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Date:         Thu, 15 Apr 1999 20:15:27 -0700
Reply-To:     Steve <Steve@SCHWENK-LAW.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Steve <Steve@SCHWENK-LAW.COM>
Subject:      Re: Tires & Spares & rotating & VC
Comments: cc: "vanagon@vanagon.com" <vanagon@vanagon.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

Don't sweat it. There's ne real need to rotate the spare, unless you really want to cram that last bit of tread out of five instead of 4 tires....but with a syncro, you better be religious about rotating all 5 or you will end up with differing tread depths which could lead to VC stress.

The reason you don't have to rotate the spare is that you can simply repair the flat ASAP and go back to the original tire. The VC is not going to wear out in that short of time. If you're off road, with the low speeds, it's not going to make any difference. If you're on the freeway, you can find a repair place within a hundred miles or so 99.99999% of the time. The only time you benefit by rotating all 5 is if you ruin a tire and need a replacement. But if you're spare already has more tread than the other 4, like mine too, you have no choice till it's time for a new set of tires.

Anyone out there ever ruin a tire on a syncro and have to replace the entire set to keep 4 uniform tires?

steve

Brent Christensen wrote:

> Ugh! Then NOW what do I do??? (I knew about this problem, I guess I was > just in denial. I just brought the car home 7 days ago) > > Brent Christensen > '89 GL Syncro Westy "Klaus" > '91 Taurus SHO (For Sale) > '95 Cherokee Sport > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Steve > To: Brent Christensen > Sent: Thursday, April 15, 1999 1:54 PM > Subject: Re: Tires > > I wouldn't rotate that spare into the mix NOW that it has significantly > diff. tread depth than the others. you will stress your VC ... this is how > mine was ruined. there wasn't much difference, but enough over time to > overheat the VC on hot freeway trips. > steve > Brent Christensen wrote: > My "new" '89 Syncro Westy had the following tires on when I bought it last > week. I only mention it because I have never heard of the brand before... > Jupiter 185R14C LT Radial YP-821 (5 of them) They were purchased from a > small tire dealer in Monterey, CA called Tom Long's Tires. They appear to > be a pretty decent tire - no too noisy on the pavement, fairly "aggressive" > tread pattern (for a 185/14 tire, that is). They are rated at 1710 lbs. @50 > psi. Can't say much for the handling, since I don't have anything to > compare them too. After about 5,000 miles, they look like they've worn > about 2mm or so compared to the spare. (which has not been rotated into the > mix-YET) The PO paid $96 each for the tires. It sounds like the consensus is > that a 195 (or bigger) significantly improves the handling characteristics > of the Westies. The inside of the driver's door jamb lists these possible > sizes of tires: 185R14C 6PR (currently installed)185R14C 8PR205R14C > 6PR205R14C 8PR205/70R 14 97R Reinforced (What is this??) I have the 6 x 14 > alloy wheels. Brent Christensen'89 GL Syncro Westy "Klaus"'91 Taurus SHO > (For Sale) > '95 Cherokee Sport > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Fitz-Randolph, Douglas > To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM > Sent: Thursday, April 15, 1999 10:23 AM > Subject: Re: Tires (a bit long - some random info) > 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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