Vanagon EuroVan
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Date:         Fri, 1 Sep 2000 09:17:20 -0400
Reply-To:     Gary Stearns <gstearns@SPRINTMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Gary Stearns <gstearns@SPRINTMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Re: Wheels/Tires-My Story

Yup, 5x113 was a typo. My aim was a little to the right.

TSW is a big wheel manufacturer. Most of their wheels are not replicas but either original equipment for manufacturers or aftermarket upgrades. I thought that the fact that they are sourced in South Africa might relate to fact that they are a perfect fit, (with the minor exceptions in my first post) and that Vanagons are still being made in South Africa. Maybe a coincidence, maybe not. Neither Discount Tire nor TSW seem to have a picture of this wheel on the web. My digital camera awaits a strange size replacement battery. When resolved, I will post pictures.

The wheel is not a perfect replica, but looks like the 5 hole MB Sport wheel found on recent big MB's. No, it does not have the MB logo. The center cap says TSW.

TSW's American distributor can be found at http://www.tsw.com/.

Gary ----- Original Message ----- From: Joel Cort <joel_cort@yahoo.com> To: Gary Stearns <gstearns@SprintMail.com>; <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM> Sent: Thursday, August 31, 2000 9:37 AM Subject: Re: Wheels/Tires-My Story

> Gary, > > A couple of things, > > Obviously a typo, Our beloved Vanagons run a stud diameter of 5x112 > not 113 as you typed out in your note. > > So the TSW brand was the 15" rims - just some South African replica? > Does it have the Mercedes emblem or what? > > Do you have a picture available to share with the list, possibly post > on Vanagon.com tire and wheels section. > > OK what was the final out of the box cost for this great upgrade? > (although I would probably get 99+ rated tires like the Michelin > Agelis sold and fitted on the Eurovan) > > Thanks for any further info, but this sounds like a great upgrade. > > Joel > 89 Syncro Westy with only 14" Alloys ready to trade up > > Rochester NY where the snow will fly early > > > > > --- Gary Stearns <gstearns@SPRINTMAIL.COM> wrote: > > Hi- > > I finally did it. 15" alloys and tires for our '88. I really > > wanted to go with a larger diameter tire, but not a wider one. The > > reason was that I wanted to bump the gear ratio a little for less > > rpm's at cruise. > > The size that I wanted was 205/70-15 on a 7" wide wheel. I could > > not find this size in light truck tires, seems most 15" tires are > > the 245/75's etc. monster meats aimed at Range Rovers and Toyota > > Land Cruisers. I started the process by asking Discount Tire > > Direct http://www.discounttiredirect.com/ about the Mercedes > > Replica wheels that they sell. Intitially they came back saying > > that they had done this on a Vanagon before, and in fact showed > > these wheels on their website as a Vanagon application. When I > > pushed them for details, I heard from a manager that they had > > figured out that lugs nuts and studs would not work correctly. > > Within a couple of hours the Vanagon app.disappeared from their > > website. Heard again from them. They could get a TSW (better than > > oem quality, made in South Africa!!) 5 hole Mercedes replica wheel > > that would work. 15x7, 5x113 bolt circle, 23 mm ET, correct > > strength rating to carry Vanagon loads. I said OK. Now for tires, > > this got interesting. I learned that on passenger car tires the > > weight capacity is found in the tire sizing info ie: 205/70-15 95V. > > The key is the "95". Most car tires are either 92 or 93 (I think > > a key for these numbers is in the archives). D.T. said that the > > only tire that they could recommend to me in that size was a > > Michelin "Energy" MXV4. The "V" rating was not suggested for speed > > capability (obviously), but because a V speed rating also means > > greater carcass strength. These tires are intended for the big > > Mercedes and BMW's that have to be as heavy as my Vanagon. Made > > sense to me. Not particularly cheap at $105 ea. > > > > The mounted wheels and tires arrived, and I began to install. Had > > to take care of a couple of things. The small bolts holding the > > rear brake drums had to go, and the speedo cable on the l/f hub had > > to be filed to shorten it a bit. My oem nuts and studs (had > > original alloys before), fit the seats in the wheels perfectly. > > They are a bit short though, and I will replace. What a > > transformation. Ride quality is amazing, handling amazing, wind > > stability vastly improved. The apparent gear ratio increase is > > exactly what I was looking for. Cruising with fast traffic now > > keeps RPM's under 4k. Went through a measured mile, and found that > > my formerly optimistic speedo is now spot on. The wheels are very > > well made, similar in basic design to the originals, with gorgeous > > silver epoxy paint. > > > > A very satisfied customer. > > > > Gary > > > > > __________________________________________________ > Do You Yahoo!? > Yahoo! Mail - Free email you can access from anywhere! > http://mail.yahoo.com/ >


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