Date: Wed, 19 Mar 2014 19:04:40 -0400
Reply-To: Dennis Haynes <d23haynes57@HOTMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Dennis Haynes <d23haynes57@HOTMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Tires and Wheels - The best laid plans of Mice and Men.....
In-Reply-To: <007701cf43c6$ec2b25b0$c4817110$@net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"
Again,
If going for the expense of new heels, I would go right for 16 or if
handling real important 17 inch wheels. Many more handling and performance
tire choices including XL versions. To get more rubber on the road you need
to wider and to get a better footprint you need to go softer. The 225/60-16
is amongst my favorite compromises. Due to ready availability of the AR95T
wheel I have been installing some 225/55-17XL tires. Awesome handling. For
Syncros I have also used the 235/55-17XL.
Dennis
-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
Jack R
Sent: Wednesday, March 19, 2014 7:00 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Re: Tires and Wheels - The best laid plans of Mice and Men.....
I'm running the Heavy Duty Bilstenis on my 84 Westy. With the Yoko 185/14's
"D".
Ride is not good, cross winds are still a big issue. Camber is off
slightly, negative.
Everything is solid, shocks have less than 10k miles on them.
So, are you saying the 15" GW tires would be the best for my rig?
Thanks for the guidance on the Tirerack "Passenger" tires!
Jack R.
-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
SDF ( Scott Daniel Foss )
Sent: Wednesday, March 19, 2014 1:18 AM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Re: Tires and Wheels - The best laid plans of Mice and Men.....
what shocks do you run ?
very significant factor.
I never thought Heavy Duty Bilstenis were 'magic' ( like they can be ) on a
vanagon until I ran them with 15 inch wheels...then they got more magic.
I don't think 14's can work very well on vanagons, in general.
my fav size is 27 X 8.50 R14 LT.
a guy owes me a full set of four ..
my good vans run 15's with dedicated front and rear sizes. ( 2WD of course
).
I make do with stock springs , though I've had to juggle things around here
and there.
On 3/18/2014 5:49 PM, Ralph Meyermann wrote:
> My stock westy springs with the 185/75/14 D tires were very harsh on
> pot holes, smooth hwy ran nicely. So far with the 1.5" lift
> progressive springs and LT 215/75/15 bfg all terrain KO are a huge
> improvement. Making the 14's seem like solid rubber. We'll see more
further down the road.
>
> Velma 82 1.9L AAZ TD Westy
> On Mar 18, 2014 7:37 PM, "SDF ( Scott Daniel Foss )" <
> scottdaniel@turbovans.com> wrote:
>
>> ditto ..
>> all the 14 inch tires I have seen with either C or D load rating have
>> had max cold pressures of 55 or 65 psi..repsectively.
>>
>> I don't think you are in 'real danger' actually.
>>
>> and it would really be neat if list members could drive various
>> vanagons with various tires on them, to feel the difference..
>> and The Difference in how vanagons ride and handle can be VAST.
>>
>> Members who own and operate a couple or more vanagons have an idea
>> wut ah'm talkin' 'bout.
>>
>> Some vanagons are desperately understeering pigs.
>> Some ride way too harshly in the front due to D load tires there.
>> some 'change direction on pumps' way too easily due not having proper
>> front-rear tire pressure ratios, and so on.
>>
>>
>> On 3/18/2014 4:22 PM, Jeff Schwaia wrote:
>>
>>> Those tires are not for a Vanagon.
>>>
>>> Passenger tire, 93 rating for the sidewall. Not safe.
>>>
>>> Cheers,
>>>
>>> Jeff
>>>
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On
>>> Behalf Of Jack R
>>> Sent: Tuesday, March 18, 2014 3:54 PM
>>> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
>>> Subject: Re: Tires and Wheels - The best laid plans of Mice and Men.....
>>>
>>> Tires are good for about 10 years... give or take, depending on storage.
>>>
>>> I'd opt for fresh tires. My current 185/R14 D Yoko's are not very
>>> smooth on the road, and 7 years old.
>>>
>>> Tossup between going to the GW 16" or just replacing the 14" with
>>> the tires below.
>>>
>>> Anyone try these from the Tire Rack... after rebate, seems like a
>>> great deal.
>>>
>>> http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Michelin&
>>> tireModel=Defender
>>> &partnum=07TR4DEF
>>>
>>> Load rating should be enough, pressure good to 44 psi.
>>>
>>> Jack R.
>>> 84 Westy
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On
>>> Behalf Of JRodgers
>>> Sent: Tuesday, March 18, 2014 4:41 PM
>>> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
>>> Subject: Tires and Wheels - The best laid plans of Mice and Men.....
>>>
>>> Well, I've been planning an upgrade to 15 or 16 inch wheels and
>>> tires for my Carat restoration - but my main priority is getting the
>>> thing on the road
>>> -
>>> not so much having the bigger wheels ad tires - but I was going to
>>> go for it
>>> - in part because it's getting to be a hassle to get the 14 inch
>>> tires in my area without having to ship them in, paying freight in
>>> addittion the tires, and ultimately having to pay someone $20 or so
>>> to mount each one.
>>>
>>> Well - yesterday I learned I could still get my fav tire - the
>>> General Altimax RT 98C in a 205-70/R14. So, I opted to get one more
>>> set and wait until the next round of tires to upgrade to a larger
>>> size. Given I'm dropping a bundle to get the engine and tranny
>>> working, plus some other stuff, I ordered the tires. I just picked
>>> them up. Installed, mounted and balanced -total cost of a set of 5
>>> (4 on the road and one spare) included
>>> -
>>> taxes and all - $430.00. or $81/ea, I could not beat that with a
>>> stick anywhere.
>>>
>>> Hip! Hip! Huzzah!! Dennis Haynes for putting me onto the General
>>> Altimax in the first place!!
>>>
>>> And one more thing about Dennis!
>>>
>>> I have a Dennis Haynes receiver hitch on my '88 GL - and that thing
>>> makes one heck of a fine jacking point for getting the rear end up
>>> off the ground with one Jack.
>>>
>>> Careful there Dennis - let;s not get the bighead over this.
>>>
>>> But seriously - it worked great for that purpose.
>>>
>>> Happy Motoring Everyone,
>>>
>>> John
>>>
>>>
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