Date:         Thu, 06 Oct 94 14:19:11 CDT
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         "J. Walker" <JWALKER@ua1vm.ua.edu>
Subject:      Re: Holes In Tires

On Thu, 6 Oct 94 13:16:54 CDT Jim Macklow said:
>All funnin' aside, I wonder if anyone has had a properly-inflated tire
>have a sidewall blowout?  I've only had one, and that's when I went

the only one i've ever had was due to a $#%& idiot who built the curb leaning
INTO traffic, instead of away from it. i clipped it with my tire and pinched
a handful of tire between the curb and the rim (at least i think that's what
happened). but it was a loud BLAM!

but i have had a catfish spine and a welding rod go throught the sidewalls
as i was driving along. never did figure out that catfish spines (not his
back-type spine; it's a long stiff bony projection on the front of their
fins. looks like a knitting needle, when you remove the rest of the fish).

>What is gained by spending $80-$100 a tire with the 6ply or load range C
>rating?  I've looked at some passenger tires (aquatred, and some el cheapos)

i think it is mostly the handling under load. the non-reinforced tires i've
put on the vanagon felt terrible. but i used to run regular car tires on my
old 71 bus and didn't notice any difference unless it was heavily loaded with
people.  but now, i like the cornering and handling effects that the stiffer
sidewalls give. my passengers don't like it though. :)

>and am wondering since they all hold 2000+ pounds each, and the vans only

the michelin xzx's are rated at only 1450 lbs, i think. which is not much
over the gross vehicle weight as specified by vw (5800 vs 5270) ... so when
you are max'ed out at vw's limit, you're not far from the tires' limit.

>weigh around 6000 loaded, what do the high-priced tires have to offer?
>Stiffer sidewalls and better handling?  Would I be (economically) better
>off buying the no-name tires on sale for $30 a pop?

i'm one of those people who will cut corners on lots of things, but will
overspend on brakes and tires. i think that might be some inate portion of
a vw bus driver's personality: they'd rather be able to stop, than go fast.
(what is really scarey is to go from the disc brakes of the 88 bus to the
drum-drum brakes of a 68 bus!!!! Yowza!! :)

about all i have ever found that buying high-priced anything actually gets
you over medium-priced, good-quality stuff ... is some internal satisfaction
and/or peace of mind. but i wouldn't buy cheap no-name stuff ... kinda like
we used to say about motorcycle helmets: how much is your head worth?

so how much is your bus/life worth? :)

joel