Date: Thu, 2 Sep 1999 18:29:11 -0700
Reply-To: David Marshall <vanagon@VOLKSWAGEN.ORG>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: David Marshall <vanagon@VOLKSWAGEN.ORG>
Subject: Re: Taller tire size comparison, and a question...
In-Reply-To: <4.1.19990902194343.05277100@pop.interport.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
At 08:09 PM 02/09/1999 +0000, Derek Drew wrote:
>I notice that there are no tires in the list below that are, say, 30
>inches tall on 15 inch wheels. I am fairly sure that such tires exist.
>Possibly the reason is that they are only available in the alternate sizing
>format.
Friend of mine has 33x10.5 on 15" wheels (Ford F-150), there is also 35x12
out there too.... too fat to fit on a Vanagon though! This is why 16" is
where it is at and why they are becoming so common on new trucks. The new
F-150s come stock with 235-75 16"
>I have long suspected that some list members are attracted to the idea of
>16" wheels over 15" wheels simply because they know there is a 16" vanagon
>and the idea of having 16" wheels sounds more cool or radical, but that
>there may be no real benefit to having a 16" wheel. I would like to know if
>someone has some illumination on this issue to offer us.
I would want 16" over 15" (and have!!) as I would want a tall and narrow
tire. This winter I am installing 205/80 16s on my Syncro for 29"
diameter. To get the same on a 15" would require a 235/75 which would
start giving you very tight margins if you want to install chains or get
into lots of gumbo.
>At 05:20 PM 9/2/99 -0400, you wrote:
>>Hi all. With all the talk of taller tires and different wheels, I
>>thought the following chart might be of interest. Use a fixed-width
>>font to line up the columns, or import to your favorite spreadsheet
>>or database program. Tires with sufficient load ratings are available
>>for all sizes listed - whether the tires would be appropriate for or
>>even fit on the Vanagon is another matter...
>>
>>Spec Wheel Tread Sidewall Diameter Circumference Rev RelativeMPH
>>--------- ----- ----- -------- -------- ------------- --- -----------
>>185/75-14 14 7.2 5.5 24.9 78.3 809 70
>>195/75-14 14 7.6 5.8 25.5 80.2 790 71.6
>>205/70-14 14 8 5.6 25.3 79.5 797 71.0
>>205/70-15 15 8 5.6 26.3 82.6 767 73.8
>>205/75-15 15 8 6.1 27.1 85.2 744 76.1
>>215/70-15 15 8.4 5.9 26.9 84.4 751 75.4
>>215/75-15 15 8.4 6.3 27.7 87 728 77.7
>>225/70-15 15 8.8 6.2 27.4 86.1 736 76.9
>>225/75-15 15 8.8 6.6 28.3 88.9 713 79.4
>>235/70-15 15 9.2 6.5 28 87.8 722 78.4
>>235/75-15 15 9.2 6.9 28.9 90.7 698 81.1
>>205/80-16 16 8 6.5 28.9 90.8 698 81.1
>>215/70-16 16 8.4 5.9 27.9 87.5 724 78.2
>>215/85-16 16 8.4 7.2 30.4 95.5 664 85.2
>>225/70-16 16 8.8 6.2 28.4 89.2 710 79.7
>>225/75-16 16 8.8 6.6 29.3 92 689 82.1
>>235/70-16 16 9.2 6.5 29 91 697 81.2
>>235/75-16 16 9.2 6.9 29.9 93.9 675 83.8
>>235/85-16 16 9.2 7.9 31.7 99.7 636 89.0
>>
>>Dimensions are in inches. "Rev" is revolutions per mile. "RelativeMPH"
>>refers to the speed you'd be going at the engine RPM required to go
>>70 MPH with the "stock" 185R14 tire. "RelativeMPH" is simply a
>>calculated value based on "Rev". Dimensions are calculated, not
>>observed and will vary in real life based on wheel width, psi, etc.
>>
>>And now the question...does anyone know *for sure* if 15" Mercedes
>>steel wheels will fit a Vanagon properly without modification - i.e.
>>not need to be milled to clear the hub, correct offset, etc? If they
>>do fit, I think I'm off to the junkyard!
>>
>>Doug Fitz-Randolph
>>Yarmouth, ME
>>'90 Syncro
>
>________________________________________________________
>Derek Drew New York, NY & Washington, DC
>drew@interport.net
>'90 Syncro Westfalia...
>...seen off-road at http://www.tiu.net/~des/vw/drew/index.html
>
> Also seen at: http://www.pipeline.com/~tforhan/swrange.htm
> http://4wd.sofcom.com/VW/snow.html
> http://www.pipeline.com/~tforhan/swmassn.htm
> http://4wd.sofcom.com/VW/Campers/Campers.html
>
> Note: most valuable Vanagon sites on the planet (for owners) are:
> http://gerry.vanagon.com/cgi-bin/wa.exe?S1=vanagon
> ftp://gerry.vanagon.com/pub/
>
>
-- David Marshall - - Quesnel, BC, Canada --
-- 78 VW Rabbit, 80 VW Caddy, 84 VW Westie, 85 VW Cabriolet --
-- 87 Audi 5000 Quattro, 88 2.0L VW Syncro Double Cab --
-- David's Volkswagen Home Page http://www.volkswagen.org --
-- Fast Forward Autobahn Sport Tuning http://www.fastforward.ca --
-- david@volkswagen.org (pmail) or vanagon@volkswagen.org (list) --
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