Vanagon EuroVan
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Date:         Sat, 14 Mar 2009 10:02:05 -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: Tires - Why oh why NOT?
In-Reply-To:  <5ebe10a0903131730y1c12d552rc3e8a3b89231eeda@mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

Chris S., quoting long glowing GoWesty ad for Michelin HydroEdge 15" car tires, concludes...

> Yes, 14'' passenger tires are deadly on a fully loaded Westy. > I'm not talking about 14'' tires. Again, I quote "... they > provide WAY better handling and safety."

GoWesty's claim directly contradict both Volkswagen and the U.S. D.O.T. As per VW, using 15" or even 16" tires does NOT eliminate the need for an extra-load tire. The Eurovan, for example, has about the same GVWR as the Vanagon and came factory equipped with 15" and 16" tires. Yet VW specified ONLY extra-load tires in both 15" and 16" sizes. The same applies to the current model T5 van, and even to earlier Buses that came equipped with 15" tires (and weighed less than Vanagons). In fact NEVER has Volkswagen recommended passenger-car rated tires for their vans, no matter whether 14", 15", or 16". If you do the math regarding D.O.T. safety requirements for Vanagon tires, as explained at http://busdepot.com/details/tires.jsp, you'll see that federal regulations also prohibit the use of standard-load passenger car tires - regardless of size - on VW vans.

Volkswagen did not just randomly come up with the minimum specs for tires on the Vanagon. Such specs are based on solid engineering and testing. The fact that they continuously tweaked recommended inflation over the years indicates that they also revisited the issue periodically - but over 40 years, NEVER ONCE waivered from their insistance that extra-load tires must be used.

So, you can rely on Volkswagen's own engineering, or the unproven advice of a retailer who has a vested interest in your ignoring factory safety recommendations (they want to sell you their wheels/tires, which don't meet VW specs). Given that it is possible to buy appropriately rated Vanagon tires in all sizes, why on earth would you take this risk? Might as well stop wearing your seatbelt too. If Volkswagen turns out to be right after all, it will be during evasive maneuvers (when most of the weight is transferred to one wheel) when you will find out. In other words you'll find out the hard way as your van flips over. But at least while you see your loved ones being crushed or ejected from your Vanagon, you'll have the comfort of knowing you saved a few bucks on tires.

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


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