Date: Thu, 8 Mar 2001 22:47:45 EST
Reply-To: FrankGRUN@AOL.COM
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Frank Grunthaner <FrankGRUN@AOL.COM>
Subject: Re: Conclusion on 235/75-15s--Thumbs Down on 4th
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Derek,
Just a short comment to indicate that I am very pleased with the Yokohama
Geolander AT+ 215/75-15 tire I am running on the Audi/Ronal multispoke
alloys. I think the issue about responsiveness, pulling power and the like
are also strongly related to the nonlinear accelerometer mounted in our
respective gluteus maxima.
When I sold my '67 Sundial non-poptop camper, and switched to my '72 Safare
high top, I immediately noticed the lack of power in the newer replacement.
Initially, I liked the extra room of the high top, it's more comfortable
sleeping arrangements, the wide glass expanse, etc. ... but then I drove it
into an airport parking structure and suffered untold abuse at the hands of
my colleagues over the rectangular notch I carved into the top, so quickly. I
brooded so over the lack of power that I replaced the power train with a 132
hp-at-the-wheels corvair engine with 4-speed manual. Suddenly, the beast
became dangerous! I had to learn to tack (sailboat analogy) to get around
turns when I inadvertently got that beached whale up to 85 mph on the way to
Mount Palomar. Gas mileage was tense, but smoking the rear wheels on
Hollywood Blvd made up for that.
When I purchased the '82 Vanagon Diesel, I remarked in my diary that it was
stronger than the 1600 AC Safare and handled stunningly well compared to the
Corvair engined (remember Otto Parts?) beast albeit at lower speeds. The real
kicker was when I drove into the Burbank Airport parking garage without
incident!
When the gas crisis hit Southern California, our 35 mile each way commute to
the lab was made downright pleasant with the auxiliary gas tank and a
cruising range of nearly 750 miles between fill-ups. Two weeks of commuting
before trying to find diesel again. But then as the mid-life crisis combined
with the rapidly rising defacto highway speed limit, I knew I had to
rejuvenate the propulsion unit. The switch to the '90 8V Digifant engine was
astounding. Running the original 185 SR - 14 tires and the DZ diesel
transmission with 5.83 final gears was actually exciting. Starting up from a
dead stop would readily raise the nose, and I was flying (simile) up and down
the local hillsides. But I was bothered by how small the 185-14's looked in
their space. The more I obsessed about it the more I realized that I was
annoyed by the speedometer error and became concerned about the high revs at
speed. Truth be known, I was reverting to the diesel driving style (full
throttle or full brake-4 cruising speeds ahead)!. The 1.8L inline four just
purred at 5500 to 6000 rpm.
OK, so I talked my self into trying an effective rear axle change by going up
to the 27-8.50 x 14' BFG's. Best damn tire I ever bought. I got easily twice
the mileage out of these (they still have 35% tread left sitting in my
garage), handling was good - BUT, my posterior immediately registered a huge
hit in acceleration. Amazing! A less than 4% change in rev's per mile and it
was immediately registered in the first trip around the block. Adding the AMS
chip to the Digifant II ECU has not recovered the spunk lost by going from
the 185-14's. Then when I went to the 215/75 x 15 's (convinced myself that I
really should be running 6 inch rims with this size vehicle) another drop was
felt.
So now I'm running the equivalent of 5.43 final gears (the gearing of the
passenger car manual Vanagon diesel) and everything is fine. I thought it was
actually sedate! Then I blew the doors off a non-westy 2.1 going up the
grapevine. At the lab, I ran into a 1.9 L purist (all by the book, VW
serviced always and of course - no aftermarket cupholders). Well, we swapped
rides for a short while and I realized that the 1.9 (as judged by my anterior
sensors) was a dog. When he came back, he was flushed, hair in disarray and
was convinced I had a V8 in the rear.
My points:
1. None of these things are Austin Healeys.
2. Mine does quite nicely at 215/75 x 15.
3. Could be a very noticeable difference when working with normal WB gas
gears.
4. The 8V 1.8 L just runs and runs.
5. And most important, the 215/75 x 15's are just gorgeous on those
Audi/Ronals.
Makes the machine so serious!
Note: Your results may vary!
Frank Grunthaner
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