Date:         Sun, 29 Dec 2002 23:04:01 -0500
Reply-To:     Kim Brennan <kimbrennan@MAC.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Kim Brennan <kimbrennan@MAC.COM>
Subject:      Re: tires..again
Comments: To: Robert Berkemer <berky@WWT.NET>
In-Reply-To:  <3E0FB948.90606AC1@wwt.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; format=flowed

No. I don't know of all the load range "D" rated tires. I can state
that I've been browsing a lot of tire company sites over the last week.
The 15" wheels allow you to go use 215/75R15 tires, which is a
relatively commonly available Light Truck Tire.

Light Truck Tires are reinforced and sufficient for the Vanagon. Many
have a Max PSI rating of 50, which certainly covers our needs.

Since I was looking for All Terrain tires, my needs may be different
than yours. I also use Syncros exclusively, so my experiences may vary
from others.

In my case the overall tire I seem to fall back on is the BFGoodrich
All Terrain T/A KO. I will also mention this tire is also available in
27x8.5R14, which will fit on standard Vanagons with no fittment issues.

My experience with the tire (which looks VERY aggressive) is that it is
remarkably quiet (I've used it in both the above sizes) is extremely
good in snow and is a less stable in cross winds than the Michelin MXTs
I used to use.

I have been browsing the sites looking for a slightly smaller
alternative to the 215/75R15 Bridgestone Dueler H/T's which just barely
touches the plastic on my Tristar's wheel flares occasionally. I
haven't really found an alternative wheel size in LT tires, but haven't
explored all the commercial truck tire varieties.

On Sunday, December 29, 2002, at 10:11  PM, Robert Berkemer wrote:

>
> I've been looking at the 15"steel wheels on the Tiico web site as well
> as the 15" brake upgrades. This is very tempting but I'm curious about
> all those tire options that await me with the 15" wheels.... Does
> anyone
>
> know of options that are "load range D" rated? I've been running the
> 195-14" load range D tires for 10 years now and like the stiffness,
> handling, and durability off road. Any suggestions would be
> appreciated.