Made it to Calgary on my new 16" BFG ATs & MSW wheels. Van is running well, but still leaking some coolant from somewhere, but not enough to worry about. GPS shows my speedo is now off about 5% at 100km/h, and mileage appears to be suffering, but won't really know until I get back to more normal roads to compare with old data. We picked up tires/wheels in Blaine, bolted them on, them dropped off old wheels at NWCampers in Bellingham - talked to John there, very nice guy. Continued on to Winthrop via Hwy20. Had someone compliment on the van at Washington Pass summit - he thought it was a syncro... :-) Continued on Hwy20 as far as it goes to Sandpoint - no sites, so had a nice dinner/swim at sunset, then parked in Walmart. Next day drove Hwy200 to Flathead Lake, swim & lunch at the lake, then through Glacier (some major construction delays on Going to the Sun road), then on to Calgary. Tires feel great - nice and solid at all speeds, with good crosswind stability. I'm running 45psi front/50psi rear, could probably run a bit less if not loaded. Definitely will need to install the GoWesty springs to make things look right, I'll do that when we get home. Tires are BFG AT 215/70R16 on MSW T15 16x6.5 ET38. Clearance at front is better than stock steelies, no spacers needed. Chains at rear won't be an option unless I clearance the lip on the control arm. Centre caps won't fit as both front & rear hubs stick out at least 15mm too much, so a custom design will be needed. Stock brakes look really wimpy now... one problem with open wheels... :-( Top speed by GPS is about 125km/h at 4000rpm. I think I need a TDI now....
-- Shawn Wright '88 Westy 1.6TD |
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