Date: Tue, 5 Jul 2011 23:49:49 -0700
Reply-To: Scott Daniel - Turbovans <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Scott Daniel - Turbovans <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Subject: Tire Recomendation for Jack's 84 Westy
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ake Rocket J. Squirrel.
HI jack..
this will work 'just right' for you and your van.
for the rear , get 185 R14 C's in D load rating ( 8PR ) which most of them
are.
at Les Schwab they sell it in Thunderer brand..made in Thailand,
a very good looking tire, nice and wide..
just 'nigh perfect' for the back of a 2WD vanagon with 14 inch steel wheels.
I bought six of those exact tires from Les Schwab Tire Centers , and they're
all on the rear of vans like yours.
Last august they were $ 113 each mounted and balanced with new tires valves.
Which I thought was about right.
I honestly think it's a well made tire.
in about April this year I paid $ 148 each though.
pushing $ 150 for that size and grade of tire it high-ish..
though tires were predicted to go up last year, and perhaps they have.
I ran a set of those on the back of an 85 Westy to Bend last August at up to
75 mph , love 'em.
And Les Schwab took a couple of days to get them.
You are very close to their main wharehouse in Prinville , Or , I think.
I ran some on the front, could not stand them. Too harsh. Lowering tire
pressure doesn't work either.
But on the back ....just leave 'em there until there's a need to rotate them
..say left to right...
if they wear like the rear camber is a bit negative, say after 20 or 30K
miles, have them flipped on the rims, and there is a rear alignment on
vanagons. It would be good to have that checked or adjusted sometime in
any case.
for the front..
the same size, 185 R14 C in a C load rating ( 6PR ..which if you look ..is
what it says on your tire sticker.
if you want to get all C's ....no problem, just don't get all D's. )
185 R14 C in C load rating is harder to find.
I like this on the front 'a lot!' ..
195/75 R14 LT .....those are C load rating.
Les Schwab 'may' have a few Cooper Discoveries still in their inventory.
They used to sell it as the Wildcat ..
and I even find them good used at Les Schwab tire dealers sometimes. It's
a 'les schwab' tire sort of .
I also recently scored 4 bascially new Cooper Discovery's in that size.
That's a socre and a half..
400 to 500 dollars worth of tires.
but you run thoste D's on the rear,
and either of these C load rating tires I've mentioned on the front ..( or
all C's or all LT's C load rating )
and it will be nigh perfect for a 2WD westy with an auto trans and 1.9 wbxr
engine.
I was just out driving my super well preserved 82 Sunroof Diesel Vanagon
with tight supension, good shocks ..
and the Thunderer D's on the rear, and new Cooper Discoevies on the front ..
it's a smooth handling and steerting as a stock 2WD vanogon with 14 inch
steel wheels can get.
a delight to drive..
tends to just follow the road, no harshness in the steering wheel.
I probably have pressures at roughtly 44 rear, 34 front maybe, cold.
the pneumatic tire is 'still' a brilliant invention..
being easily tunable.
I like nimble handling ...and this van is doing that as well as one of those
can ..set up like this.
I probalby would never go over 36psi front measured cold.
the tires are suppossed to 'work' with the road, and flex.
if you are talking load carrying, like in trucks, or trailers..
that is a whole other world and discussion. Not related to making a vehicle
handle welll. That's about carrying load.
and if you are carrying say a thousand lbs of lumber..
then think about your tires as truck tires, and air up accordingly..
but for normal use, normal loads ....they can be very nice riding,
responisve steering, and predictable steering vans.
just try that tire combo I suggest..
and you'll be glad you did.
Dont' get distracted by the 27 X 8.50 R14's right now. Bit big for your
rig.
there, that's settled, in my mind anyway. Do whatever you want of course,
but that is my recommendation ..
and that's with a career's worth or two of driving experience, and racing
cars and motorcycles experience ..and gobs of vanagon experience.
and good shocks !
if you see a KYB ..
get it off there immediately and get on some HD Bilsteins or Koni's.
you ougtha see how my sunroof DV gallops over bumps..
it just eats them up, no clunking, nothing is loose anywhere..it drives like
it's new. And a lot of it is the tire combo I am running, which is what I
suggest for you as well.
later,
scott
www.turbovans.com
