Date:         Fri, 18 Apr 2003 22:01:20 +0000
Reply-To:     Mike Finkbiner <mike_l_f@HOTMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Mike Finkbiner <mike_l_f@HOTMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Re: 15" Wheel Question
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed

TJ Hannink <tjhannink@YAHOO.COM> said -

--- Larry Chase <lchase@ATTGLOBAL.NET> wrote:
>Bob,
>
>CAUTION ..... PLEASE DO THE FOLLOWING BEFORE
>PURCHASING THE MICHELIN
>X-One OR MX4 TIRES THAT GOWESTY SELLS
>
>1. Look at the tire specs at Tirerack or Michelin on
>these tires. They
>are LOAD Rated around 1510 lbs.
>
>If you look at Vanagon.Com load rating
>RECOMMENDATIONS you will see that
>a minimum of 1609 lbs is recommended.

The spec on Vanagon.com is correct for a passenger car
tire, but not a light truck or commercial type tire. A
a minimum load of 1,433 lbs. (or a '93' or 'C' rating)
is required for a Vanagon when using a commercial or
light truck tire. A 10% safety factor is required in
the P-Metric standards when using a passenger car tire
on a light truck or van. (www.tiresafety.com) That
works out to a '97' (or 1,609 lb) load rating.

The MX-4's will meet the load requirement but without
enough of a safety factor, so Michelin, TireRack.com
or any other decent tire manufacturer or distributor
won't recommend them.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

I believe TJ is correct.  I run LR 93 LT195R14 on my '87 Westy with no
problem.  That's what the Kirkland's that so many people liked were rated -
LR 93 at 50 psi.

The biggest problem I see with the MX4 is the max pressure, only 35 psi.

My door sticker recommends 48 psi rear for a 185, and 40 psi rear for a 205.
  The MX4 will be too soft, and your rear end will get squirrely.

In my opinion, the LR 97 info from the Vanagon site came from the 205R14
alternate size tires.  Most tires back then with that load rating were rated
at 55-60 psi max. At 40 psi they were not able to carry their full rated
load, so they needed to be over-spec.

My beast handles best at 48 rear, 40 front.

Many tire shops set all tires to 35 psi when they mount them, so you might
check yours, and see what your tires are rated at, then adjust if necessary

- Mike

Mike Finkbiner
'87 Westy
Moscow, ID
mike_l_f@hotmail.com

Perception is more real than truth, and belief turns truth into lies.    -
Kedar Nan



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