Front wheel track.

[boygenius]

I got my wheels on and decided to measure the width to compare to the rear track. Well the rear is 66" and the front is 60" wide. How far should I push out the front wheels? Should they be the same track as the rear wheels or slightly more narrow. The rim is hitting the ball joint right now so they need some spacing just not sure how much.??

[yetibone]

Just space them untill they don't hit anymore + a couple of millimetres for wheel flex.

Up till '68 I think all STOCK Beetles were wider in front than in the rear, but there are advantages to reversing those specifications, as you did wid da fat alloy control arms .

Proper asthetics dictate wider in the rear, than in the front, a-la Carrera RSR.
You have a full 6" inches to work with, so no worries.

[boygenius]

I was thinking of using some 1" spacers at least for the front wheels. With the rim touching the front upper control arm pivot the stock steering stop bolts are too short by about 1/2". I will have to make my final decision when I get the body on the car and take some measurements.

[zen]

what are you running for front fenders again?

as info, i have the 2" (I'm pretty sure they are 2", the widest they make) CCC in the front. 7ET55 and have to run a 1.5" spacers. larger than i want, but you know my situation. with smaller fenders, you should be able to go much smaller on the spacer and still have backside clearance.

[boygenius]

Originally Posted by zen

what are you running for front fenders again?

as info, i have the 2" (I'm pretty sure they are 2", the widest they make) CCC in the front. 7ET55 and have to run a 1.5" spacers. larger than i want, but you know my situation. with smaller fenders, you should be able to go much smaller on the spacer and still have backside clearance.

Whatever will cover the tires is the fender size I'm going for at this point. I was hoping to run 2" wider in the front and 3" wider in the rear. But with my choice in trailing arms and rim size it looks like I will be needing more than 3" in the rear, maybe 4.5" wider. If I have to go that wide in the rear it might look funny with only 2" wider front fenders.

I think CCC makes 3" wider for the front...

The more you push the wheels out farther from the pivot point of the ball joints the more effort it will require to turn the wheel, am I correct.???

[zen]

yes, and the more wear on the bearings. up to 1" isn't that big of a deal from what i have seen. that is why i wanted to minimize mine, but i had to have the wider fenders. and the wheels i chose forced me to larger spacers. i have whatever their widest fender is, 2" or 3".

[boygenius]

I guess I'll stick some washers behind my front wheel to see how much spacing I will need to regain my turning radius. I have the wheels off and the beam loose right now since I'm putting in some caster shims. I think I may have put a little too much paint on the front beam since one of the shims doesn't sit flat on the beam.

[boygenius]

I did some measuring and it looks like I will need some 1.5" spacers for the front. Maybe I could get some lower E.T. wheels and use a smaller spacer. I have 18" turbo twists. 18" X 7.5" E.T.50 If I could find some E.T.40s or 35s that would help out alot.

[zen]

not unless you swap rims altogether. 18" only came in high offset that i know of (could be wrong) unless you go the custom 3-piece route. then you can have whatever you want...except lunch for the next 4 years so you can pay for them.

[boygenius]

Originally Posted by zen

not unless you swap rims altogether. 18" only came in high offset that i know of (could be wrong) unless you go the custom 3-piece route. then you can have whatever you want...except lunch for the next 4 years so you can pay for them.

I thought I saw a set of 18' rims with low offset for an AWD 911. I could have been mistaken but I will be doing some research.

[boygenius]

Zen, can you measure the front track of your car next time you work on it. It looks like I would need 2" spacers to get the full turning radius out of my car. But I'm afraid if I go too wide I will exceed the coverage ability of 3" wider front fenders. With 1.5" spacers I will have an approx front track of 63". Might be time for a narrowed front beam...