Date:         Thu, 13 Jun 1996 19:20:46 -0700
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         jscohen@sprynet.com (James Cohen)
Subject:      Just Got New Tires

It was new tire time so I went shopping.

I had a tough time finding tires that were the right size, reinforced, and
with something of a good reputation for my '85 Westy.  I finally settled on
Michelin LTX m/s with the C load range (there is also an All Terrain (AT)
version).   These tires were given second place by Consumer's Report in the
tire test from this spring.  (The Dunlops were number one but they don't
make them in our size, of course).

Michelin makes them in a 195/75 14 which is damn close to the stock 185 14.
I would've preferred 205/ or 215/ 70 but they don't make them in that
size, of course.

I've never used reinforced tires on a Westy before so it will be
interesting to see if there is any difference.  I've read here on the list
that the stiffer sidewalls will result in better handling, we'll see.

The tires that I'm taking off are Pirelli P77 205/70 14, a high performance
(albeit 10 years old) all-season tires.  Good tires for the time, one of
the first all-season performance tires, but not reinforced.  The Michelins
are *slightly* taller and narrower than the Pirellis.

I'm leaving on a trip to northern New England tomorrow so I'll get a chance
to thoroughly test them. Naturally I'll post my impressions.  By the way,
they cost $79 each from The Tire Rack, and $25 (aprx) to ship to
Massachusetts.

James

James

Please send direct replies to my alternate address:
stirling@aol.com
(which gets checked more often)

Red '93 SLC
Red '87 GTI
   and
'67 deluxe
'71,81,'85 Westies