Date: Fri, 20 Jul 2001 10:40:54 -0500
Reply-To: arbosch@RA.ROCKWELL.COM
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Alan Bosch <arbosch@RA.ROCKWELL.COM>
Subject: Re: '87 Westy tire grief - long (this is gonna stir up the bees
nest...)
Content-type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Jeff,
I went through the exact same thing two weeks ago! I feel your pain,
brother. Here's a few things I found out, which may - or may not - help:
Our buses, Westys in particular, are heavy, cumbersome vehicles. The
correct tires are essential not only for the ride quality, but the ultimate
safety of the occupants. The big thing to be concerned with is the load
rating of the tire. According to everything I've read, and confirmed with
VW customer service - for whatever that's worth! - the tires must have a
minium load range of 'C'. Load range 'D' tires have been highly recomended
by Westy owners. My old Michelin MXT's had a 1710 pound rating. In my
reasearch, I took that as the base line of what was acceptable. The fact
that the Bridgstone's you're looking at have a reinforced sidewall is of
little use if they don't have the load rating - 'C' or 1710 pounds.
There are several different size tires that will actually work on the alloy
wheels. 185R14, 195/75R14, 205/70R14, 205/75R14, and a few others.
Strictly from a mounting perspective, the Bridgestone's will mount on the
alloys.
What I also found was the selection of tire with the combination of size
and load range is limited, at best. To wit:
Michelin: Agilis 61, size 185R14
Agilis 51, size 195/75R14
Yokohama: Y356, size 185R14
Y370, size 195/75R14, load range 'D'
Nokian: A snow tire in 185R14
From various list members I received the following recomdations:
Sears Trailhandler 195/75R14
Uniroyal Laredo 195/75R14
Goodyear Wrangler AT 195/75R14
BF Goodrich Radial AT 27x8.50R14 LT/C (1515lbs @ 50 psi)
Hancook 185R14
Firestone F-570 205/70R14 (95T, M&S, 1521lbs load @ 44 max. psi)
Some of the AT & truck tire are probably a little noisy, what with their
agressive tread patterns and all. But they are worth lookin in to.
<<<snip>>>Has anyone tried Bridgestone 613's on
their Westy (with alloy wheels)? They
come as 205/75 R14 and should fit. They
have a reinforced sidewall.<<<snip>>>
Reinforced sidewall does not mean they have the load range a Westy needs.
Be careful...
<<<snip>>>Here's a summary of my efforts to find tires
for my Westy now that my second set of
Michelin MXL's (205/70 R14) has worn out and
we know there are none left. I looked at all of
the vanagon.com info, called the Tire Rack,
spoke with a manager at Michelin,
did some internet searches, spoke to two
local dealerships and spoke with VW
Customer Service 5 times yesterday. What
a pain in the ass. Here's a summary of
the results:
1. The dealerships can't help<<<snip>>>
Did you really expect differently? :o)
<<<snip>>>2. Tire Rack suggests Michelin Agilis 185/14
but there are none available. VW Customer
Service says not to use that size tire
on the alloy wheels.<<<snip>>>
Tire Rack had plenty in stock when I orders two weeks ago. Did they say
when they were getting more in stock? Did they check all their warehouses
-- Indiana, Delaware, Nevada? VW customer service is wrong! The Agilis
61's fit the alloy wheels to a 'T'. Several list members have these on
alloys, including me, and there's no problem.
<<<snip>>>3. Michelin has no replacements of any type.
They suggested looking at Nokian tires.
Nokian (Swedish?) has the correct size
but no reinforced sidewalls.<<<snip>>>
Huh?!? The Agilis 61 is available - I bought them, I know! Michelin
discontinued a Agilis tire (don't remember the size, but it was not the
Agilis 61 185R14) and they're giving you bogus info that directly
contradicts what they gave me a few weeks ago. Their suggestion to me was
the Agilis 61!! Nokian's are great snow tires, if you have the need for
such. I wouldn't run them year round...
<<<snip>>>4. VW Customer Service didn't initially
think it was their responsibility to help
me find tires. After convincing them that it
was, they did some research for possible
replacements and suggested either going with
a 215/65 R14 or a 225/65 R14. I've since
found that neither size exists. After
reporting that to them they suggested that
I might have to buy new wheels. Not a
suggestion I'm very receptive to.<<<snip>>>
VW CS could not even tell me what size tire initially came with the van
when new. I knew I was in trouble at that point. Simply put, they're
idiots. Ask them that since the van came with a particular set of rims and
their recommdation is to change rims, would they be willing to pay for the
new rims? Nope. Not on your life.
<<<snip>>>5. I have a great local tire shop and I
asked one of the owners for help. He checked
with all of his contacts and came up with
a Bridgestone model 613 which is a 205/75 R14.
He had never heard of the tire and ordered
one for us to look at today. It will fit the
wheel and has reinforced sidewalls. Not sure if
it's a passenger, light truck or tractor(!)
tire. If anyone has heard of or used this
tire I'd be very interested in hearing about
it. The cost is $530US for 4 tires including
tax, mounting, etc.<<<snip>>>
Sounds like a good shop. Not many places would order a tire just so you
could look it over. Price is good too. But remember, it may indeed have
reinforced sidewalls and still not be right for your Westy. Stamped
somewhere on the tire should be the weight range, in pounds. With a Westy,
you need to be in the 1700 pound range, perhaps a bit more. Remember the
Firestone/Ford Explorer fiasco? I don't believe it's entirely a Firestone
problem. Driving a weighty, top-heavy vehicle around without the correct
load range tire can wreck havoc on the tire. 'Course, you probably don't
drive your Westy the way Explorer owner drive their vehicles. Oh, and
Bridgestone and Firestone are the same company, in case you didn't know.
<<<snip>>>Thanks for listening to my rambling! :)<<<snip>>>
Ditto. And I hope this helps in some way...
Alan Bosch
& Phred ('88 Wolfsburg)
Rochester, NY
