Date:         Fri, 2 Jan 2009 17:06:17 -0500
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: need tires for 90 westy
In-Reply-To:  <20090101211419.ba2d9648c4914d5f56715942772a6035.cfba2446fd.wbe@email02.secureserver.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"

> 185's fit both the stock steel wheels (stock for this wheel)
> and the alloys, but will look funny on the alloys which are
> far wider.  The 205's will fit the alloys and the steel wheels,
> but will push against the stock hubcaps at the bottom as the
> tire rolls and rotate the hubcap on the rim, potentially
> damaging the valve stem which could lead to catastrophic deflation.


Maybe beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but I have used 185R14's with my
alloys for years, as do hundreds of my customers, and I can't say I've ever
heard a comment that the combination looked funny. In fact the difference
isn't even particularly noticeable if you're not looking for it, in my
opinion. As per factory specs a 185R14 is suitable for rim widths between 5"
and 6", which includes both the steel wheels (5.5") and the alloys (6"). The
205/70R14 is about 2/5 of an inch wider, and roughly the same height, as the
185R14.  So it's not a huge difference.

- Ron Salmon
  The Bus Depot, Inc.
  www.busdepot.com