Date:         Fri, 20 Oct 2006 13:23:40 -0400
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: speshul tires for the vanagon
In-Reply-To:  <4f5.726502f.326a44e4@aol.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"

> lets see.  expensive unobtanium "load C rated" 
> tires..  Sidewall ply =  2 ply.   2 ply is 2 ply.   
> it means double ply reinforced sidewall.
> like i said, all you need to look for is the 2 ply 
> sidewall rating. "reinforced sidewall"  means  '
> 2 ply sidewall.   its just an fancier and more
>  expensive name for it.  marketing scheme.


Reinforced tire round and made of rubber ... standard tire also round and
made of rubber ... Must be the same thing! :-)   

I'm being facetious, of course, but still, what you are saying is just plain
factually inaccurate.  It is true that all tires that meet VW specs (that I
know of) have 2 ply sidewalls, but the converse is not true - not all tires
that have 2 ply sidewalls meet VW specs.  They can differ siginficantly in
load and inflation capacities, and may or may not meet VW specs. Read the
load and inflation capacities that are printed on the sidewall - that, not
the number of plies, will tell you whether the tire is suitable. (See
http://busdepot.com/details/tires.jsp for details on what the minimum safe
rating is; it varies depending on whether the tire is passenger-car or
light-truck rated.)

Of course it should also be pointed out that choosing a tire that meets
these guidelines does not guarantee that it's a good tire; only one that
meets the minimum requirements. As with any tire, there are of course better
and worse tires on the market within the application (in terms of handling,
road noise, wear characteristics, etc.). Start with tires that meet VW specs
and then make your choice among those.

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

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