>I too have noticed front end loss of traction on diesel/I4 vans and poor >rear wheel traction a the same time!. Anyway, I weighed my van a year or so >ago and posted the results, here they are again: Tire choice has a HUGE effect on handling. Good tires will hang on well in corners wet & dry, most won't howl, and at the limits of adhesion will creep noticably, giving you warning not to push much harder. Poor tires will howl in corners, slip & slide (often suddenly) and lose grip in the wet. And possibly result in your death and that of others... AND your beloved van. The choice is yours. Most will make the wrong one. I have driven Hiaces with LT tires, and these are most cartainly NOT confidence-inspiring. I'd NEVER fit them to MY vans. Vanagons supposedly handle extremely well, but that will be in particular with performanvce tires, NOT light-truck tires (rim-protectors). My 1984 Type 2 Caravelle was fitted with an iron 3.8 V6. Wearing decent-but-not-performance Japanese boots, it never skated the front tires, though when pushed in bends it understeered badly due to the heavy engine. In the wet on sharp slow bends I had to avoid putting the power down hard, or the rear would slip sideways a little... not enough to give fright, but a warning. -- Andrew Grebneff 165 Evans St, Dunedin 9001, New Zealand <andrew.grebneff@stonebow.otago.ac.nz> Seashell, Macintosh, VW/Toyota van nut |
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