Date:         Sat, 11 Oct 2003 13:53:11 -0700
Reply-To:     Kevin Mulligan <mulligan_kevin@YAHOO.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Kevin Mulligan <mulligan_kevin@YAHOO.COM>
Subject:      Re: GoWesty wheel / tire package
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

Folks,

I’ve spent the last several weeks looking into tires
for my 90 Syncro camper and have the following
observations. These may apply only to campers or
Syncros from the 90 model or similar years, so take
them for what their worth. Sorry for the lack or
brevity.

Until recently I still had my vehicle’s original
spare, the "P205/70R 14 Reinforced" Michelin, whose
sidewall clearly stated its load index of 97. Although
the 97 load index is associated with 1,609 pounds
within the industry, the tire clearly stated that its
maximum load was 1,570 pounds.

While tire shopping, I talked to my local Michelin
dealer, who called their national office in response
to my inquiry about tires. He told me that the only
tire recommended by Michelin for Vanagons is the “LTX
MX” LT 195/75R 14 (load rating C). This tire has a
load index is 93, or 1,433 pounds at 50 psi – much
less than the original tire’s 1,570 pounds.

Note that original P205/70R 14 tire is a reinforced
passenger tire – not your typical passenger tire – and
is more like a light truck (LT) tire in that it has
reinforced sidewalls. Also note that the GWVR of the
Vanagon Syncro camper is 5,512 pounds, with a maximum
of 2,866 pounds in the front and 3,042 in the rear. So
in the rear, the tires need to support 1,521 pounds if
you want to fully load the vehicle; in the front,
1,433 pounds.

Most manufacturers recommend that, if you choose to
use passenger tires in lieu of LT tires, they should
have a higher load index (sometimes called a "load
index rating" or simply a  "load rating") than the LT
tires that they replace. Here is a quote from the
Cooper Tire web site
(www.coopertire.com/us/en/safety/info-fitment-safety.asp#item5):

"IF YOU REPLACE A LIGHT TRUCK TIRE WITH A PASSENGER
CAR TIRE, THE REPLACEMENT TIRE MUST ALWAYS HAVE A 10%
GREATER "MAXIMUM LOAD" RATING.

If you replace an original equipment light truck tire
with a passenger car tire, you cannot install a
passenger car tire which has the same "Maximum Load"
index as the light truck tire (which is shown on the
sidewall of the light truck tire identified on the
vehicle manufacturer's tire placard). The replacement
passenger tire must have a "Maximum Load" index at
least a 10% greater than the original equipment light
truck tire specified on the vehicle placard."

I think it is safe to assume that, if you want to use
a passenger tire on your Vanagon, its load index
should be 10% higher than the 1,570-pound maximum
associated with the reinforced tire that came with the
vehicle. Why? The 205/70R 14 Reinforced passenger
tires that were made for Vanagons are similar to the
light truck (LT) tires that can replace them. As
stated above, a key difference between passenger and
LT tires is the reinforced sidewalls, designated by
“Reinforced” in the case of the OEM Michelins or the C
and D load ratings for LT tires. The door jamb clearly
states that LT tires with a load rating of C in the
185 and 205 sizes are recommended, along with the
205/70R 14 Reinforced passenger that Michelin (nor
anyone else that I’ve found) no longer makes. So, if
you want to go with passenger tires, a reasonable
assumption is that the load index needs to be at least
1,570 x 1.1, or 1,727.

A less conservative assumption is that passenger tires
would need at least a load index of at least 10% more
than the 1,521 pound maximum as specified by the gross
axle weight for the rear axle; or 1,521 x 1.1, or
1,673 pounds.

According to Michelin’s website, the HydroEdge in the
215/65R 15 size recommended by GoWesty has a load
index of 95, or 1,510 pounds at 44 psi. This is
significantly lower than either the 1,727 or 1,673
pounds mentioned above. The 215/60R 16 Michelin X-One
(as well as its replacement, the HydroEdge), also
recommended by GoWesty, has a lower load index of 94,
or 1,477 pounds at 44 psi.

With both of these tires, you are not getting near the
load rating recommended by VW. I wouldn’t use them,
but if you do, you certainly need to be aware of the
potential for loading the vehicle beyond the ability
of the tires to handle the load.

If you go with an LT tire, I would opt for the tire
with highest load rating you can find. You can find
lots of 15- or 16-inch tires with sufficient load
ratings, but in both cases you will increase the tire
diameter and raise the vehicle’s center of gravity
(not to mention incur the cost of the wheels).

Me, I found several LT tires in the 27 x 8.5 x 14 size
whose load index was close to the 1,570 pounds per
tire I was looking for. Among them: the BF Goodrich AT
K/O, Cooper Discoverer, Bridgestone Dueler A/T with
Uni-T, Dunlop Rover, and the Kelly Springfield Safari
SJR. All these tires have a diameter only about 4%-5%
larger than that of the 185R 14, which is a
recommended size for all Vanagons. I felt that this
increased diameter was an acceptable tradeoff, since
it would not significantly raise the vehicle’s center
of gravity while still allowing me to fit the spare in
the carrier in the front of the vehicle. Perhaps more
important, I believe all these tires have a load index
of 95, or 1,521 pounds – which meets the GVWR spec of
5,512 if you balance the load across each axle.

In the end, I opted for the Bridgestone Dueler A/T’s,
which are a bit less aggressive than the BFG’s but
still will work well for gravel or mud. I also
considered the Kelly SJR’s, which have a much less
aggressive all-season tread.

Note that you need to have the 6-inch-wide alloy
wheels to use any 27 x 8.5 x 14 tire.

One hitch to all this: I found that the spare wouldn’t
fit in the original carrier in the front of the
vehicle, and that I needed something like the
oversized tire carrier from Volkscafe, which I
installed the other day. As instructed by Volkscafe, I
reduced the pressure in the spare to about 10 psi to
prevent it from rubbing on the steering column.

The tires look great and ride very nicely. They are
much more stable than the crappy P205/70R 14 no-name
tires that they replaced. I’m happy and, I believe,
much safer than I was before.

My $0.02 -- and I hope this helps.

- Kevin


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