Date:         Sat, 24 Sep 94 16:51:49 CDT
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         "J. Walker" <JWALKER@ua1vm.ua.edu>
Subject:      Re: Need Vanagon Tires

On Sat, 24 Sep 94 12:20:21 CDT Wes Neuenschwander said:
>I had the same experience with the Continental tires - I (and my friends)
>couldn't believe how little traction I had.  Got stuck on nearly level
>grassy campsites too.

i thought the lack of traction was due more to the wierdo torque curve of
the water-cooled engine ... cause i was getting stuck on the same michelin
tires that i never got stuck on in my air-cooled 80 model.

>However the Michelin 205/70R14's I've got on my '91 Westy have another
>problem:  They cause the van to squirm and shift side to side in windy
>weather or traffic turbulence, sometimes severely.  I've had to reduce my
>speed to 40-50 mph on occassion, just to maintain control.  Feels almost

uhhh. this sounds just like the non-reinforced michelins that i had ...
that hydro-planned so badly. are you sure they are 'reinforced sidewalls'?
it should be stamped on the side of the tire.

i never had that problem on the 91 bus with the 205/70r14 reinforced tires
(michelin mxl's).  but then, it was NOT a camper and the extra weight might
be a factor here.

>from anyone else who's had/solved this problem - it's scary!!

the only other thing i can think of is
1. check the air pressure. maybe too low?
2. remote possibility that the tires were made/marked wrong and do NOT have
reinforced sidewalls?  i mean, ANYTHING is possible, right?

joel