Out of frustration w/the whole tire 'issue' ref our shoeboxes, (MXT's ain't M&S, Yoko's hard to find, etc etc) I checked out 'Kirkland' brand tires at Costco. They look (?) OK, right size, correct load range & pressure specs - but who the heck makes Kirkland??? Step 1, copy down the DOT code off a tire (BFJ4C133359) 2nd step - go to Michelin page http://www.michelin.com/us/eng/tire/guide/lesson4.html & head for the bottom to "DOT Markings", where I find out immediately that that particular tire was made in the 35th week of 1999 - but who made it? At this point unzip the attached file that I found at DOT/NHTSA - it comes out as "tire.txt" that I brought into Word & did an 'edit/find' for BF (per the Michelin page)...came up with Uniroyal Goodrich Tire Mfg in Woodburn, Indiana. So the guy at Costco who insisted that the Kirklands are all made by Michelin had his marketing a little askew!! Truth be told, I've avoided Uniroyals ever since the original 'Tiger Paws' (of the '60's - dating myself here), but as a result of a Mazda Miata stuffing itself under an ol' Burb used as a covered pickup, & ending up w/ 4 new 235-85/16 Uniroyal tires courtesy of the poor guy's insurance, & finding them to be quite adequate, I'm not so hesitant to buy the Kirklands for the Vanagon, esp. since they're ~$50 ea. For what it's worth: LT195/75R14 93/90Q, marked M&S load range C ?MSPN #72113? (mfr's stock part #??) blackwall only rim width 5.0-6.0 unloaded OA diameter, 25.4" " " cross section on 5.5" rim, 7.7" " " tread width (5.5" rim), 5.8" center static loaded radius, 11.7" 14/32" groove depth (yeah, 7/16") 819 rev's per mile max load, 1435# @ 50 psi. *IF* we ever get some good snow in the Sierras I'll letchall know how they do in the snotty stuff. Austin newtiretxt.zip [application/zip]
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