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