Date: Fri, 16 Oct 1998 08:08:12 +0100
Reply-To: David Schwarze <des@TIU.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From: David Schwarze <des@TIU.NET>
Subject: Re: modern wheels & tires: some thoughts and many questions
In-Reply-To: <199810160515.WAA10534@yiff.azaccess.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
At 10:15 PM 10/15/98 -0700, George Lyle wrote:
>> (2) If a passenger tire has a sufficiently high max load rating,
>does it
>> really matter if it's "reinforced"?
>
>The bus will handle better if it is, as the stiffer sidewalls will be
>more stable.
This is true, I have tried both. However, you pay a price in ride comfort.
Everything is a tradeoff. For me, I choose stability.
>> (3) Any thoughts on the Goodyear Aquatred II or the Goodyear
>Integrity?
>> I'm looking for a nice street tire, with good grip and quiet.
>
>They have nifty advertising campaigns. Other than that, you'd be
>better off with the Yokohama or Bridgestone 185R14s. They'll probably
>be less expensive too.
With all due respect George, the Aquatread is a very good tire. The groove
in the middle really does make it superior for driving in wet conditions,
despite the advertising hooey. On the other hand, I don't believe it is
reinforced. A friend of mine works at the GoodYear proving grounds in San
Angelo and took me on a tour of the facility two weeks ago. After seeing
what they do there I have a new respect for GoodYear tires. I also like
the Wrangler AT's that I have on my bus at the moment - best handling tire
I've ever had on my bus, but they do ride rough.
>> (7) Any thoughts on the use of wheel adapters? (Fuchs wheels have a
>> different bolt pattern, so adapters would be needed)
>
>Adapters are never a good idea. Better to get wheels that fit.
Agreed.
>I seem to remember somewhere that Mercedes wheels had the same bolt
>pattern as buses. This might be an avenue to getting wider wheels.
>It remains to be seen whether the offset is correct or not, though.
I've seen 14" and 15" Mercedes wheels on busses, and although I didn't
measure anything, they looked like they fit well. I don't want Mercedes
wheels on my bus though, it's a personal thing. I like having a
stock-looking wheel.
When I was at Jerome I met a guy with a '75 Double cab (!!) with wheels
that looked stock except that they were 15". I asked him about them and he
said a wheel shop had taken the stock wheels, cut the rims off and welded
15" rims on for about $35 apiece. I have decided to go that route for my
rear wheels.
The reason I want to do this is that I want about a 5% increase in gearing,
and there is no easy way for me to get it by juggling trannies, at least
not cheaply. The tires I have on there now are the largest available in
14", except for 225/75/14's (which are slightly bigger, but they are not
reinforced, and are way too big for the rims). I'm only doing the back two
for now because the front cannot accept any larger of a wheel than what I
have now anyway - sometimes the tire scrapes the wheelwell when I back out
of my driveway - plus it would throw off the speedometer/odometer. There
is plenty of room for larger tires in the back, I'm thinking I'll get
28x8.5 or thereabouts. The fronts will stay 27x8.5. The nice thing is
that I can have them weld on a wider rim than stock - I will probably go
with 8" wide rims for better stability.
-David
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David Schwarze '73 VW Safare Custom Camper (Bluto)
Dallas, Texas, USA '87 Mustang 5.0 (13.18@102.97)
e-mail: des@eskimo.com '93 Weber WG-50 (Da Piano)
http://www.tiu.net/~des '96, '96 cats (Aaaackkk! Phhhhht!!)
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