Date:         Mon, 18 Jul 94 14:23:34 ADT
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         smitht@jupiter.sun.csd.unb.ca (Tim Smith)
Subject:      Re: Vanagon tire ?

>>What tires are best for '87 Vanagon Westy ? 

>My Westy had passenger tires on it when I 'inherited' it.  What a disaster.


I second that! Get the LT tires with C6 rating, ie. 6 plys. Besides the 
steering and swaying problems they have less rolling resistance, and it's 
easier to steer. Oh, you have power steering....? Don't use more than 40 
psi, or they will tend to ride hard and slap the pavement with lots of 
noise. It seems that about 36-38 psi works well if I'm not heavily loaded. 
This would mean running at the limit of a passenger car (4ply) rating, not 
advisable. Sears TrailHandler work fine as all season tires, cheaper than 
Mich, Conti. They hum a bit at speed. Uniroyal Laredo in 195-14-C6 also, and 
work fine, cost less than euro tires. The Michelins are made in Europe, not 
Nova Scotia, and are never cheap,~$125Cdn.
For winter tires I do use 4 ply tires, Pirelli WINTER190s, 195-14", they 
have a very stiff sidewall and don't squirm about. I also slow down in the 
winter, corner gently,  don't do long distance or haulage runs etc. Tire 
noise depends on the tread pattern, tire harshness depends on the plys and 
psi, and you can fiddle the latter.    tjs