Date:         Sat, 18 Dec 2004 01:47:16 -0500
Reply-To:     The Bus Depot <vanagon@BUSDEPOT.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         The Bus Depot <vanagon@BUSDEPOT.COM>
Subject:      Re: Discount Tires (and Snows!) for Vanagons / Vredestein vs.
              Hakka
In-Reply-To:  <001b01c4e496$73e60be0$6400a8c0@masterpc>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

> The 6" wide alloy wheel is still acceptable for a 185 series 
> tire. Outer tread wear may be slightly increased but this 
> will be offset by the high pressure this size tire requires 
> to support the weight of the van. The real question is why 
> would anyone want to ride on a skinny-hard, low traction 
> tire? The only advantage here is reduced rolling resistance.


Which means improved gas mileage (more of an issue now at $2/gallon than it
used to be).  But much more importantly, there's also the increased tendancy
of a wider tire to hydroplane - a major consideration in my book. I feel
very confident driving my Vanagon with 185R14's in the rain. It hugs the
road well in bad weather, when that is most imprortant. It didn't do as well
on the 205's it had when I bought it.  Maybe this is why VW used the 185's,
not 205's, on virtually all Busses and Vanagons throughout most of the world
all the way from 1964 to 1991. Only we Americans got the 205/70R14's (and
even then only in the last 5 years of production). They were quite rare in
Europe, but we Americans like the look of fat tires so they gave us the
option.

The 55 series tires on my wife's New Beetle are a perfect case in point.
They looked snazzy, but my Vanagon with its 185R14's felt much better at
highway speeds in the rain than her Beetle ever felt with those fat tires.
We always commented on how much worse the Bug handled in rain and snow -
conditons where tire performance is most important - than it did on dry
roads. In fact it hydroplaned far more easily than not only my Vanagon, but
also her previous Jettas and Passats, all of which had thinner tires. 

On the other hand, a wider tire will have a better traction on a dry road,
I'll give you that. But to me, performance in adverse driving conditions is
more important. I find that my 185's handle just fine on dry roads, but I
don't like how wider tires handle on wet roads at highway speeds. I'll give
up a little performance in good weather in exchange for better performance
in driving rain. It's a better "middle ground" in my book. If I were driving
a race car on a race track in dry weather I'd choose a wider tire in a
heartbeat. But I drive a Vanagon in real-world conditions, and in the real
world it often rains. When I'm driving through sheets of rain I like to feel
sure-footed.

So I'm not disagreeing with you completely, but presenting the other side of
the issue.  I'd argue that it's not as clear cut as you make it seem. There
are various advantages/drawbacks to a wide versus narrow tire. In fact it's
an age-old debate.

- Ron Salmon
  The Bus Depot, Inc.
  www.busdepot.com
  (215)  234-VWVW

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