Date: Fri, 8 Dec 2006 14:27:33 -0800
Reply-To: Rich Bennington <rich.bennington@CHARTER.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Rich Bennington <rich.bennington@CHARTER.NET>
Subject: Re: Michelin Tire Experiences
In-Reply-To: <4579D3C4.7020100@charter.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
> Yep. Not surprised. There's lots of tires not listed for the Vanagon
> but perform well and do not compromise safety. The tires I have are
> Michelin XCA 205-75 R14 Load Range D, 65 PSI Cold. Tread - 2 Ply
> polyester Belts, & 3 ply Steel Belts, Sidewall -2 ply polyester belts.
>
> Vanagons are notoriouly unstable and skittish in crosswinds and truck
> turbulance on the highway. I chose this tire because I wanted a tire
> that had really stiff sidewalls and would be stable in winds on the
> road. My machine on these tires tracks like it's on rails. They are
> slightly taller than the "70" tires, but that diference I have found
> corrects the built - in speedometer error in all Vanagons. Clocked
> against another known accurate speedometer, my speedo with the Michelin
> XCA's underneath is, as Marissa Tormei said in the movie "My Cousin
> Vinny" - 'dead-on balls accurate"! Couldn't ask for better.
>
> These tires are from Michelins Commercial Truck Tire line, and like many
> truck tires, they have one small flaw. They don't have the greatest
> traction on wet pavement. They are a truck tire, and they do depend on
> the extra heavy weight of the truck to help in their contact to the
> ground.
>
> Good tire, generally, but unfortuately, Michilin apparently doesn't make
> them any more.
>
> Regards,
>
> John Rodgers
> 88 GL Driver
>
Tirerack does still sell this tire, but only in 7.50R17D, at $228 ea.!
Whoa!
On my own vanagon, it "came" with some odd brand 195-75R14-LTs, only rated
to 1400lbs at 50psi, so it's slightly marginal for a Westy. I'll use them
'till they wear out, probably, but I'd be smart to check the tire pressure
pretty regularly and keep them pumped up. When I replace them, I'll size
them properly, probably with a 185R14. I thought about going to a slightly
larger diameter to correct the speedometer, but I've since put a '90 speedo
in my van, and it's pretty close now.
After reading some NHTSA stuff on pressures on tires, it looks like low tire
pressure is a hot agenda item these days! It's apparently the biggest
factor in tire blowouts. Since most tires and suspensions are way more
comfortable these days, most people never notice their tires are low.
Couple this with the fact that tires lose, on average, 3-4 lbs of pressure a
year.... well, you get the picture. NHTSA has even been discussing
requiring low tire pressure indicators. (Please, government -- protect me
from myself!) Here is one of their education posters on low pressure
blowouts:
http://safercar.gov/Tires/images/Underinflated_Tires.pdf
I recently bought some tires for my Subaru, and the tire guy put nitrogen in
at no charge. I guess it reduces tire degregation and valve stem leaks!
Maybe all this awareness is one good thing that's coming out of the
Firestone disasters.
Regards,
Rich
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