Date: Fri, 25 Aug 2006 16:27:24 +0000
Reply-To: rubatoguy@COMCAST.NET
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Todd Last <rubatoguy@COMCAST.NET>
Subject: Re: xca michelin
I have XCAs on my van (in Oregon) and would second what John says.
If you understand their limitations, they are a great tire. Definately not a light load rain and snow tire.
With the XCAs it is easy to burn rubber - if only on the right rear wheel, particulalry if unloaded and making a right turn. (Thanks for the info John I was beginning to think that my springs were too stiff.)
The good news is that they seem virtually indistructible and wear very little.
Which makes sence as commercial truck tires would be made with high mileage and load carrying at the top of the list of requirements.
I would not call them scary to drive at all, though. You just have to be aware you are driving on commercial truck tires not a performance tire.
I did see one place on the 'net that says they carry this tire for $94
and claim they have them in stock.
Gotta love the 2770lb load capasity at 65psi...
Todd
'88 westy
http://ssl.delti.com/cgi-bin/details.pl?ID=froogle&typ=R-102364&Country=US
-------------- Original message ----------------------
From: John Rodgers <inua@CHARTER.NET>
> Yeah, it took me a bit to get used to my XCA's. I would not consider
> them to be a Washington state tire. Tread on them is not great on
> road-oil-and-water mix. Not a snow tire either - not even a little bit.
> Even here, when it rains, there are certain places I'm really careful
> about, because even with my stock WBX, I can "get a wheel" - spin the
> tires. But I drive mostly with no load or very lightly loaded mostly on
> dry pavement in relatively flat land. . Put a load in the van and those
> tires do get a grip and perform. . I love the way it handles under those
> conditions with those really tall stiff sidewalls. The van was designed
> for good performance on that type of tire, and it does. The XCA is a
> commercial truck tire, and in part relies on having a pretty good load
> on the tire for it to achieve it's best performance where road grip is
> concerned.
>
> John Rodgers
> 88 GL Driver
>
> trooz wrote:
> > I had the XCA's in that size until recently. They're quite a bit taller
> > than stock, and they are absolutely scary to drive on anything other than
> > dry pavement or a flat, dry dirt road.
> >
> > I just replaced them with Yokohama Super Van 356 185R14s. Now my
> > speedometer is accurate again, and they're supposed to be much better in the
> > snow. I'll comment on that once ski season is underway, but so far I like
> > them a lot. I just completed a 3,000 mile trip to and around Washington and
> > Oregon and didn't notice any difference in the ride despite the higher
> > recommended inflation.
> >
> > Bob Trousdale
> > '90 Westy
> >
> >
> > John Rodgers wrote:
> >
> >
> >>> Yeah, ain't it sad. I got a set of the Michelin 205 75 R14 XCA's on my
> >>> 88 GL. Sure do like them. I bought a second 88 GL and was going to buy a
> >>>
> > set for it, only to discover they are NLA.
> >
> >
> >>> It's getting more and more difficult to find good Vanagon tires around
> >>>
> > here. I'm going to 15 inch rims and tires next time
> >
> >>> around. for wider choice. Also with the 15 inche rims I can install big
> >>>
> > disk brakes front AND rear.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Rick Koller wrote:
> >
> >> Hi all,
> >> Anyone have a used Michelin 205 75 14 XCA propped up against a
> >> wall somewhere or a probably even more rare Kumho 852 ( these are on
> >> the syncro ). I need a spare and this size tire is not available in
> >> heavy duty vanagon configuration anymore. Thanks.
> >> Rick Koller
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >
> >
> >
