VANAGON archives -- May 2009, week 3 (#38)

Date: Fri, 15 May 2009 17:04:18 -0400 Reply-To: Ed <email99@BELLSOUTH.NET> Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com> From: Ed <email99@BELLSOUTH.NET> Subject: Re: Tire ratio effects

Troy,

I have a '86 Westy with a 165 hp 2.5L Suby with 215/65R16 Michelin Hydroedge tires (load range 98). There is a little loss in acceleration in a specific gear but overall acceleration to 60 is not changed because when shifting at the same RPM you are staying in the lower gears to a higher speed than with standard diameter tires. I know this sounds strange but analysis with Excel Dyno predicts the same. Acceleration at a specific speed while remaining in a specific gear will be a little slower, however. Zero to 60 is about 10.5 seconds, IIRC.

These tires are mounted on GoWesty wheels (16x7.5 with ET=23mm) with SmallCar disc brakes front and rear. The brakes add maybe 4 mm to the rear track. The sliding door just misses the right rear tire by the smallest margin but still doesn't hit. The front tires will very slightly scrub the fender occasionally when crossing a gutter at too high a speed with the wheels turned sharply and a fully loaded van. This is not a problem for me. The clearance to the front suspension (upper A-arm) from the tires is very similar to that with stock steel wheels and 205/70r14 tires. I have Addco sway bars front and rear and Bilstein HD shocks. Handling is absolutely great. The only thing I would change would be replace the Bilsteins (that have 140,000 miles on them) with new Konis so I could increase the rebound stiffness a little.

There is a small increase (a slight bit over 1 inch) in ride height.

I probably have something like 35000 miles on these tires and they show only a small amount of wear. They don't pick up small rocks like they did when new but they still pick up some in the tread. The tires give a very comfortable ride and are very stable. I will buy them again when they need replacing, which will be several years in the future.

On Fri, 15 May 2009 11:05:32 -0800, Troy <colorworks@GCI.NET> wrote:

>I have 89 Westy with a 2.2 Subaru conversion. I was wanting to put a 215/65/16 higher on the van, which is taller than stock. I believe the correct tire ratio would be 215/60/16. Just curious what effect this would have on the handling of the van? I assume it would take a little more horsepower to get things rolling, but not sure if the van would feel sluggish or not. The difference in load rating between these two tires is pretty substantial, and I like the extra height, not only for ground clearance but appearance. Comments? > >Thanks, > >Troy

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