How big is too big (tire size)

[maurice]

So I’m just getting my car back to running, and I’m planning to get some tires for street and track days. I’m able to fit up to 235-40-17 front, and 275-40-17 rear, but are there performance downsides to having such a large tire? Will my bug be too light to keep heat in the tires? Is my steering going to suck if I go big?

In the effort of saving money, I can get some super affordable 275-40-17 Toyo ra1’s, but not sure what I’d need to balance them in the front with. Would a 205 be enough?

The car is a bit unique. ‘66 bug, mid engine, turbo Subaru WRX drivetrain. Probably makes around 275whp. Full roll cage has added some weight. 4 piston CNC rear brakes, 4 piston wilwood front. The engine in the machine shop I plan to make around 450whp mated to a significantly heavier sti 6 speed tranny. Will eventually have a wing and under car aerodynamics.

Thoughts?

[maurice]

It appears I asked this question before and totally forgot I did... I tried deleting this post but I can’t. Maybe a mod can help?

Thanks

[bad62bug]

You should be fine with the big tires especially being mid engine.
I run 215/45/17 front and 235/50/17 rear with 24mm torsion bars and it handles really nice.
EJ20, Blouch 16g xt, water injection, water to air intercooler, subaru 5 speed
The next mod i want to do is mid engine, can you share any pics of your setup.

[maurice]

I’ve got a thread in the conversion perversion’s section. I’ll update it and add more pictures. There were a few things that I could have designed better, ideas changed after some things were built, so don’t be too critical lol.

Feel free to email me with any questions too
[email protected]

[bad62bug]

Thanks