Date:         Thu, 9 Aug 2007 07:43:49 -0700
Reply-To:     Joseph Fortino <fortino1@EARTHLINK.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Joseph Fortino <fortino1@EARTHLINK.NET>
Subject:      Re: Tires - oh no!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8

just to get the rims thats a deal..

Joe

-----Original Message-----
>From: Lee Peterson <iridewheelies@GMAIL.COM>
>Sent: Aug 9, 2007 7:29 AM
>To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
>Subject: Re: Tires - oh no!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
>
>Just saw these on CL.
>
>http://seattle.craigslist.org/sno/pts/392662346.html
>
>I think the tires are passenger tires but the wheels look good.
>
>
>Lee
>89 syncro
>
>
>
>On 8/8/07, John Reddick <SVYOLO@yahoo.com> wrote:
>>
>> I have finally been able to drive, for a couple of hundred miles each,
>> most or all of the "recommended" tires for the Vanagon.  I have owned
>> several sets myself, including Michelin MXT's, XCA's, Goodyear A/T TA's,
>> all
>> in 14 inch. I have driven Continental Vanco's, Agilis, Hankooks as
>> well.  I
>> have driven, and owned,  several sets of cheap 14" passenger tires. I
>> think
>> the A/T TA's, on a passenger syncro, were my favorite.  The MXT's had
>> awesome steering feel.  The XCA's were the most solid feeling by far, but
>> needed dry sandpaper for a driving surface as their tread was worthless on
>> anything else.  The Agilis and Hankooks ride very well, but handling is a
>> bit vague, albeit safe.
>>    What is the best choice?  If cost is the primary issue, Busdespots
>> price
>> on the Hankooks is really hard to beat, and they do ride very smooth.  If
>> cost is not overriding, forget them all. I have driven an equal number of
>> Vanagon's with 15 or 16 inch wheels, with a huge assortment of tires.  All
>> of them, every single one, was vastly superior to any 14 inch tire on a
>> Vanagon. It is the cheapest bang-for-the-buck upgrade you can ever put on
>> a
>> Vanagon.
>>    More importantly, if you grenade a tire somewhere, the local tire store
>> will have something, maybe even a cheap used tire, that is safe.  14"
>> inchers in reinforced sidewalls are special order only at most places. Try
>> blowing 2 tires 200 miles north of Fairbanks like me.  If I had 15"ers, I
>> would have been back on the road, safely, in under an hour. Instead, I
>> spent
>> 2 weeks in vain trying to find something suitable, and ended up limping
>> 1000
>> miles south until I found a Canadian Tire with Michelin XCA's in stock.
>>    I know this post will cause lots of disagreement, angst, and hateful
>> responses.  I am lucky that I get to drive a lot of vans with different
>> equipment.  I will never own a Vanagon with 14 inch wheels for any length
>> of
>> time. Actually, lightweight 2wd passenger vans do OK, just OK, with some
>> 14
>> inch tires.  By the time you get to a Westy, or worse yet a Syncro Westy,
>> 15
>> inch is the minimum.
>>    John
>>