Date: Tue, 13 Mar 2012 22:38:11 -0400
Reply-To: Dennis Haynes <d23haynes57@HOTMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Dennis Haynes <d23haynes57@HOTMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Tire pressure '86 Westy
In-Reply-To: <4F5FDDCF.1070402@turbovans.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"
Most cars have tires with reserve capacity so that inflating for ride or
handling can be more of a priority. For the Vanagon as is common for many
trucks, busses, RVs etc. tire inflation has to be for load first. If the
tires are not being used near their maximum capacity the reduced load to
reduced allowable pressure is not linear. You can't just assume that at 90%
you can run 90% pressure. You have to follow the load-inflation chart for
that size tire. I have re=sent this link which has those charts for most
tires available today. It also has a lot of other good information.
Dennis
http://www.tiresafety.com/images/Tire Replacement Manual.pdf
-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
Scott Daniel - Turbovans
Sent: Tuesday, March 13, 2012 7:53 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Re: Tire pressure '86 Westy
oh boy ..
this can be as 'bad' as 'what tires to use' ..
or 'which oil' etc.
and ...say you are running these LT's at 38 front, 48 rear.
I like that just fine. Very much so ..and I recommend going by the tire
sticker on the van's door frame.
I adjust tire pressures for handling first, load second.
I think that's what VW had in mind with their tire pressure
recommendation.....best handling.
If carrying a big heavy load ..
sure, add some pressure, and of course never exceed the max pressure cold,
shown on the side of the tire .
other vanagon owners though ..
see their vans as trucks and adjust tire pressure according to load.
I've been driving almost 50 years ..
and I have never thought ..'let's see.....max load on this tire is say
1,720 lbs at 55 psi ..
and I think I have 1,400 lbs on that tire, so I should adjust pressure to
whatever that percentage is of the max tire pressure ..
not how I think I'll tell ya ..
perhaps for tires on a load-carrying utility triailer, but for a rear wheel
drive 2WD vehicle ..I adjust for handling.
Having been a car and motorcycle racer in parts of my life, and always a
performance/handling focused driver, I adjust for best handling ..
which will always be more in the rear, relative to the front, just like VW
says.
I've started many trips with rear tire pressure in the high 40's ..
an hour or so out on the freeway ..things well warmed up ...man that feels
harsh.
so I let some out ...get the rears back down to say mid 40's ...like it much
better.
I run fronts in the mid to upper 30's, rears in the 40's ..just like you
are.
re 'sway' ..
do you mean 'handling like a boat' ?
whole other discussion.
this is getting plenty long already.
just one story..
85 Westy ....and 85 westy's and weekenders are noticeably too high in the
front.
guy says his handles like a boat ..and it does.......terminal understeer and
leaning over in turns.
the way I fix that ..
I get the front down with 'normal springs' ..85 GL front springs are
perfect.
If I can ..
I run dedicated front and rear wheel sizes and tire sizes.
my nicest handling vans run 205/65 R15LT's on the front, 215/65 R15's on the
rear. They don't handle like boats .
you may hear many other opinions ...lol !
Scott
On 3/13/2012 1:30 PM, Art Ames wrote:
> Probably been asked but I have virtually no Internet to check archives.
Apologies!
>
> Hankook LT215/75R15.
>
> Currently inflated to just under 40 on front and just under 50 on back.
Matches sticker on van recomnendation for 14" tires.
>
> Is this the best ( or right) pressure to use. Would there be a bit less
sway by reducing pressure a tad?
>
> BTW, 4,400 miles on maiden voyage( for me) so far for me and so far...
knocking on wood.
>
> Art
>
> Sent from my iPhone and consequently not responsible for typhos.
