Date: Sat, 6 Apr 2013 12:15:23 -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: Re: Load Range D Tires: Canadian Tire Vancouver
In-Reply-To: <CAB2Rwfh6NpUuKbkRny8Vx8e-Hvjfe0Ctnn0_FvYCAKpnp8-V5w@mail.gmail.com>
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I have posted on this a thousand times about D load rated 184 R14 Ctires.
( warning..it's a bit long for some people )
LOOKAT THE TIRE STICKER FROM VWon the van !
driver's footwell/door frame area.
it says ..
very clearly ..6PR tires. that's C load rating.
They just happen to be not that commonly available in that size,
but they are the right load rating and they are not too stiff,
and D load rating tires are DEFINITELY too stiff.
since most people are only driving their one vanagon they wouldn't
realize how harsh D load rating tires on the front unless they drove on
with C's on the front.
Goes from 'very harsh' to 'very compliant and nice' ..
so .....like ..'use the proper correct tire !!'
additionally ...
if you look at a Syncro ....and I do at just about every one I work on,
I have 3 here right now ..
they all say ..
6PR in the front 8PR in therear,
which is impractical I know in terms of rotating tires..
however..
the straightline tracking and turn-in and cornering stability are all
better with D's ( 8PR ) on the rear, C's ( 6PR ) on the front ,
and VW tells you that right on the sticker for Syncro's.
And ...trust me, 2WD vanagons can benefit greatly from stiffer or larger
rear tires..
that's why in 2WD Vanagons the rear tire pressure are so much higher.
also ....as I suggested recently ..
drive other people's vanagons if you only ever drive yours..
you find all kinds of differences in many systems and how it feels/reacts.
Just yesterday a possible van buyer and I went for a drive in an 84 of
mine I have set up quite well..
nice 'ntight suspension and decent shocks, my fav tire set up, a
tin-top. That van drives just great ( I have several others for sale
too ..all with about 200 hours of work done on them at least, finely
tuned throughout ) ..
so we drive that van ...it's very decent for what it is.
Then we drive this 85 Westy ...
that westy is too high in the front ( stock they are like that ) , it
has D tires all around,
it's a Westy, which means noisier , and it has junk american shocks on it.
It drives like this..
first there's lots of stuff that's just noisy on the interior ..
the roof area is just a lot noisier, both in road and wind noise..
the shocks are harsh crap ........and worst of all ...it's harsh on the
tinest bumps in the front tires,
it oversteers badly and in a non-linear manner.
they only way I can think of to get all vanagonnon-professional type
drivers, and people who have not raced and really know about vehicle
handling dynamics and things like good damping, good turn-in, neutral
handling ..etc
is to suggest you drive other vanagons..
that way bit by bit you may learn .
or come here and drive my 85 Adventurewagon with a super nice 15 inch
tiresetupon it, Bilstein shocks...
uncannilyquiet interior levels, super smooth through-the-air aerodynamcs
...and wonderful straight line tracking ..
it'll go a few hundred yards in a straight line by itself on a level
freeway ..
at 60 mph on smooth pavement there is almost no noise inside.
and 'maybe' some people will be able to tell it drives very nicely
compared to hundreds of vanagons..
but then, some people won't be able to tell anyway.
Just don't put D's on the front.
trust me I know what I am talking about.
On 4/6/2013 11:44 AM, neil n wrote:
> Hi all.
>
> Was searching battery chargers and noticed these:
>
> Ad states: 185R14C Load Range: D different speed ratings, but
> load index is 100+ on each type:
>
> http://tires.canadiantire.ca/en/tires/light-truck-tires/product/2081661P/continental-vanco-2/2081661/
>
> http://tires.canadiantire.ca/en/tires/light-truck-tires/product/2084652P/continental-vanco-8/2084652/
>
> I have no experience with Vanco Continentals so YMMV. If I'm wrong on
> the tire type, please advise.
>
> Just thought I'd post since these appear to have a mail in rebate, of
> sorts, and are a reasonable price (for landed in Canada)
>
> Neil.
>
> --
> Neil n
>
> Blog: tubaneil.blogspot.ca
>
> '88 Westy http://tinyurl.com/c8rlw6p
>
> '81 VanaJetta 2.0 "Jaco" http://tubaneil.googlepages.com/
>
> Vanagon VAG Gas inline-VR Engine Swap Group:
>
> http://tinyurl.com/d7gd5ej
>
