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Date:         Thu, 24 May 2001 06:50:23 -0700
Reply-To:     '80 Westy Pokey <pokey@VANAGON.ORG>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         '80 Westy Pokey <pokey@VANAGON.ORG>
Subject:      Re: [Syncro] Re: 16" alloys for the vanagon, check this out
Comments: To: derekdrew@rcn.com
Comments: cc: Syncro@yahoogroups.com
Content-Type: text/plain

Your argument would no doubt be more compelling if I knew what a ring and pinion swap was.

Pirelli Scorpions S/Ts are available in: 215/65TR16 98T 215/75TR16 107T

Among other sizes of course

There are two reasons why I want to upgrade from 14" wheels:

1) Allow for the possibility of a SA big brake kit 2) They look so damn cool

Remember, I'm driving a 2WD and my "off roading" is at worst gravel / dirt roads or the hard packed earth of a campsite.

Thanks, Chris

On Thu, 24 May 2001, Derek Drew wrote:

> > Personally, to my way of thinking, the *short answer* is that prime > candidate tires for the 16" wheel are: > > 7.00R16 > 245/75/16 > 215/85/16 > 235/70/16 > > But these tires require a ring and pinion swap. Without a ring and pinion > swap, it would seem that a 15" wheel would be just as good, or to my way of > thinking, the 14" wheel is also just as good too. > > So the logic is, due to the expense and limited benefit, you may wish to > avoid changing from the wheel you have now, be it 14" alloys or 15" wheels, > unless you are going to do a ring and pinion swap. > > But because of the expense, don't do a ring and pinion swap unless you are > going to make a bid difference for your van: e.g., mount very large ties, > such as one of the ones listed above. Since the number of people who are > candidates for a ring and pinion swap is small (it should be done at a > normal rebuild time for the transmission), the number of people who should > be looking at these 16" wheels is also small. This is especially true due > to their having an improper ET and high cost. > > The tire size recommendations above are a bit more complicated if you are > swayed by evidence that one of the "best" all around tires for Syncro is > the BF Goodrich All Terrain Radial because this tire does not come in one > of the above sizes. It comes in 235/85/16, which is a big larger than the > above tires, but possibly too large to reasonably fit (we need a tester > please), and also it comes in sizes 30x9.50/15 / 225/75r16 which two tires > have essentially the same dimensions except for one being on a 15" wheel; > but these two tires are smaller than the tires sizes in the list above. So > it may not be possible to have a BFG cake and eat it too, in which case > John Wessels argument that the 30x9.50/15 is a tire to shoot for may have > merit. Still, I have not given up on going larger still pending further > research. > > For the reasons discussed in this email, I take a dim view of the 205/55/16 > tires because they are not going to make much difference from whatever you > are running now. > > At 05:28 AM 5/24/01 -0700, you wrote: > >So what kind of tires would you run on these? The ad says 205/55/16 but > >what brand? Any other sizes? Will the spare still fit under the cab? Who > >makes a 16" tire that will take the load of a westy? Does it need to be > >reinforced? > > > >Thanks, > >Chris > > > >On Wed, 23 May 2001, JordanVw@aol.com wrote: > > > >check out these cool wheels for the vanagon..... > >chris > > > > > >http://www.ronalusa.com/cars/cars_html/vw_vanagon.html > > > >Thanks, > >Chris Gronski > >'80 Westy "Pokey" - SLOPOKEY > >'87 Chevrolet Sprint - Ice Racer > >'91 Pontiac Firefly - Convertable > >www.vanagon.org & .ca > >www.gronski.com, .org, & .ca > >www.nineeleven.org & .ca > > ________________________________________________________ > Derek Drew New York, NY & Washington, DC > derekdrew@rcn.com 212-580-6486 > Email me for viscous couplings > '90 Syncro Westfalia... > ...seen off-road at > http://users.rcn.com/derekdrew/Syncro_Madness_Area.htm > Note: most valuable Vanagon sites on the planet (for owners) are: > http://gerry.vanagon.com/cgi-bin/wa.exe?S1=vanagon > ftp://gerry.vanagon.com/pub/ > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Syncro > http://www.vanagon.com > http://www.syncro.org > My refrigerator article: > http://www.vanagon.com/info/articles/Refrigerator/Reefer_Madness.htm > My article that shows how to deal with insurance companies: > ftp://gerry.vanagon.com/pub/auto-insurance-madness.html > To view Wolfgang's incredibly informative wheel article > http://users.rcn.com/derekdrew/fitbigtiresonvanagon.htm > To view Tim Smith's incredibly useful gearing calculator > http://users.rcn.com/derekdrew/syncrotireandgearratios.xls > To view some 16" Trailing Arms that enable much larger tires see > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/syncro-org/files/Wheels%2C%20Tires%20%26%20Gearing/Wheel%20%26%20Tire%20Photos/16_Inch_Trailing_Arm.jpg > > > > 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. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/

Thanks, Chris Gronski '80 Westy "Pokey" - SLOPOKEY '87 Chevrolet Sprint - Ice Racer '91 Pontiac Firefly - Convertable www.vanagon.org & .ca www.gronski.com, .org, & .ca www.nineeleven.org & .ca


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