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

Yeah I ALWAYS have checked the DOT tire code since they came out. For those who are unsure of the tire code, there’s a thread here (in the General Forum I believe) that explains it all. Worth checking out.

Stay away from Coker tires. Total rip-off and they sell dry rotted and out dated tires.
I just bought some P185/65R15 Kumho tires for the rear of my Beetle fromTire Rack and some Nankang P145/80R15 fronts from http://www.bugtires.com
They have Nankang P165/80R15’S FOR $68 each plus S&H.
If you check periodically with Tire Rack and Discount Tire Direct,…[Read more]

Agreed. I have Nankings on my Ghia and they have been well worth the price. If I can still get them for the TD I’ll use them. If not, well I sort of like Michelins. What the heck. Dream car might as well have dream tires.    newkitman40721.4021759259

 Pat, That is great news!!!Glad you were able to reach an agreeable figure on a really neat car.
 I’m still riding on my ”new” 2004 tires but then I’m not exactly going fast or far ,just put putting along so to speak.

The gauge MFG should be able to tell you what the ohm range is. I’d take all the numbers off it and go to the Google. The Samba probably has an opinion, which may or may not be the correct opinion. You also might be able to figure it out using a good rheostat switch (like maybe the dash light switch) but that’s just my guess.