Date:         Wed, 8 Oct 2008 21:45:02 -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: T3 (Vanagon) tires
In-Reply-To:  <100920080033.10157.48ED51570007A530000027AD2216554886C9C9CDCB020E03020100@comcast.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"

> when I put 205/70 R 14 tires onto my 85 Wolfsburg
> Weekender, it changed from handling like a boat,
> to handling and steering like a sports car !


Mreely switching sizes from 185R14 to 205/70R14 cannot make this difference.
It is far more likely that the difference was attributable to the specific
tires in question and/or inflation. 185R14 and 205/70R14 have the same
sidewall height. The only difference is width.  Sidewall flex (which would
account for the difference you describe) would not have varied significantly
between the two, unless the tires differed in other respects (i.e. sidewall
stiffness) or the inflation was not correct for the tire size.  Tire width
does, however, have some impact on traction.  A thinner tire will outperform
an (otherwise identical) wider tire on wet/snowy roads, while a wider tire
will do best on dry roads.  As I've said before, I lean toward a 185R14
because it is in adverse weather conditions where I most count on my tires
to grip the road. On dry roads my Vanagon feels sure-footed anyway, with
either of those sizes.  (Also, from a dollars-and-cents standpoint, a 185R14
is a whole lot cheaper than a comparable 205/70R14.)

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

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