Club Car DS No Lift. Will a 18.5 tire fit?

[TGzus]

Hi Everyone,

First post here. Looking for some real world experience from wheel/tire experts here. I have been reading a lot on this forum and on product websites. I am not able to find a clear answer on the 215/40-12 fitment to a stock Club Car DS. I have found a set of Kenda Kruzer tires, matching those specs, that I would love to put on a set of 12x8 -10mm wheels I have.

I am not interested in a lift of the cart. The look I am going for is more of a low "cruiser" look. Street driving is all I am doing, and will never be off-road. No rear seat at this time. But if I do, I will use some 3 or 4 leaf dual action leaf springs to tighten the rear end up.

Current suspension looks to be in great condition and I just replaced all bushings front and rear proactively. I can fit 4 fingers between fenders and tires all around (very precise unit of measurement), so I don't think I have a sagging suspension at this time. Although I don't have a second cart to verify against. If suspension aging or failure occurs, I will fix that issue, not compensate my tire fitment because of it. Cart does have the air intake cowl in the driver wheel well which I have minor concern with. If it comes down to the intake or the wheels, I will take a torch to the intake plastic and form it to fit.

Most sites, articles, and YouTube refs indicate a 215/40-12 will fit on a non-lifted cart. Generally speaking. Then there are real world threads and videos of home DS fabricators fixing rubbing using the 215/40-12. Some refs, call out DS specifically fitting an 18.5 tire but conveniently leave out tire width or any mention of offset. I have called every supplier I could find, with most saying they could sell me a 1 or 3 inch lift kit. Almost seems impossible to figure out pre-purchase. Obviously time will have taken its toll on all DS's in existence. And sagging leaf springs, or blown out bushings can have a huge impact on fitment. But those are issues with suspension impacting fitment, not a fitment issue.

My wheel: 12x8 (4x4 -101.6- bolt pattern), -10mm offset (neg .4 inch).
Tire: Kenda Kruzer 215/40-12 DOT (spec noted is 18.5, but could be 18.7).

So I have an 8 inch wide wheel which is equal to stock. A 18.7 diameter which is .7 inches higher than stock. And 3.6 inches of backspace which is -.4 inch from stock. So we are talking about .35 inch radius pushed out .4 inch from stock. To me this should fit, as I doubt the tolerances on a Club Car are that tight. But I don't have real world experience with tire swaps on these carts. Hence the post. Some may quickly note that 18x8.5 is stock so stock is what should be used. Although I am not built that way and know that there are tolerance specs in everything. I am merely attempting to buy myself some sidewall while having a 12 inch wheel. If it doesn't fit, it doesn't fit.

I am hoping someone out there builds custom carts on the daily and can provide some clarity in this. Thanks for your time.

Cheers.
TG

[Kookster]

If you search some other posts on here, they say up to a 20" tire will fit with no lift.

[mrmotoguzzi00]

On my 94 DS I have a 20" tire and had to raise the front end 1.75 so that it clears just barely but I do have a non stock body so not sure if this applicable. You could grab a pool noddle and cut it to size, wrap around your current wheel and see if fits :)

[TGzus]

Thanks for the reply guys! Update, my wheel / tire combo fits great. No rubbing at all. The closest part is the plastic air intake driver side. If turning left 100% and compressing the suspension significantly it “might” rub, i have yet to meet that extreme off road scenario where that might happen, and don't really plan on finding out….

[CP241]

I was going to say early DS you’ll be fine. 97 and newer where the intake tube runs up the front cowl you *might* run into rubbing issues depending on the wheel offset.

I had 20x10x10’s on a newer DS (can’t remember the year now) and they rubbed like crazy. Even with the 1” spacer lift they still would rub a bit on a full left turn all the way to lock, but just a little less of a turn and it was fine. Had to make slightly longer shackles on that one too because it kissed the inside of the rear wheel wells over bumps with a couple people on the back seat. Fine after that though.

My current DS is electric so no intake tube, but it’s got 205/50-10 tires which everything “says” they’re 18 or 18.5” something like that, but if you put one next to a stock tire on a stock wheel it’s noticeable way bigger. I don’t have any rubbing at all on it