Date: Thu, 15 Apr 1999 13:23:29 -0400
Reply-To: "Fitz-Randolph, Douglas" <dfrandolph@TALKAM.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: "Fitz-Randolph, Douglas" <dfrandolph@TALKAM.NET>
Subject: Re: Tires (a bit long - some random info)
Content-Type: multipart/alternative;
OK - I still haven't found the *perfect* tires for my '90 syncro, but I love
talking about it, so here's my 2 cents...
**Locating the Michelin MXT's:
I checked on this about 3 weeks ago - the Michelin MXT's 205/70R14
Reinforced tires can be ordered direct from Michelin in SC(?) through
EuroTire in Fairfield, NJ @ 800-631-0080 for $96. EuroTire would ship them
to me for something like $7 - 10 per tire. The gentleman I spoke with said
that Michelin did have stock available.
**Other "cheap" tires:
Uniroyal Laredo AWP 195/75R14's are available from BJ's Wholesale Club (
http://www.bjswholesale.com ) for about $48. They're "highway tread" load
range "C" (50 PSI) tires. I bought a set lightly used and they seem stable
and predictable @ 48 psi rear, 43psi front - though they do tend to hum/buzz
at certain speeds. I'm not sure if this is due to a tire design issue or due
to my particular tires being defective, but it really isn't too bothersome.
**Other "truck" tires:
Tires like the BFGoodrich Long Trail T/A, Firestone Wilderness HT, etc. -
though they are classified as "light truck tires" - are not suitable for the
Vanagon. They are load range B, 35 psi tires, and while many Vanagons I run
across in parking lots, etc. do have "passenger tires" like these installed,
from a safety standpoint, it seems a bit risky all in the interest of saving
a (very) few bucks.
**185 R14 D's for a syncro:
My winter tires are studded 185 R14 D Nokian (
http://www.nokian.com/english/ ) Hakkapeliitta 10 LT's. The size seems fine,
as does the stiffness. They are fantastic on snow and ice, though being so
narrow, they don't seem as good as my 195's in windy conditions. I bought
them through a local tire chain (Century Tire) and they are around $100
each, but I feel very confident in winter driving situations with them, so I
think it was worth it. If the 185 R14's are your gig, the Dunlop SP LT5
might be a good choice for a 185 R 14 C or D summer tire. Nokian also makes
the NRC - targeted at the "central and eastern European delivery van market"
- might be appropriate for our little tire pigs.
**Tire Diameters, etc.:
If you go to http://powerdog.com/tiresize.cgi , you'll find a neat tire size
calculator. You type tire sizes into a list box, then click "compute" and
you get a chart with the actual dimensions of each tire size you've entered,
plus a +/- percentage difference from the first on the list. For example, it
reports that compared to the diameter of a 205/70R14, 185/75R14's are 1.5%
smaller, 195/75R14's are 0.9% smaller. I thought it was cool...
Hope someone found this interesting!
Doug Fitz-Randolph
Yarmouth, ME
dfrandolph@talkam.net
'90 Syncro
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