Date:         Thu, 22 Sep 94 08:39:45 CDT
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         "J. Walker" <JWALKER@ua1vm.ua.edu>
Subject:      Re: Need Vanagon Tires

On Thu, 22 Sep 94 00:30:37 CDT Mark Bowie said:
>I've been looking for a long time for a Vanagon information clearinghouse. I'm
>glad I've finally found it!

oh, boy. he don't know us berry well, do he? :)
>this time. If you can offer any insight, opinions, recommendations, please
>send them to me by E-mail as currently my only access to Internet is through
>Compuserve (mail only).

well ... ok. you DID ask. so i'll send you the stuff i usually dump on the
new guys. ;)

>I currently own an '86 Westphalia. I have the original equipment Continental
>Transport tires that need to be replaced immediately (one has already begun to
>separate). I have surveyed the tire stores and they recommend ply tires as the
>reinforced tires are hard to find and not much cheaper. They have recommended
>the Bridgestone 603V (6 or 8 ply), the Michelin MX4, and a Sumitomo 8 ply.
>Any recommendations? Will the ply tires be noisier or have a harsher ride than
>the reinforced? Road noise being very noticeable in Vanagons, are any of these
>quieter than others?

i've run the michelin XZX 185/70SR 14 reinforced 6-ply for about 20 years and
have been very satisfied with them. however, if you do not rotate them (front
to back ONLY ... otherwise they get all upset!) at least every 10,000 miles,
they start making a roaring noise, like wheel bearings. it has something to
do with the front wheels wearing oddly because they turn. yeah, i didn't
believe it either when the tire guy told me. but sure enough, the noise went
away in about 300 miles. and other people have since confirmed this ... not
just on vanagons, but on other cars with this tire.

tires have been a big discussion on the list every now and again. mostly the
consensus is: get the reinforced sidewalls.  because of the height and weight
of the buses, it helps with the cornering and bashing of curbs. :)  i made the
mistake of getting some non-reinforced tires once on one of my vanagons, and
it really made it feel 'squishy' going around corners. so i strongly
recommend the reinforced sidewalls.

some folks like the light truck series of tires, load range C.

>I've also considered taking this opportunity to replace the wheels with the
>alloys. Any pros/ cons to this idea?

i had a 91 vanagon with alloy wheels (currently dirving an 88) and this are
the things i noticed:
with the bigger tires, the speedo is off about 7-8 mph. it registers LOW, so
you are actually going faster than the speedo says.
if you get an alloy for the spare as well, the bigger tire doesn't fit very
well up into the spare tire area ... those little spring/brace rods are
forced into the side of the tire when the 'trap-door' is closed and bolted.

other than that, they were ok. just be wary of the wider tires ... be sure to
get a good tread pattern. those non-reinforced sidewall tires i tried were
also very very bad about hydro-planning! i kept them (Michelin MXV's i think
... or was it MXL's. it was whichever one is NOT standard on the vw alloy-
wheeled vanagon) only 18,000 miles ... they were VERY dangerous in wet weather.

anyway, welcome to the funny farm.
joel