Dear Derek et al,

Not to criticize at all but rather to offer my observations running my 1986 Syncro Doublecab with a stock 2.1L wasserboxer and 235/75-15 Michelin's:

I have travelled all over the county (7000+ miles) with this setup. It performs approximately the same as my 1987 Syncro Westfalia running "smaller" 27x8.5-14 tires. This makes sense: the Doublecab is lighter and more than makes up for the 10% increase in diameter.

As such, I do not notice any "performance degradation" with my Doublecab, it drives very nicely indeed -- of course, your "mileage may vary" depending upon how heavy your rig is. It is for this reason that I am installing a TDI motor in my Syncro Westfalia -- which WILL run with 235/75-15 tires!

Cheers, MJS http://www.haywood-sullivan.com/vanagon/doublecab

-----Original Message----- From: Derek Drew [mailto:derekdrew@rcn.com] Sent: Friday, February 16, 2001 8:07 AM To: Ron Lussier Cc: Syncro@yahoogroups.com; vANAGON@GERRY.VANAGON.COM Subject: [Syncro] My Advice on 15" tires (16" fender flares)

For tires? Absolutely the best tire is the BF Goodrich All Terrain Radial KO for all around use.

Even the Germans say this about their Syncros. You can see this on their Websites.

The tire is quiet and excellent in every terrain but serious mud and handles very well. Basically, there is little to no downside of having it.

The right size for 15" and stock gearing?

Pick a tire from www.bfgoodrichtires.com that has revolutions per mile of between 819 (stock Michelin size) to 782 (the larger BFGs that many of us run) or thereabouts.

In 15" size the best tire for you in this size ... uh.... uh...

...sorry, they don't make a good size for you for 15" wheel.

I would say to stick with your 14" wheel and use the 27 x 8.50 / 14 size.

But I hear you do not want to do that.

If it were me and I was going with a 15" wheel, I would mount probably 215x75 /15, which tire has 748 revolutions per mile and is as close as you are going to get but will raise you up further still, and result in worse acceleration, but better top speed on the higher way (higher) and better ground clearance. To compensate for the power loss, you can install ratio rockers and the ECU chip and get the best of both worlds.

Without the ECU chip and ratio rockers, this big tire is somewhat of a strain. It is OK--others on the list use it, but it is a stretch because your top speed in 4th is then 77mph and you will notice increase trouble trouble getting up hills. If you drive you vehicle around a lot empty then it is better but since you have a westy it is worse. Since you mention you want a little height, then I guess I would say the tire 215 x 75 / 15 might be the best choice.

Another alternative is to find a tire from another manufacturer that has close to the "ideal" (my estimate) compromise of 782 revolutions per mile and find somebody you trust that can say they are great.

I am against the general movement of the list to 15" wheels and tires because I believe the available tires in 14" wheel are well matched to the stock gearing and there isn't a strong reason for most list members to switch.

Everything is different, however, if you want to change your gears, but that is another story. And if you have a different motor from 2.1 litre MV then every thing is different, but then that is a different story too.

At 10:12 PM 2/15/01 -0800, you wrote: >>I just got mine too. >> >>I think the idea is to cut the metal away as far as possible to make the >>opening big as you can. Particularly at the bottoms of the flares, lower >>down toward the ground, large tires tend to hit at that location so >>that's why you want to sort of bend the plastic if you can a little bit >>to confirm with a cutout that is larger than you would otherwise do. Of >>course, none of this matters if you don't ever plan on mounting very >>large tires. > >I probably won't use *huge* tires. I'm currently sitting on a set of SA >15" rims not having decided what tires to put onto them. I want something >that will fit with the standard trailing arms, and will work fairly well >on-road while giving me a little height. Any suggestions? > >Ron >-- >ron lussier / lenscraft fine art giclee prints >rlussier@lenscraft.com 229 8th street / studio 4 > san francisco / ca 94103 >http://www.lenscraft.com/ +1 415.241.0815

_______________________________________________ Derek Drew New York, NY CEO & Co-Founder http://www.ConsumerSearch.com/ =========================== "Best Expert Review Site" for product reviews on the Internet Jan. 2001, PC World Magazine ========================== 80 South Street, 2nd Floor New York, NY 10038 derekdrew@rcn.com 212-580-6486

Alternate numbers for the industrious phone caller that wants to try every avenue: 917-848-6425 (cell); 202-966-7907 (Work), 212-580-4459 (Home), 202-966-0938 (Home), 978-359-8533 (fax [efax]), 212-269-3188 (Seaport office), 212-269-3188 (Seaport main number).

If you would like to modify your subscription settings (including unsubscribing), visit: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Syncro Please remember that rude or offensive language is not allowed on the Syncro list. Please try your best to resolve differences privately and keep them off the list.