I just spoke to my local tire guy that I have been dealing with for years and he said that the 145 SR 15’s would be really difficult to get unless I/he went to a specialty shop. He said the 165/80 15’s will fit, but they may be about 2″ taller than the 145’s and just a tiny bit wider. If that’s the case, the car would sit an inch higher, and I…[Read more]

On a 5.5″ wide rim, like the chrome, slotted, OEM look Mangels on rear of my Beetle, a P185/65R15 works great. Same diameter as a P165/80R15 stock Beetle tire too.
The key  for the extra width is the slightly wider, 5.5″ rim. Using P165/80R15 is about the max for a 4.5″ wide rim.
The 60 series I agree would look stupid on a TD.
Tirerack had 41…[Read more]

Mine actually is a ’50, ’51, ’52, ’66, ’69, ’71, ’80, from what I can tell so far.

 
Well, it’s a fortynine, fifty, fifty one, fifty two, fifty three, fifty four, fifty five, fifty six, fifty seven, fifty eight, fifty nine automobile! It’s a sixty, sixty one, sixty two, sixty three, sixty four, sixty five, sixty six, sixty seven, sixty eight, sixty nine, seventy automobile!

One shop tried to sell me 185/60s. I said no. I’d consider them for a Speedster though.Bottom line is, you’ll be able to source your tires. Go to five shops and three are gonna have them and one of the other two will be able to get them in a day.

“One piece at a time.” Always like that tune.

Guessing you’ve got 458s, Allen. 45th week of 1998. Click the link on “discussion” on the second post above and look at the pictures. That’s how I got it.

You sure you are reading that right Montie?

14th week of ’58. Geez…that’s one hell of a tire Montie!  

Wow I’m really confused now.  Last 4 numbers on my dot code is 1458… Anyone got a cule how old this spare is…

Congrats Pat,  Glad you got the deal to work.   I bought mine a couple years ago, about the same mileage but mine was built in ’86 and in storage most of her life.   I replaced alot on her the first year buy loved every turn of the wrench.   Montie   

I’m aware of the DOT date stamp on the sidewall, and those are good links, thanks from me too.My other question was did anybody go to a slightly larger size that will fit the stock VW rims if the 165’s are hard to find locally? Tires can be ordered but usually the shops are a little resistant to mount them if you don’t buy them through the shop. I…[Read more]

 GOOD DEAL ,,Pat   enjoy all the time you will have driving her and enjoy the repairs as I do a labor of joy with each turn of the wrench    Dan R

OUCH! That really sucks. I did misunderstand the DOT codes explanation. My Ghia tires (DOT Code 406) were in fact manufactured the 4oth week of 1996 and NOT 2006. Well….its definitely time for new tires. It’ll be a little costly but WAY CHEAPER than losing my life or the life of a loved one. Good catch Edsnova.

Yup.
Like the initial post says:
The first and last digits are the most important:

• Prior to the year 2000, the last 3 digits of a DOT number represented the week (2 digits) and the year (1 digit) of production. So if the last three digits are 439, the tire was produced in the 43rd week of 1999.
• Tires produced after January 1, 2000, have a 4-digit…

[Read more]

Update– someone correct me if I’m wrong, but my understanding is that any 3-digit date code means the tires are at least 11 years old and are well past their expiration date. So NewKitman’s 406 example, above, would be the 40th week of 1996–15 years old, not April 2006, five years old.Anyone? Bueller?

Here is the Tires – Manufacture Date thread:
https://tdreplica.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=1325& PN=5