Date: Fri, 18 Mar 2005 00:21:39 -0700
Reply-To: Adrian <adrian.bertarelli@DIRECWAY.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Adrian <adrian.bertarelli@DIRECWAY.COM>
Subject: Re: 15" wheels - 16
In-Reply-To: <CAEOIPKOOCKNBBDDDMBPMEHEGJAA.jeff@vanagonparts.com>
Content-type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Hello all I usually stay away from tire threads because everyone has
there own thoughts on what is acceptable for them. I wanted to share
what I have on my syncro and what I am happy with. I bought a set of 4
GoWesty 16 inch wheels. They are older Mercedes replicas but even
though the offset is not perfect they have held up very well. I use
them off road and I have taken some nasty hits on them and they have
only scratched. I am running BFG all Terrain TA 225/75/16. I have used
them on all my pickups and have run through two sets of them on the van.
They have awesome traction and they look and function great on and off
road. To run these tires I had to trim the bottom of the front wheel
wells,(front and back) and trim the mud flaps a little two. In the rear
of the van the tires barely clear the trailing arms but they do. I am
running OME shocks and a lift kit from fastforward. I have 60,000 miles
on this setup and it has been great. My van changed from night to day
handling wise when I did this upgrade. I deal with the stock gearing
for now and have just accepted that when in a bus, they all go slow. I
want to do a conversion at some point and maybe will re-gear after that.
I know that people always talk about the offset of these wheels and I
believe that the BFG tires may not be rated correctly(I know have the
KO's which I think have a better sidewall?) but this setup has worked
great for me with no issues. I admit I originally did it for looks on
my bus but I have functionally used this setup and thought I would pass
this info on. There are a lot of people on this list that are
incredibly knowledgeable and they contribute a great deal to this
community but sometimes these people can drown you in a wealth of
knowledge that scares people off. In a perfect world you would go with
only the correct specs for every part of the car. But in reality most
of us with this love and passion barely can keep up with our projects
and have to do the most we can with what we have to work with. I am
really happy with the way my setup is and it cost me like almost $2000
or so. That's a lot of money for wheels tires and suspension. I wanted
Derek's wheels but I just couldn't justify the cost of them. I have so
many other expensive projects done on the car and so many to do in the
future to get it where I want it to be. I sacrificed a little but after
using this setup for a while it has been a pleasure and the best thing
for my van other than a rebuilt tranny from Daryl. I always read all
the tire/wheel threads and watch people argue over all this and wanted
to pass on what I use and has been working really well for me. Sorry
For the long post and rant.
Adrian
-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf
Of Jeffrey Schwaia
Sent: Thursday, March 17, 2005 2:24 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Re: 15" wheels - 16" Wheels Now Available!!!
More fuel for the fire:
If you're using 16" wheels on your camper, the German TUV requires a
tire
with a minimum load index of 99. A regular Vanagon is required to have
tires with a minimum load index of 97.
No guess work here, just engineering and testing.
Cheers,
Jeff
www.vanagonparts.com
-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM]On Behalf
Of Kim Brennan
Sent: Thursday, March 17, 2005 12:20 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Re: 15" wheels - 16" Wheels Now Available!!!
Interesting. TireRack's search didn't pull up those choices. Still, a
lot less choices in appropriate tires than the 215/75R15 size.
On Mar 17, 2005, at 2:11 PM, Aleksandr Milewski wrote:
> Kim Brennan wrote:
>> Not to discourage folks from buying these wheels (these appear to be
>> Ronal wheels). Ronal shows 215/55R16 tires on Vanagons with their 16"
>> wheels. I could not find a single tire with sufficient load ratings
>> for
>> Vanagons in that size tire. Just a cautionary tale...
>
> Michelin Pilot HX MXM4 and ContiWinterContact TS790 V are available
> with a 97 load index. (and "Load Range XL" on the Tire rack site,
> whatever that's worth)
