The Contact Patch

Thank you to Toyo Tires for providing some of the graphics on this page.

The graphic at the right dissects a tire sidewall quite nicely. Treadware, Traction and Temperature ratings of less then 'A' probably are not desirable, and I doubt any recent performance tire does not meet those specifications.  What the heck does all that junk mean on the side of my tires...

A demonstration of the 'plus-sizing' concept, where the rim gets bigger and the tire sidewall gets smaller, therefore the same tire diameter is maintained as closely as possible.
 

Want to fit a wider rim and tire package to your VW? Get as close as you can to stock or go as wild as you dare, as least you can take the guess work out of where your new set of rubberband tires might end up fitting.

Stock Wheel/Tire Set Up

  • Your Stock Tire Dimensions :
     /  

  • Stock Tire Fender Clearance: in

New Wheel/Tire Set Up

  • Your New Tire Dimension :
     /  


Diameter difference from stock is  percent.
Stock tire diameter is  inches. New tire diameter is  inches.
Stock tire width is  inches. New tire width is  inches.
Stock tire profile is  inches thick. New tire profile is  inches thick.
Stock tire to fender clearance is  inches. New tire to fender clearance is  inches.

Compute Backspace given rim width and offset. The A1 chassis can tolerate between 4.5 and 5.1 inches of backspacing. Backspace is the amount of rim that's behind, or inside of the mounting surface. Both positive and negative offsets are valid, positive offset 'moves' the mounting surface towards the outside of the car, negative offsets move it inward. A 0 offset puts the mounting surface right in the middle of the rim. Often times, the offset in millimeters is stamped on the rim as the 'ET' measurement. Note that different offsets can work at the front and rear of the car, as the rear track is slightly narrower and can tolerate higher ET, or slightly greater backspacing.


Rim Width :    Offset : mm     Backspace is  inches.
This extensive chart shows various tire sizings, which rims they will comfortably fit,
approximately how much they would weigh, dimensions, max loading & pressure, and
revolutions per mile. More then you probably ever wanted to know; enjoy!

Tire Size

Approved Rim
Width Range
(inch)

Tire
Weight
(lbs.)

Tread
Depth
(1/32")

Inflated
Dimensions

Static
Loaded
Radius
(inch)

Max.
Load
(lbs.)

Max.
Pressure
(PSI)

Revs
Per
Mile

Overall
Diameter
(inch)

Overall
Width
(inch)
245/35ZR17-91W*
245/35ZR18-88W
255/35ZR18-90W
265/35ZR18-93W
275/35ZR18-95Y
285/35ZR18-97Y
295/35ZR18-99Y
215/40ZR16-86W
225/40ZR16-89W*
205/40ZR17-84W*
215/40ZR17-87W*
235/40ZR17-94W*
245/40ZR17-95W*
255/40ZR17-94Y
265/40ZR17-96Y
225/40ZR18-92W*
235/40ZR18-95W*
245/40ZR18-93Y
285/40ZR18-101Y
195/45R14-77V
195/45R15-78V
215/45R15-88V*
195/45R16-80V
205/45ZR16-87W*
225/45ZR16-93W*
245/45ZR16-94W
215/45ZR17-91W*
225/45ZR17-94W*
235/45ZR17-97W*
245/45ZR17-95W
255/45ZR17-98Y
245/45ZR18-96W
255/45ZR18-99W
195/50R15-82V
205/50R15-89V*
225/50R15-91V
205/50ZR16-87W
225/50ZR16-92W
235/50ZR16-95W
205/50ZR17-91W
215/50ZR17-91Y
195/55R14-82V
235/50ZR18-97W
185/55R15-82V
195/55R15-85V
195/55R14-82V
205/55R15-88V
205/55ZR16-91W
215/55ZR16-93W
225/55ZR16-96W
245/55ZR16-100W
215/35R18-84W
255/35ZR19-96Y
245/35ZR20-95Y
245/35ZR19-93Y
235/35ZR19-91Y
275/30ZR19-96W		 8.0-8.5-9.5
8.0-8.5-9.5
8.5-9.0-10.0
i.0-9.5-10.5
9.0-9.5-11.0
9.5-10.0-11.0
10.0-10.5-11.5
7.0-7.5-8.5
7.5-8.0-9.0
7.0-7.5-8.0
7.0-7.5-8.5
8.0-8.5-9.5
8.0-8.5-9.5
8.5-9.0-10.0
9.0-9.5-10.5
7.5-8.0-9.0
8.0-8.5-9.5
8.0-8.5-9.5
9.5-10.0-11.0
6.0-6.5-7.5
6.0-6.5-7.5
7.0-8.0
6.0-6.5-7.5
6.5-7.0-7.5
7.0-7.5-8.5
7.5-8.0-9.0
7.0-8.0
7.0-7.5-8.5
7.5-8.0-9.0
7.5-8.0-9.0
8.0-8.5-9.5
7.5-8.0-9.0
8.0-8.5-9.5
5.5-6.0-7.0
5.5-6.5-7.5
6.0-7.0-8.0
5.5-6.5-7.5
6.0-7.0-8.0
6.5-7.5-8.5
5.5-6.5-7.5
6.0-7.0-7.5
5.5-6.0-7
6.5-7.5-8.5
5.0-6.0-6.5
5.5-6.0-7.0
5.5-6.0-7.0
5.5-6.5-7.5
5.5-6.5-7.5
6.0-7.0-7.5
6.0-7.0-8.0
7.0-7.5-8.5
7.0-7.5-8.5
8.5-9.0-10.0
8.0-8.5-10.0
--
--
--

21.6
22.9
23.8
24.7
25.6
28.9
30.4
18.1
19.0
18.5
19.6
21.4
22.3
23.1
26.5
22.0
22.9
24.0
30.0
15.0
16.1
17.6
17.2
18.1
19.8
21.6
20.1
20.9
23.8
24.9
26.9
27.6
28.4
17.4
18.5
20.3
19.4
22.7
23.8
21.8
22.9
16.8
27.8
16.1
16.5
16.8
18.3
21.2
22.3
24.0
26.9
19.6
24.0
24.9
23.6
22.7
25.8

10.3
10.3
10.3
10.3
10.3
10.3
10.3
10.3
10.3
10.3
10.3
10.3
10.3
10.3
10.3
10.3
10.3
10.3
10.3
10.3
10.3
10.3
10.3
10.3
10.3
10.3
10.3
10.3
10.3
10.3
10.3
10.3
10.3
10.3
10.3
10.3
10.3
10.3
10.3
10.3
10.3
10.3
10.3
10.3
10.3
10.3
10.3
10.3
10.3
10.3
10.3
10.3
10.3
10.3
-
-
-

23.8
24.8
25.0
25.4
25.6
25.9
26.1
22.8
23.0
23.5
23.9
24.4
24.8
25.0
25.4
25.1
25.4
25.7
27.0
21.0
22.0
22.8
23.1
23.2
23.9
24.8
24.6
25.1
25.4
25.7
26.1
26.7
27.0
22.7
23.1
23.9
24.1
24.8
25.3
25.2
25.5
22.5
27.3
23.1
23.5
22.5
23.9
24.8
25.5
25.7
26.6
24.0
26.2
26.9
-
-
-

9.6
9.6
10.2
10.6
10.9
11.4
11.8
8.6
8.5
8.2
8.6
9.5
9.7
10.4
10.7
9.0
9.5
9.7
11.5
7.7
7.7
8.4
7.7
8.2
8.9
9.8
8.4
8.9
9.4
9.8
10.2
9.8
10.2
7.8
8.3
9.0
8.3
9.1
9.6
8.4
8.8
7.9
9.6
7.6
7.9
7.9
8.3
8.3
8.9
9.0
9.8
8.6
9.8
9.6
-
-
-

11.2
11.6
11.7
11.9
12.0
12.1
12.2
10.6
10.7
11.0
11.2
11.4
11.5
11.6
11.8
11.8
11.9
12.0
12.5
9.7
10.2
10.5
10.7
10.8
11.1
11.4
11.5
11.7
11.8
11.9
12.0
12.4
12.5
10.5
10.7
11.0
11.2
11.4
11.6
11.7
11.8
10.5
12.6
10.6
10.8
10.5
11.0
11.4
11.7
11.8
12.1
11.3
12.3
12.7
-
-
-

1355
1235
1323
1433
1521
1609
1709
1168
1278
1102
1201
1477
1521
1477
1565
1388
1521
1433
1819
908
937
1234
992
1201
1433
1477
1355
1477
1609
1521
1653
1565
1709
1047
1278
1356
1201
1389
1521
1356
1356
1047
1609
1047
1135
1047
1235
1356
1433
1565
1764
1102
1565
1521
-
-
-
 44
44
44
44
44
44
44
50
44
44
44
44
44
44
44
44
44
44
44
44
44
44
44
44
44
44
44
44
44
44
44
44
44
44
44
44
44
44
44
44
44
44
44
44
44
44
44
44
44
44
44
50
50
50
-
-
-		 872
839
830
819
812
802
795
913
902
884
869
850
839
830
819
828
818
807
770
990
946
913
900
896
871
839
843
828
818
807
797
777
768
914
899
868
861
836
821
826
816
924
760
900
885
924
868
836
816
807
781
856
793
773
-
-
-