We plan to undertake some gravel and tar road trips in a Beetle 1600.

The car will be fitted with a roof rack-mounted tent. We will be travelling with a group who raise funds for cancer, and they drive old Peugeot 504 sedans and station wagons, but allow other makes. Can you recommend a suitable tyre to fit the standard VW Beetle 15-inch steel Rostyle rims? We don’t want to widen the rims.

[Johan Tyres]

Johan Tyres on 11th June 2018 at 2:54 pm

See if you can source a commercial-type tyre for your needs.

[Peter Ella]

Peter Ella on 14th June 2018 at 8:55 am

We had a Beetle we did off road races with some years back. They are very capable. We used a light truck type tire then. I would go and see a tyre expert to see what is presently available in the market and to fit your budget. Keep in mind that the Beetle suspension can quite easily be raised at the rear to increase rear ground clearance especially if it has a bit of a load. Not too much as it tends to affect the rear wheel alignment (positive camber) if excessive. Interesting project. Keep us posted.