Ok, someone please enlighten me with the whole offset, widtth spacer thing...

[BeetleTwinTurbo]

I havea 70 non super beetle, that I purchased, already withdisc brakes in the front, and 5x130 bolt pattern(I'mgessing thats it, thats what someone told me it was when I showed them my rims.)

I am building a show/drag car, but wold also like it to have some good handling characteristics.....

I am thinking 17x7 front, 17 or 18x9 in the rear....

what would I have to do to find a rim that would fit my bolt pattern, and what would I have to do to make sre that they will fit??? I plan on getting the "bulge" rear and front fenders, to acomadate(sp?) 9" in the rear, and 7" in the front....


thanx alot, cant wait to her from ya guys...

[vujade]

offset is the amount of backspacing a wheel has from the center point of the rim
(for exampe a 52 mm offset rim that is 7" wide has about 5.5" backspacing. This is derived by dividing 7 / 2 to find the center, then adding 52 mm (or 2") = to 5.5" total backspacing)

THe problem with this much backspacing is that it will most likely rub on something (either your balljoints, fender well or some part of your suspension). So to eleviate this, you use spacers to bring the wheel back out.

Type 1 guys that narrow their front beams to get wider wheels under the front fenders usually have to use spacers to get a good turning radius back.

As far as your rim bolt pattern goes, VW used a 4 x 130 pattern on aircooled VW's from about 1968 on... a 5 x 130 bolt pattern is a Porsche bolt pattern. IF this is the bolt pattern that you have then you will be able to find more rims in this bolt pattern then if it is the VW bolt pattern.

[vujade]

One other thing I would like to expend upon.... drag racing does not = good handling. The two are completely different animals.

Drag racers are designed to go in a straight line as fast as possible.

Drag racing suspension:
The suspension is set up so that the front end lifts on launch(this is accomplished with no shocks most of the time. The rear end is set up to squat which allows as much traction on take off as possible by the transfer of weight to the rear wheels.

Drag racing tires:
The front tires are as small & skinny as possible, this helps the car go straight. The rear tires are as large & wide as possible, this allows for weight transfer & traction.

Drag racing bodies:
As much weight as possible is stripped off the car as possible, especially the front end to make it lighter so that it lifts on takeoff
and transfers the weight to the rear.


Road Racing/Handling cars are setup to go around corners well.

Road Racing/Handling suspension:
The suspension is setup so that the rear is stiffer then the front, this eliminates body roll and helps maintain a nice ride. The front of the car has a heavy duty sway bar to help keep the front end tight.

Road racing/Handling tires:
Tires are usally low profile (35-50 series) in either 16, 17 or 18"
diameters. Most of the time the front and rear tires are the same size or the rears are slightly wider depending on rims sizes chosen. These tires allow you go into turns and hold your ground.

Roa racing/Handling bodies:
Volkswagens set up for good handling generally try to distribute weight more evenly by moving stuff to the front of the car (like the battery for example) and to remove weight off the rear of the car to help keep the front/rear weight distribution closer together. THis makes for an overall better handling car.

So you see the two are completely different sides of the coin.
In my opinion (for whats its worth) I would either set up the car for totally drag racing or Road Racing/Handling with some showing.

You can always drag race (part time) your car if its set up for
handling/road racing but you cant road race/handle a car that is setup for drag racing.

Sorry for being so long winded, its late and the mind is revving.

[Pillow]

Is there any site on the web with a Porsche backspacing chart or anything like that?

Thanks,