exactly that dd -- tyres that are too narrow for the rim , vw people do it for lowering purposes , its so has you can get wider rims and still clear the arches -- popular with golf owners etc . Not good with commercial rated vehicles - so vans are probably too heavy for tyre stretching .
only option left as my tyres rub now i replace my shocks on the little edge on my wheel arch.i will not tub the front arch no way
We have a lot of low riders (guys who use hydros/air bags to raise & lower their cars) That use Stretched tyres/tires & the outer edges of the tyres/tires are chewed up from cornering hard or because the side walls are more exposed,just from a safety stand point i would not do it-because of the risk of the tyres/tires rolling away from the rim bead--which i seen & I believe it would handle worse than now,lets face it our bus don't handle like a sports car!That & they look like :censored: or balloons.....but thats just me!
Confess I had to look up tyre stretching. Can't say I'd trust them to stay on the rims on a heavy van.
i not doing a huge stretch i going from a 175/50/r15 to 165/50/r15, went to a show this weekend and all the low low bays are running that Tyre size so it stops the rubbing. going to try raise the van up a tad
Just make sure you have decent gas shocks on the front - these will help reduce rubbing as the nose will rise rather than the wheels.... Our bus got its name from 100mm lowered suspension by cut & twist but with original banging shocks. It would bounce up and down and bottom out the shocks as the bump stops were cut off. Gas shocks fitted and now it bottoms evenly with only a bit of tyre rubbing on those bits of road where you can see the oil and scrape marks left by other low vehicles. It rides harder as a result and you can either drive like a loony (or as mad as you can get with a 1600TP and progressive carb..) with occasional rubs with everything flying about or gently like you were forced to drive before with banging.
175/50 x 15 is 21.89” diameter 165/50 x 15 is 21.50” 175/40 x 15 is 21.51” Whether any of these are ‘stretched’ depends on the rim width and you don’t state what that is but I doubt if any have the correct load rating. Even if all the low Bays at a show have the wrong tyre size in the event of a claim you’re insurance assessor will be very interested if you have fitted inappropriate tyres. Incidentally, the original 185 x 14 tyres are approximately 25.94” diameter.
