear. Reading about rubbing, having to deflate to remove/install, etc had me a bit leery but if I understand you correctly, that's likely not a problem with my T6, at least with standard 4.5 or 5.5 wheels. It gets a bit overwhelming weighing the options but the Vredestein Sprint Classics seem like a safe bet at a reasonable price. Thanks again.

[David Jones]

Gordon there are many choices of tire in the 185 width size. Check out the tire rack website. They fit OK on T2 and later cars with 4.5" rims. I would look at the specs and try and find a tire that is close to the original diameter of 24.5" which may help keep your speedometer more accurate.
As Jim mentioned they only rub on the inside at full lock and that is only going to be a problem with parking because if you use full lock when driving you could be in more trouble than worrying about the inside of the tire rubbing.

[Adam Wright]

I just ordered 4 of the Classic (Chinese) ones, $55 each shipped.

https://simpletire.com/sigma-165-80r15- ... OIQAvD_BwE

[Adam Wright]

This is how they look on the car. Not the cool tread pattern of the Vredsteins, but a lot cheaper.

[Sean M Rooks]

Be careful with the offset and 5.5 inch width. I had a set of 15x6 replica fuchs on my car for a looong time running 185s. No problem. In fact that's my white car in the background of Adam's roadster pic above. Just bought a set of 5.5" alloyreplicas wheels and the offset is such that 185s rub on the passenger side fender. No problem on the driver's side. I think it's been discussed before that these cars can have rear clearance differences between sides.

I am going to try slightly smaller section tires, 175 or 165 to try and gain a little extra clearance. Also might try some negative camber as well.

Right now I'm testing a set of 5.5" early 911 steel wheels on the car and the offset there is fine running 185 Vredesteins.

[Gordon Watkins]

Thanks for the suggestion, Adam. Maybe not the cool tread pattern but those Rudge wheels make up for it!

While talking about tires, is there a recommendation for a space-saving spare?

[Gordon Watkins]

Adam - did you put these on 4.5" wheels? The specifications just say "width range 5""

I just ordered 4 of the Classic (Chinese) ones, $55 each shipped.

https://simpletire.com/sigma-165-80r15- ... OIQAvD_BwE

[Adam Wright]

Adam - did you put these on 4.5" wheels? The specifications just say "width range 5""

I just ordered 4 of the Classic (Chinese) ones, $55 each shipped.

https://simpletire.com/sigma-165-80r15- ... OIQAvD_BwE

Yes, I put them on 4.5's.

[Gordon Watkins]

Thanks!