Date:         Wed, 5 Sep 2007 23:39:54 +1200
Reply-To:     Andrew Grebneff <andrew.grebneff@STONEBOW.OTAGO.AC.NZ>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Andrew Grebneff <andrew.grebneff@STONEBOW.OTAGO.AC.NZ>
Subject:      Re: Crappy traction Van..
In-Reply-To:  <700481.66849.qm@web82705.mail.mud.yahoo.com>
Content-type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1; format=flowed

>A couple of year back I put on a new set of tires purchased from Costco for my
>Westy. As soon as the first time I pulled the brake a little hard the Westy
>was like skiing on the freeway. I immediately realized that it was
>the new tires
>that made it skid. Even today the Westy is still more likely to skid
>than my 84
>is. It has something to do with the tires. It's a set of Kirkland brand tires.
>The tire's spec met the requirement for Vanagons.
>
>I believe you will find your Van's traction different if you have a different
>set of tires on it.

As I keep saying, the wrong choice of tires can KILL you. What works
well on one model may be a disaster on another. Some (read no-names
like the above) are there merely to keep the wheels from scraping on
the road. Worst-case: Try a set of crossplies on a Split without
swaybar, like my 57 panel... the rears have almost zero traction on
dry pavement. Specifications be damned; "good enough" ain't good
enough! Junk tires might work OK most of the time... but it's just
when you need grip the most that they'll let you down, and then it'll
be too late for regrets.

That cow which just ran out of the scrub beside the road... the
bugger who just ran the red light across your bow... hell, not enough
grip to slow down in time, or to swerve, much less both... BANG,
you're DEAD.

This is why you don't fit Barums or Nyetskids to a 911.

>84. When the tires are near the end of their service life the traction
>will turn worse too.

Nope, traction increases with wear. That's why racers use slicks;
maximum contact area; where there's a treadgap, there's no grip. In
the wet however it's the reverse, slick tires are more likely to
aquaplane.

>All tires are not created equal. Proper tires for

Dead right. Put the best tires you can ALMOST afford on. Don't go for
LTs, get quality car tires with the right load rating (yes, they sure
do exist). For topheavy campers the problem is more tricky...

And always remember to bed new tires in carefully for a couple of
hundred km... they have a slippery release agent to allow easy
demolding. Ask motorcyclists about this...