Date: Sat, 29 Aug 1998 13:52:59 EDT
Reply-To: SyncroHead@AOL.COM
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <Vanagon@vanagon.com>
From: SyncroHead@AOL.COM
Subject: Re: Tire Life? + Good Westy Syncro Tire?
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
In a message dated 98-08-27 21:44:25 EDT, Robyn Rudisill writes:
> My wife and I just bought a 91 Westy Syncro. It has 29,000 miles (I
> couldn't believe it either) on it and the original tires. They look to me
> a bit warn(but what do I know); the treads are just over an eighth inch
deep.
> When should I expect to replace them and what's a good candidate?
>
> Thanks for your time.
> Robyn Rudisill
> 1991 Westy Syncro
> 1960 Type I
Robyn,
For Syncros I reccommend the BFGoodrich Radial All-Terrain T/A in size
27x8.50R14LT. This tire carries a "Light Truck" designation (LT) and is quite
tough. Good for both highway and off-road use and since it's a bit larger
than the originals, will increase ground clearance a bit. I found that the
increased size corrected my previous odometer error and now it's accurate to
within 0.5%. When installing one of these in the spare tire carrier it's a
bit tight. I've put about 5 BIG washers on the spare carrier bolt ABOVE the
spare tire carrier bracket to allow it a bit more spare tire room. I use this
tire on my 87 Syncro.
Remember, when changing tire sizes on a Syncro you will need to buy FIVE (5)
tires to assure thay your spare is the same size as the others. If you put a
spare on that's of a different size, you can damage (ruin) the all-important
viscous coupling.
If you don't want to use all-terrain tires, I'd recommend the Michelin MXT in
size 205/70-14 99S. I'm going to have a set of these installed this
afternoon on my wife's 88 2WD Vanagon. The carry a much higher load rating
(index 99, 1,709lbs) than any other tire of the same size I've found. Most
other 305/70-14 tires only have a load rating of 93, equaling 1,433 lbs.
Added to the regular weight of the Vanagon the Syncro add a bunch. Added to
that, you also have the Camper model, which adds a bunch! This makes load
rating the most important factor when choosing a tire for this van. The MXT
tires unfortunately cose about $102. each! These should be the same size as
the original Michelin MXL tires you have on your 14x6" alloy wheels.
Good luck,
Jim Davis
87 GL Syncro
88 GL Wolfsburg
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