Date: Fri, 4 Apr 2014 21:45:33 -0400
Reply-To: Dennis Haynes <d23haynes57@HOTMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Dennis Haynes <d23haynes57@HOTMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Correct Tire Pressure: BFG AT 215/70-16 on '87 2wd Westfalia
In-Reply-To: <CACrM94JxHqM5LHYP+WdmnhVgEcgVMH10wsFDRn4TXiu5TzxfYg@mail.gmail.com>
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When asking question like this it would be best to give all the details of
the tire. I am assuming (and we know what can happen from that) that you
have this tire:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=BFGoodrich&tireModel=All-Te
rrain+T%2FA+KO&partnum=17R6ATAKORWLV3&vehicleSearch=false&fromCompare1=yes
This is a lot of tire for that vehicle. However, due to the heavy duty
construction you need to pay careful attention to tire inflation as sidewall
heating will be this tires weakness. The right thing to do is weight your
van (each axle) and then get the tire load-inflation table from the
manufacture. That will give you the minimums. The attached file (if you get
it) has the load inflation tables in it. Go to page B23. Note the minimum
inflation pressure for that tire design is 35 psi and at that pressure you
still don't have capacity for the axle load. Then you can adjust for
handling afterwards. From experience this tire works well at 40-42 front and
46-50 rear. At 29 psi you will damage those tires in short order at highway
speeds. Keep in mind that while this tire seems to work better on road than
the tread pattern appearance would lead one to believe this is not a
handling or high speed performance tire. The high void ratio while great for
clearing deep snow or mud and preventing hydroplaning also leaves less
rubber on the road for actual grip. The non-rib tread also takes away from
directional stability. Increasing the caster angle will help make the van
want to travel straight. Be sure to rotate frequently. Up front the outer
edges will wear choppy and make the tires very noisy. The noise will sound
like bad wheel bearings. Let me know if you have any further questions. If
anyone wants a copy of this tire manual let me know and I'll forward it.
Dennis
-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
Abel Longoria
Sent: Friday, April 4, 2014 7:35 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Correct Tire Pressure: BFG AT 215/70-16 on '87 2wd Westfalia
What's the Correct Tire Pressure for a set of BFG AT 215/70-16 on a 1987
2wd Westfalia?
Took them to get rotated and they look really low now after the fact.. Just
checked. They're 29-35 psi right now. Seems way low. Well looks low anyways.
Thanks a ton guys..
Abel.
