Date: Sun, 19 Jan 2014 10:04:06 -0500
Reply-To: Dennis Haynes <d23haynes57@HOTMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Dennis Haynes <d23haynes57@HOTMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: spare tire compatibility?
In-Reply-To: <1390085362.6036.YahooMailNeo@web161305.mail.bf1.yahoo.com>
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American Racing AR95T77545. 17 X 7.5, 25mm offset, 64mm bore, 2,200 lb. load
capacity. Bolts right on and van even use factory alloy lugs if you use a
thin wall socket. Spline nuts and bolts are readily available. I sell them
for $165 but if you try you can get them for less.
Dennis
-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
David M
Sent: Saturday, January 18, 2014 5:49 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Re: spare tire compatibility?
Where on earth do you get 16" or 17" wheels for a Vanagon?
On Saturday, January 18, 2014 7:37 AM, Dennis Haynes
<d23haynes57@HOTMAIL.COM> wrote:
That size is an upsize yes, upgrade! I don't think so. Especially for stock
driveline it is at the upper limit of what will even work. The 89's have
short springs so you may have to deal with rubbing on the front fenders or
do a spring change. Brakes! Yep that upgrade will be needed for sure. Manual
transmission will suffer overtime. It takes horsepower to move the vehicle
at speed. Wind resistance makes for a constant load. Horsepower is a
function of engine speed and torque, (force or pressure). Since these
transmissions often break parts as much as wear them the increased torque
requirement from the speed reduction does wear and break parts faster. This
same effect also strains the engine in the same way. Actual top speed will
be reduced. No more easy cruising at 75. You will get to down shift a lot
more in hill driving. For an automatic you get to move into torque converter
seal failures due to fluid overheating. If you get a flat or blowout in the
front and you have to get onto any type of soft shoulder you may not need
the spare. You may need the recovery truck to pick the van back up.
Seriously, from experience 27" seems to be a good limit for these vans
especially in mostly stock form. The difference from 27 to 18 is drastic. 16
or 17 wheels lets you get there with more tire choices and the lower
sidewalls make for a better handling van and makes things much safer in the
event of a tire failure. 225/60-16 is a very good choice. Even VW went to
this size at the end of the Eurovan error. Due to reasonable cost and
availability of the AR95T wheels I have number of customers running
225/55-17 and they are extremely happy. Both these sizes are readily
available when traveling.
Dennis
-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
Andre Fiedler
Sent: Saturday, January 18, 2014 1:25 AM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: spare tire compatibility?
Hello all,
I am in the process of upgrading the tires on my 2WD 1989 Westy to 215/75R15
size (diameter 27.8"). My current spare is 185R14 (diameter 25.7"). I am
wondering if using this spare for a short drive in case I were to get a flat
would potentially cause engine or drivetrain damage of any sort due to the
difference in tire diameters?
Thank you.
Andre Fiedler