Date: Thu, 28 Mar 2002 01:37:15 -0500
Reply-To: Miguel Calvin <mcalvin@MAC.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Miguel Calvin <mcalvin@MAC.COM>
Subject: Re: Michelin XT LT4s for 91 Vanagon
In-Reply-To: <3CA20EE6.5020806@attglobal.net>
Content-type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"
on 3/27/02 1:26 PM, Karen Gritis at gritis@ATTGLOBAL.NET wrote:
> Okay, I know that tires have been done to death, so I didn't ask anybody
> on the list; I went to the website and looked in the archives and
> arrived at my decision (or so I thought). I went out to buy 4 Michelin
> XT LT4s to replace my worn out Michelin MXTs. This isn't as simple as
> it sounds. The XT is available only through Sears or NTB. I wasn't
> happy when I found out the mounting, balancing, etc., to include
> alignment added up to 175.00 on top of the cost of the tires, which at
> 76.99 were an okay deal. I bagged the Sears thing for today, due to the
> prices and went looking elsewhere to find a suitable tire for my vanagon.
>
> I went to a Just Tires shop right down the street from the Sears. They
> gave me all kinds of what I think is misinformation, but I just thanked
> them and left. Could you of the list clarify some doubts that were
> raised after listening to the guys at Just Tires and Goodyear Tire?
>
> * 6 ply versus reinforced sidewall - the same thing or two different
> animals? I need the reinforced sidewall on my vanagon, right?
> All the tire guys are telling me that all I need is a 6 ply tire
> and not to worry about the reinforced sidewall.
> * Michelin Agilis - suitable or unsuitable for the vanagon? These
> guys say that Michelin recommends them for the vanagon, but the
> Vanagon website seems to indicate that this would not be wise, due
> to sidewall cracks. I did see the Michelin literature and it
> recommends the Agilis for "light or compact vans". That's not my
> definition of a vanagon.
> * Just for curiousity, does anyone remember what tires came on the
> vanagon? I have a spare that I'm running right now that the Just
> Tires guy says is the original equipment tire, it's a Continental,
> he says the size is 20570R14, I thought I needed 19575R14. This
> doesn't make sense to me.
>
> Thanks in advance for helping to clear up my confusion.
>
> Karen
Tire ratings work like this:
LR plys Max notes
A 2ply 35psi passenger car
B 4ply 42psi sometimes called "reinforced"
C 6ply 50psi Good for regular Vanagon
D 8ply 65psi Good for Westy
E 10ply ?? overkill
and so on up to:
N 24ply ?? (Large-truck tire, I guess)
We don't usually see A or B ratings, passenger car tires use a different
rating: P195 75R14 92S for example. 92 means a max load of 1389 lbs per tire
(2778 lbs per axle). But only 1250 lbs if used on a light truck (2500 lbs
per axle). This is because passenger car tires can only be used at 90% of
their max load rating on light trucks due to the higher centre of gravity of
trucks versus cars. This is less than the Vanagon rear axle's max load of
2866 lbs.
The original tires for Vanagons were either 185 R14 C Continentals or 205
70R14, depending on the model.
I just got the Michilens you are looking at on my Westy. Tire pressure is
critical with these LT 195 75R14 C tires. They are rated for 50psi max, but
the van is nearly undriveable in a crosswind with them inflated this way.
The door sticker calls for 33front and 40rear but I found, through trial and
error, that 42 front and 50 rear works well enough.
I would not buy these tires agoin, but they would probably be fine on a
non-westy. You will have to experiment with the tire pressure balance a bit,
no matter which tires you get. Check around for Hankook D rated tires if you
have a Westy; I will be getting them next time for sure.
Whatever you do don't get passenger car tires - the load rating will be too
low.
--
Miguel
Guelph, ON, Canada
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