Date: Thu, 7 May 1998 19:18:51 -0400
Reply-To: "Felix D. Bello" <felix.bello@RSIC.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <Vanagon@vanagon.com>
From: "Felix D. Bello" <felix.bello@RSIC.COM>
Organization: Resource Strategies
Subject: Re: Fwd: tires!?
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
After an exhaustive search for affordable tires, I gave up and bought a set of
Michelins MXT 205/70/14 for my '91 carat. It seemingly is the only tire
available in the U.S. in that size that is suitable for a vanagon. During my
search, I found that there are several recommended choices in the 15", 185 and
195 sizes. They are made by several companies, including michelin (MXT),
yokohama (y376, y378), and other generic makers of such as Kelly.
I was told that the LTX was the predecessor to the MXT, which will also be
discontinued soon and replaced by the Agilis 41 and 51 already circulating in
Europe.
I was also told by several dealers that failing to use the proper tires would
reduce the lives of the tires and may even void the warranty!
I believe that the bottom line is that for heavy vehicles like vanagons, tires
should have a C rating or 6-ply walls.
Felix
'91 Carat
Katherine Lee wrote:
> Just forwarding some of these to the list ...
>
> K.
> ____________________________________________
>
> Date: Wed, 06 May 98 19:50:09 CDT
> From: Joel Walker <JWALKER@UA1VM.UA.EDU>
> Subject: Re: Fwd: tires!?
>
> as long as the Light Truck tires have at least 2-plies in the sidewalls. :)
> the problem with buses is the amount of weight up high ... it's a tall
> vehicle. so when you go round corners or when the chilly winds doth blow,
> it pushes a LOT on the sidewalls of the tires (which is, after all, what's
> holding the tires together). a single ply sidewall flexes and the tire
> squishes out of shape ... but a 2-ply sidewall is much stronger and holds
> its shape, so YOU don't feel anything odd while you are driving. the flexing
> sidewalls of the passenger-car rated (1-ply sidewalls) tires makes the car
> feel "odd" and handle kinda wierd.
>
> and some LT tires are NOT the "strong" type, but just bigger versions of the
> passenger car tires. so you still have to be careful what you pick.
>
> and it's still a compromise between stiffness (how much sidewall strength
> is TOO much?), money, and availability.
>
> joel
> _____________________________________________
>
> Date: Thu, 7 May 1998 12:04:10 -0300
> From: smitht@unb.ca (Tim Smith)
> Subject: tires
>
> Hi,
>
> the stiff sidewall helps out, but it's usually the line used by tire sales
> folks to get you to buy the unsuitable 4 ply passenger tires they're
> flogging that week. You are right, LT/C/6ply is only proper tire. Having
> said that I ran a set of Pirelli W190 (winter) 4 plys with very stiff
> sidewalls that did work fine in my empty '85 panel vanagon. bye, Tim
>
> ____________________________________________
>
> From: "Backus, Brian G" <Brian.Backus@PSS.Boeing.com>
> Subject: RE: Fwd: tires!?
> Date: Thu, 7 May 1998 11:15:10 -0700
>
> I thought that is what stiffer side walls were. Light Truck
> tires...(LT195/75R14) Maybe there is a higher rated sidewall such as an
> 8 ply but it seems to me that 6 ply should be enough...
>
> Any tire experts out there go some advise?
>
> _________________________________________________________
>
> k a t h e r i n e l e e m u l t i m e d i a p r o d u c e r
>
> DNA Productions Inc. Tel: (604) 730-0306, ext. 103
> 230-1737 West 3rd Avenue Fax: (604) 732-7331
> Vancouver, BC Email: katherine@dna.bc.ca
> V6J 1K7 Canada http://www.dna.bc.ca
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