Stuart wrote... Also, the Vanagon Westy has a fairly high center of gravity, plenty of side wind resistance that can lead to involuntary lane changes, and a short wheelbase, all of which contribute to marginal handling and dictate careful tire selection to provide the best possible handling and safety. The phrase "where the rubber meets the road" is especially meaningful to us! OK, I'm generally a cheap guy, I don't even run expensive tires on my sports car. I wined all day along about getting 100$+ Agilis tires. Now I know better... 50mph. 4-5 lanes of traffic, Baltimore beltway, HEAVY rain, I did a NASCAR drive-by in the Westy. The Saab and Ranger on either side of me 30 feet infront BOTH hydroplaned. They both crashed into other cars and it was a chain reaction from there. No less than 5 cars were hit (2 in front, and at least 3 behind me). The door came off the Ranger and went right in front of my van. I couldn't swerve, stop, slow down, nada! All I could do was go straigt through it all and watch it like it was in slow motion! The fact that I was not hit was God/luck. The fact that I tracked straight through this same water MUST have been the tire. I've put my 200+hp car backwards many-a-time but never been this scared as I was that day. Mikey Never buying cheap tires again! |
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