Date:         Tue, 3 Nov 1998 00:58:38 EST
Reply-To:     Modl6971@AOL.COM
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         Michael Modl <Modl6971@AOL.COM>
Subject:      Re: Wheels, Tires and the Laws of Physics
Comments: To: yauman@CCHEM.BERKELEY.EDU, Vanagon@vanagon.com
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII

In a message dated 11/2/98 8:58:01 PM Pacific Standard Time,
yauman@CCHEM.BERKELEY.EDU writes:

<< ahh.. I stand corrected.. if that is that case than the difference between
a 321 mm wheel and a 343 mm wheel seems neglible in the grand scheme of
things.  So, the moral here is that if you are going for a 16" rim, you should
stay with a 70 or even an 85 series tire to give you the high profile and have
the speedometer recalibrated to reflect a 12%-15% change in the radius of the
wheel.. now that's  an off-road tire.  There is so much clearance in the
Vanagon wheel well, I don't think it will be a problem.

 Yau-Man Chan
 87 GL >>
HI Yau-Man Chan, one thing to remember is that all vanagon's have about a 6 to
7% error on the speedo's. For example if you are traveling 70 MPH, you are
really traveling 66 MPH.  Time yourself one day while traveling on the freeway
against the mile markers.  Time about five miles markers or so for a
consistent time.  It takes 51.5 seconds to travel a mile. You'll see that in
your vanagon with stock tire setup, it will take about 54.5 seconds to travel
one mile. When I switched to 215-65-16 tire my speedo reads correct now. It
takes me 51.8 seconds to travel a mile, which is close enough.  I will be
going to a 215-75-16 when this set wears out. Minor recalibration may be
possible, which is easy to do.
 One note on your previous post about handling and fuel mileage. My handling
has improved dramatically and fuel mileage has increased because of less RPM
on the freeway. My 16" rims are pretty light weight too.  Drive one someday if
you ever have a chance.
See ya, Michael
 87 syncro
 87 quattro.