Date:         Thu, 10 Dec 1998 13:03:21 -0800
Reply-To:     Per Lindgren <lindgre@ONLINE.NO>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         Per Lindgren <lindgre@ONLINE.NO>
Subject:      Re: Viscous Coupling Test
Comments: To: vanagon <vanagon@vanagon.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

Dr. Rainer Woitok wrote:

> Hi, it's me again :-)
>
> On Thu, 1998-12-10 03:08:30 -0600, Budd Premack wrote:
>
> > My spare tire is the same size (185 SR14) as my four mounted tires, but it
> > has less remaining tread depth.   It is also a different brand, Michelin XZX
> > instead of Bridgestone.  I have measured the circumferences and the spare is
> > 2% smaller than the mounted tires.
> >
> > Am I taking a big risk of viscous coupling damage if I need to use the
> > spare?  Would it make a difference if the spare is run for a maximum of 50
> > miles before the mounted tire can be repaired/replaced?
>
> Dunno.  Maybe not.  But I've sworn to all my gods to only live with five
> equal tires and to use all five of them as  equally as possible.  And to
> make sure tire pressure is correct.  In my humble opinion a bad thing to
> do is  to have pretty worn  tires and a   brand new spare.   Well, to be
> precise ... this in itself isn't bad at all ... but  only as long as you
> successfully manage to prevent a puncture ... :-)
>
> Sincerely
>  Rainer
>
> '89 Caravelle GL Syncro 16"
>
>  ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> | Rainer M Woitok                  | Phone: (+49-9131) 85-27811,-27031 |
> | Regionales Rechenzentrum         |                                   |
> | Friedrich-Alexander-Universitaet | Fax  : (+49-9131) 30 29 41        |
> | Martens-Strasse 1                | Telex: d 629 755 tf erl           |
> | D-91058 Erlangen                 |                                   |
> | Germany                          | Mail: Woitok@RRZE.Uni-Erlangen.DE |
>  ----------------------------------------------------------------------

  Just to give my humble opinion, I can NEVER believe that the VC is so sensitive
that it would react to different tread depths, as with worn front and new rear
tires. It has to give some to be operatable at normal road conditions, or else VW
would have to replace all VC within the first year. If it cant cope with
differently worn tires, it would lock totally at the smallest turn of the steering
wheel, not at full turn as it does now.

PerL
88 Caravelle C Syncro