I have found that tires make all the difference. We had an 81 Vanagon L prior to our 87 Vanagon GL, the 81 was excellent in the snow with it's 185/75 Continental 4 season tires. We did have to use chains on the rear tires while going up pikes peak in a snow storm, but it made it. Our 87 was absolutely terrible in the snow and rain with the stock 205/70 Michelin MXL (I think they were MXL's, what ever the OE tire is). When they were replaced with 205/70 Goodyear Invicta GL's the snow traction was greatly improved. Although the wet weather, i.e. rain, starting traction was still not so great, compared to my current tires, it was still a big improvement. Wet weather cornering was never a problem. I currently have 205/70 Michelin MX4 RainForce tires which are fantastic. They are great in the snow, excellent in the rain and the quietest tire yet. I would highly recommend them, they are worth the extra money. FYI Michelin does sell a MX4 in addition to the MX4 RainForce, it has a slightly different tread pattern, but it's easy to tell the difference, the RainForce's say "RainForce" in 2" letters on the sidewall. Dave Filcoff dave@v-dub.musa.com Volkswagens! http://v-dub.musa.com ------------------------------------------------------ 87 Vanagon GL Wolfsburg Weekender (129k) 88 Fox GL 4 door (151k) 90 Associated RC10 Team Car, Aluminum 95 Specialized Stumpjumper M2 FS ------------------------------------------------------ St. Louis / Columbia, MO LiMBO - Gateway VW Club - VWoA VW Club - Der Busbezitzer Gruppe >My experience has been that my '85 is terrible in snow. Power seems to go >to the wheel that slips, not the wheel that grips!! Actually, one night >while scanning boring web sites I came across the US trade commission site >and found many complaints filed against VW for "poor wet weather traction". >Anyway, a friend in Whitefish, MT.swears by her Vanagon - she puts four >studded snows on it though. They say tires make the difference. >Mark > |
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