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Date:         Fri, 17 Dec 2004 13:51:39 -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
Comments: cc: JordanVw@aol.com
In-Reply-To:  <194.3460004c.2ef47e4a@aol.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

> BTW, people keep mentioning 185's... 185's are fine for steel wheels but .. > IIRC the alloys require 205's.. am i correct? reason i ask is that a friend > of mine just bought tires for his carat with the factory alloys...he ordered > michelins from tirerack.com and they sent him 185's.. they told him that's > all they had...(which is total BS) i told him that the alloys require 205's but > he mounted the 185's on his carat alloys anyway... so how will his van > handle now??

They will handle the same as if they were on steel wheels.

While alloy wheeled Vanagons originally came with 205/70R14's, 185R14's are still suitable for Vanagons with alloys (assuming they meet Vanagon load capacity specs, etc., of course). They meet VW specs in terms of recommended size, and also are within the spec requirements of the Vanagon alloy wheel itself. (A Vanagon alloy has a 6" width; 185R14's are designed for wheels ranging from 5" to 6".)

The 185R14 is a bit taller and thinner than the 205/70R14. The difference is not huge in terms of ride (as long as the sidewall is suitably stiff of course). In fact, a thinner tire will be less likely to hydroplane in rain, all other things being equal. Also 185R14's tend to be a lot cheaper than 205R14's. I use the Hankook RA08 185R14's on my Vanagon with Alloys and like the ride very much (which is why I now sell them).

Incidentally, this topic is covered on my new tires f.a.q. section ...<http://busdepot.com/busdepot/details/tires.jsp>

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

_____________________________________________ Toll-Free for Orders by PART # : 1-866-BUS-DEPOT


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