Date: Tue, 17 Sep 2002 16:08:07 -0500
Reply-To: John Rodgers <j_rodgers@CHARTER.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: John Rodgers <j_rodgers@CHARTER.NET>
Subject: Re: 87 Vanagon GL tires selection
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
There is mountain of stuff on tires in the archives, but in summary you
want to make sure you have a very stiff, tall standing sidewall on any
tire you put on a Vanagon or Westy, especially a Westy. Vanagons and
Westy's need a light truck tire for safety and performance, and
passenger tires really don't deliver. And because of the low profile in
the cross section of the tire , they are very subject to sidewall
damage. The stiff sidewall gives better controll. If you ever had the
opportunity to drive on each of the two types you would be able to see
immediately what I am talking about.
Right now I am running Michelin MXT's (no longer available) 205/70-R14.
Before that I was driving with what the PO ha put on my van --
Continental passenger tire. When I made the switch, I was astounded at
the increase in handling performance. It was the stiff sidewall that
made the difference. I will need new tires soon, and though I had though
about going to 15" rims, I have decided not to, and will go instead to a
Michelin XCA 205/75-R14, load range D. This tire is listed under
Michelins commercial line of tires, has a stiff. re-inforced sidewall,
and even on a 14 inch rim, stands a little taller than the MXT's I now
have.
Good luck in your search.
John Rodgers
88 GL Driver
franklyn wu wrote:
> hi,
>
> I have a question regarding tires for my 87' vanagon GL. All 4 tires
> on my van are about worn out and I want to buy a new set. I went on to
> tirerack.com and enter the information, it tells me that the original
> spec. should be 185/0-14 (these are reinforced, I guess). My VW
> mechanics (and I trust these people) told me that most owners they
> deal with use 205/75-14. I went to a tire shop and the people there
> weren't comfortable putting the 205 tires on because they are not
> original-sized and reinforced. The tires I have currently are
> 205/70-14.
>
> I am little confused as to what I should use and just want to know
> what people have (if you have original wheels and rims) for their
> vans, and if any 205/75-14 tires can be used without sacrificing
> safety.
>
> thanks,
>
> Franklyn
>
> 87' Vanagon GL
>
> 02' GTI 1.8T
>
>
>
>
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