Date:         Sat, 9 Mar 1996 22:53:01 +0000
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         tjparker@pacificnet.net (Tim Parker)
Subject:      Re: Has anyone put Aquatreads on a Eurovan?

At 6:43 PM 3/9/96, Tracey Choulat wrote:
> My tires are nearing the end of their life.  We usually get tons of rain
> in the summer here and I would like to stick to the road as best as possible.
>
> Last night in the rain, doing about 45 mph on a back road, I could just hit
> the gas and the tires would start to spin.  Not what I call a secure footing.
>
> Trace
> tchoul@unf.edu
> '93 MV

Trace:
I have noticed the same problem when starting from a stop on wet pavement
with my EV.  But not at speed.  I did have a little surprise a couple of
weeks ago when I hit a puddle on the freeway at 65 with the starboard
tires.  Could feel the vehicle pull sharply to the right, but didn't lose
it.  I always slow down when it rains that hard, now (should have anyway).

I've not tried those aquatreads.  I'm running "dreaded" non-6ply Michelin
WX4's.  They've been absolutely great, so far, with about 14K miles on them
and no real wear visible.  The Continentals that came with it were half
worn out by this time, weather checked at the edges of the tread, and
howling like a dog at freeway speeds.  Don't miss them one bit.

One other thing:  I'm still getting the "manual is not ready" message from
the parts dept at my dealer.  I'm still having erratic clock resetting
"events" since the dealer replaced the fuel pump (thus once again treating
a symptom), and think I should be looking at the electrics soon with a good
voltmeter.  You made some comment about copies of the manual that you might
have?  Please contact me, maybe off list, if so.

To all:  Been looking to replace my cheapy Trak Auto (trash auto) voltmeter
with the chincy plastic connectors that broke the first day (that I bought
to replace a terrific old 50's vintage bakelite case voltmeter my dad had
given me but got stolen out of my bug years ago).  There seem to be tons of
these on the market, some claiming to be safe for computerized,
fuel-injected cars, some having settings for 5-cylinder engines etc.
Anybody out there that could recommend a good voltmeter that will let me
get into the guts of the EV wiring without frying, or maybe worse, MISSING
anything?  I'm going to have to be able to find amperages that are off,
resistances too high, shorts, that sort of thing that the dealer MGs
couldn't (or wouldn't).

Thanques!
-Tim Parker
93 EV GL
60 Singlecab
29 Model A Ford