Date:         Thu, 23 May 2002 19:29:47 -0400
Reply-To:     Christopher Berchin <ctb1@PEOPLEPC.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Christopher Berchin <ctb1@PEOPLEPC.COM>
Subject:      Someone must know what tire pressure do use in Agilis 51 tires!
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

Some things to remember:

1)  Tire pressures chosen by OEM's are chosen to be what they felt was the
best compromise for crisp handling, safety, and a quality ride.
2)  Max pressure listed on the tire is the pressure at which you will
realize the full load capacity (also listed), and also the upper limit to
run safely and not adversely affect the tire.
3)  Higher pressures increase the cornering stiffness/lateral stiffness of a
given tire, which should help in crosswind stability.

So, with that in mind:
VW recommended pressures for my van (1984 GL) of 39 front and 48 rear for a
185/14 tire.  I now have 205/65-15 Agilis 51's on the van, and I started at
the recommended pressures.  My ride quality was excellent (as compared to
the previous not-so-hot tires), as was the handling and stability in winds.
However, after about 1000 miles, I believe I'm starting to see the rears
wearing more in the middle.  Note that my GL is gutted - no seats in the
back, no center bench, just the two front ones, so I'm pretty light in the
back.  Just tonight I checked the tires, and I am dropping a few psi to see
how it goes.  The key factor will be crosswinds.

Remember, pressures aren't cast in stone.  As long as you aren't running way
too low and ending up causing massive heat buildup in the tire which will
cause it to fail, you should be ok.  (Running too low is worse than running
too high.)  Pick them as you want for whatever ride and crosswind stability
you want.  If you are always running the van at GVW, then I would stick with
the higher end of the tire's limit, if not at the tire's max pressure.  If
you are running light and don't notice wagging in winds or poor handling,
you can run them a bit lower.

When I bought my van, the PO had the tires at 28 psi (car tires).  It was
nearly undrivable.  Once I cranked them up to the tire's max (44 psi), the
van worked much better.  Experiment and keep an eye on your wear - keep it
in the safe range (my personal opinion is that range begins at 30 psi for a
vehicle like ours) and you should be ok.

Chris