Date:         Tue, 15 Mar 2005 01:50:19 -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: 15" Wheel/Tire Report - Caution
In-Reply-To:  <4236712E.9050600@industryinet.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

> I quick question on the 15 in tires. Is it not easier to find 
> 15 inch tires than 14 inch tires that meet the requirements? 
> I am running 14" Kuhmos that are load range "D" which I 
> bought last year for my syncro. Hiway tread as I really do go
> 4x4ing---- In looking for tire specs on the internet, it sure 
> seemed easier to find 15" ...
> 
> But Ron I do like your 15" wheels you sell.


More U.S. tire companies still offer 15" truck tires, because some later
model American vans took them (although the trend has been toward 16" on
newer ones). So yes, there are more 15" tires out there, at least for now.
But this is an odd case where the law of supply-and-demand doesn't seem to
apply; prices are still often cheaper on the 14" tires, even with fewer
players in the market.  The reason is that wholesale tire prices tend to go
up as diameter increases, so 15" tires almost always wholesale for more than
a 14" equivalent (and 16" for still more, and so on). GoWesty's article
implies otherwise, but this is only because they are comparing 14"
sidewall-reinforced tire prices to 15" passenger-car tire prices; apples to
oranges. Consider the 4-for-$99 specials that discount tire stores often
run. When you get there you find that the only ones that are 4-for-$99 are
12" tires for a Yugo, and they go up for every additional inch you need. (To
my dismay, this trend doesn't work its way downward to the 10" tires my Mini
Cooper takes. -)  YMMV, as this can vary by retailer and market of course.
Over the long run, neither 14" nor 15" truck-rated tires will be
commonplace; both will be relegated to special-order status anyway, as
virtually every SUV and truck sold in the U.S. today takes a 16" or 17"
tire. But we're used to the local retailers not stocking Vanagon parts
anyway, so why should tires be any different. :-) 

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

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