Date:         Fri, 16 Sep 2005 12:20:10 -0500
Reply-To:     Larry Alofs <lalofs@RCN.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Larry Alofs <lalofs@RCN.COM>
Subject:      Where The Rubber Meets the Road
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A couple of years ago, dissatisfied with the lack of stability of the
car tires that the PO had put on my '91 GL, I bought some Firestone F-570s.
  205/70R14 95T M+S  Max pressure 44 psi
I felt that Firestone had probably gotten more bad press than they
deserved and I'm a cheapskate; these were about $50 apiece.
  I was quite satisfied with the performance.  The van was much more
stable in cross winds, tho the tires were a little noisy.
I run 35 psi front and 44 rear. (non-Westy)

Everything seemed fine until this past July when we traveled from
Chicago to Ashville, NC, to Austin, TX and back.  From Austin to Chicago
there was a noticeable vibration at speed and a slight wiggle of the
steering wheel at 20-30 mph.  I assumed that a tire had somehow gotten
out of balance.  Checking with my hand, however, revealed that about 10
or 12 inches of tread along the outer half of a front tire was bulging
out slightly.
  I assumed that this was a fluke and started trying to find a
replacement to match the other tires.  I soon found that Firestone no
longer sells the F-570, at least not in this country.
  Talking with a guy at Discount Tire, I said that I wanted at least a
95T rating with a max pressure of at least 44 psi.  He suggested an
inexpensive replacement called the:
  Warrior TR  205/70R-14  95T  for about $45.
So I bought one, and it seemed OK, the diameters matched well and the
handling seemed about the same, tho it's hard to judge based on one tire.

Well about 2 weeks ago on a short trip to South Bend,  vibration again.
 Same exact problem with one of the Firestones on the rear.  This time
it developed so quickly that I felt I had to put on the spare.  I no
longer consider the failures a fluke.  The tires were bought from two
different Firestone dealers about a month apart.  One was on the front
at 35 psi; the other was on the back at about 44 psi.  I believe that a
third one was starting to vibrate a little by the time I got to Discount
Tire to buy 3 more Warriors.
  So far the Warriors seem pretty good for a cheap tire.  They are made
by the Michelin-BFG-Uniroyal conglomerate.  A little less stable
laterally perhaps.  Very quiet.
We'll see.

Larry A.