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Date:         Mon, 28 Aug 2000 22:18:09 PDT
Reply-To:     Mark Dorm <mark_hb@hotmail.com>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Mark Dorm <mark_hb@hotmail.com>
Subject:      Re: Oh no, not tires again!
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed

You could have a tire seperating, or the wheels need to be taken off and put back on... since one may be not on securely..... those are my two guesses...

>From: Marc Perdue <marcperdue@adelphia.net> > >Hi all, > >I'm back for a short time because I've run into an odd situation and I >think my tires may be the culprit. I've got an '87 Westy with auto >tranny, recently replaced shocks, KYBs per list recommendations, tires >rotated and balanced, and wheels aligned. Before doing all this, I had >an incident at low speed where I thought the van was going to roll over >because the rear rocked so violently. In addition, the steering wheel >was always turned about 10-15 degrees left when the wheels were >straight, and the van pulled to the right. After doing all the work, >the van handled beautifully and the steering wheel was straight. Now, >about a thousand miles later, the van rocks lightly, but regularly, at >slow speeds, almost as if there were a bump on one of the tires. At >higher speeds the van seems to vibrate, with a fair amount of road >noise. I checked out the tires, which were uniformly low at 37 psi, and >pumped them up to the max rating listed on 3 of them, 44 psi. I haven't >yet fully tested the effects of this. The 4th tire is different. All >the tires appear to be evenly worn, with probably half of their tread >left. I wrote down the specs and suspect that either 1, 3, or all of >these tires, is incorrect for the Westy. Unfortunately, I can't make >any sense of the numbers beyond the normal stuff. Here are the numbers >and what I understand about them. I'm hoping somebody can shed some >light on what the other numbers mean. > >One tire: >Continental Transport >185R14C RS771 >DOT CUKM CWC 496 185 R 14C >99/97 N 55 PSI >Tread: 5 Plies (2 Rayon, 2 Steel, 1 Nylon) >Sidewall: 2 Plies, (1 Rayon, 1 Nylon) >Load Range C > >This one sounds like a halfway decent tire, but probably right at the >lower end of what I should be looking for in terms of # of plies and >load range. I understand the size part except for the RS771. Not sure >what 99/97N is, or what the DOT numbers mean. > >Three tires: >Metric Radial (Who is this made by?) >185R14 90S >Treadwear: 280 >Traction: B >Temperature: B >Made in Brazil >URM-203 R-35441 K-7371 >M&S 44 PSI >DOT C2J5 HPKR 256 >Tread: 3 Plies (1 Polyester, 2 Steel) >Sidewall: 2 Plies, Polyester > >I get the uneasy feeling that these tires are cheap and woefully >inadequate. The speed rating of S seems ok, but is the 90 the load >index? Is 90 sufficient? I understand treadwear, traction, and temp., >as well as M&S, but what is the URM number and, again, what do the DOT >numbers mean? > >Thanks for your help in figuring out this weird problem, >Marc Perdue

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