Date:         Sat, 18 Sep 2004 22:26:17 -0700
Reply-To:     jbange <hfinn@INGRATES.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         jbange <hfinn@INGRATES.NET>
Subject:      Re: GoWesty 16" Wheels
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed

>I've had 'em on mine for a couple years now, Mike. Got 225/70R16 Michelin's
>and they rub the back of the wheel well slightly on driveways while turning.
>No interference problems other than that. These rims are 7 1/2" wide so no
>matter what kind of tire you put on there isn't much lateral mushing. As he
>says, they sure make the van more stable but the size of mine (28.4") make
>acceleration slower ... taller gearing. He probably has the Michelin Hydro
>Edge's in about 215/60R16. Those will make it track like a slot car.

Yep, them's the ones! I haven't noticed much loss of acceleration,
personally, but I'm running an auto transmission so my acceleration wasn't
anything to write home about to begin with.  With good wheels and good
shocks, you can really feel the quality of the engineering in the Vanagon
suspension. It boggles the mind that VW decided to take such a
well-designed system and then ruin it all using those same old wobbly 14
inchers (and, as a result, the same old 14 inch brakes). I have noticed
that my speedometer is correct now, so it's almost as if it was MEANT to
have bigger tiresw. Strange.

John Bange
'90 Vanagon "Geldsauger"