Date:         Wed, 17 Apr 2002 21:54:20 -0400
Reply-To:     Christopher Berchin <ctb1@PEOPLEPC.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Christopher Berchin <ctb1@PEOPLEPC.COM>
Subject:      Review of Agilis 51 205/65-15
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

Yes, another tire review, but what the heck.  I thought I'd chime in.

I just installed 205/65-15 Michelin Agilis 51's on my bus with SA Sunburst
wheels.  Previously, the van had 195/70-14 car tires on steel wheels.  I
won't mention the brand since they aren't at fault for their non-suitability
for the Vanagon.  These tires came with my van when I bought it, and I
finally changed them.

The van is like night and day with the new tires.  Previously, I had lots of
impact harshness on every bump (and here in D-town, that's a lot).  Loud
noise, and a lot of the impact went right to you sitting in the van.  It
banged away quite a lot, which could get old.  The Agilis are far quieter
and have far less impact harshness.  It feels like the suspension was dipped
in rubber.  I can't believe it's the same van.  This alone has given me a
much quieter interior.

Steering deadband is a bit narrower (in other words, there's less play in
the steering before something happens), but this isn't a very large change.
I actually expected slightly more change here.  However, crosswind stability
has gone WAY up, if my test drive last night was any indication.  I was
driving along the interstate at about 75 mph, and I could see the wind.  All
the plants next to the road were bent over, and the flags were straight out.
However, the van just didn't care.  Stable as all get-out.  One really big
gust hit and the van twitched a bit, but not much at all.  I was amazed -
with the other tires, I would have been all over the place.  Another case
where I couldn't believe it was the same van.  Note also that I do not have
my front sway bar connected - the end link broke, and I've been waiting to
put these tires on before I decide which size front bar to put back on the
van (I have both the 19mm and 21mm factory bars).  I imagine the van may get
even a little bit more stable with the bar connected.

Handling:  Compared to the car tires, the van is more neutral - less
understeer.  Less to the point where I want a front bar back on it.  With
the car tires, it was nearly dead neutral without the front bar, but with
some ugly lean angles.  My van isn't unstable right now, but it is *just*
that little bit too close to oversteer for my liking during initial turn-in.
However, the grip of these Agilis is WAY better than the previous tires.  I
railed around one of my favorite test on-ramps at much greater speed than I
ever could have before.  I was having quite a lot of fun, pretending I was
driving a really big Porsche 912.  :)

The only downside is that I'm now back to OEM tire diameter, so my van got a
bit slower.  The smaller diameter of the other tires gave me shorter
gearing, and it accelerated a bit better and had slightly more top end.
However, I will pay that price for the vast superiority of the Agilis in
every other respect.  And they look great, too.

Bottom line - I'll pay whatever it takes to get more of these once they wear
out.  My van is totally transformed with them.  Very impressive.  I
purchased mine from Military Tires
(http://www.militarytiresales.com/main.asp?page=home) in the fall - they
were a bargain back then, as MT has since rasied the price.  However, as I
said, I will pay what it takes to get more of these when the time comes.
Hopefully I will remain as pleased with them as I drive more miles on them.
This weekend will tell the tale, as I am road tripping in the van.  We shall
see...

Chris
'84 GL
The Race Bus