Date:         Tue, 12 Feb 2002 15:00:15 +0800
Reply-To:     Kim Howe <khowe@OMNINET.NET.AU>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Kim Howe <khowe@OMNINET.NET.AU>
Subject:      Re: Any air cooled owners out there running oversized tires?
In-Reply-To:  <200202120004.ACP92951@vmms5.verisignmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=WINDOWS-1252; format=flowed

On Tuesday, February 12, 2002, at 08:04 AM, 80 Westy Pokey wrote:

> Any air cooled owners out there running oversized tires? I
> recently purchased 15” wheels and I am torn between two
> Michelin tires either the 215/65R15 Agilis 51 or the
> 215/75R15 LTX M/S.
>
> The 65s would mean no appreciable change in my speedo or my
> acceleration, but I am concerned about availability,
> particularly if the EV is ever phased out.
>
> The 75s would give me slightly greater top speed but would
> hurt my already sluggish acceleration.

They will certainly hurt your acceleration, but they probably won't help 

your top speed at all. They would only help your top speed if you were 

already able to hit  the redline in top gear. Some how I don't think 
so :) Bear in mind that raising the gearing in this way affects the 
cooling. It takes a certain amount of power to push the van along at a 

given speed - raising the gearing means that the fan is turning slower 

at that speed, so your engine is more likely to overheat.

Hope that helps make the decision.

Kim Howe
82 Vanagon Camper
Albany Western Australia
khowe@omninet.net.au