TheSamba.com :: View topic - 14" bus tire question-yes again!

Tue Aug 05, 2003 6:37 pm

i have a 65 deluxe. i either want a thin whitwall or no whitewall. i know i need a many ply tire but there is little to choose from. i know i can get michelin LT's for $100 but are there other choices? feel free to give me pros and cons of what is out there. i would something that is more car like in ride than truck like. thanks!

Tue Aug 05, 2003 6:53 pm

I just put 185/75/14's on all the way around, thin whitewall, look nice. not the correct tire, but I really couldnt afford the correct tires. you should look for 185r14's I know yokahama makes them in a d load tire

Wed Aug 06, 2003 5:23 am

I'm currently running Continental 185-14's on my '65 and they are great. 6-ply tread, 2-ply sidewalls, and they are tall and narrow like stock. Plus they are metric. I got them from tirerack.com at about $50 each. They aren't listed on the website so call them and ask for Continental CR-21 tires.

Wed Aug 06, 2003 3:38 pm

i thought we need to have more than 2 ply, no?

Wed Aug 06, 2003 6:21 pm

Most tires I know of only have one sidewall, so I figured two was good. I haven't seen tires with more than two, but I could be wrong.

Wed Aug 06, 2003 6:47 pm

right now i have 205 60 14 tires on made by winston they have been alright they have like a 24" tire height from the ground but i think ill have to run smaller ones once i put on my airbags

Wed Aug 06, 2003 7:46 pm

hey 23 window! are those the correct load capacity and psi for a bus? they sound like they might be the answer if i can find them locally. i would rather do that but i guess if all else fails i will call tirerack. are those blackwall or whitewall? thanks!

Wed Aug 06, 2003 9:19 pm

After much research, and quite a bit of frustration I recently found a tire called Mastercraft Courser RD in size 185R14C. These tires are apparantly made in the USA by Cooper tire, are an 8 ply M+S rated tire, load range D to 1875 lbs at 65psi. The tires are MUCH taller and skinnier than my 195 75 14 series tires they replaced. A big improvement in ride height and road stability. The only downside so far to these tires is the fact that they are blackwalls and the wife hates the way they look.

Wed Aug 06, 2003 9:29 pm

may i ask, what's the damage on these $$$$$ and where did you find them? also you say they are taller and skinnier-is this a problem in the wind? i think i read that size is ok for a bus. they must be "strong like bull" though! yeah i would like a skinny whitewall but i guess i could live w/ a blackwall.

Wed Aug 06, 2003 9:50 pm

They were a bit pricy at about $90.00/tire mounted and balanced, but with type of driving we do and the way we load up our 66 westy they were our best option. I believe the 185R14 size is almost if not the exact tire size spec'd from VW. I haven't noticed any wind related problems, in fact, the stability of the bus is much better now. That might also be due to the fact that I recently replaced my worn drag link. I found a local Seattle area shop that could order the tires AND had the ability to properly balance the wide 5 rims...this may be a harder thing to find than the tires themselves.
Here's a link to the Cooper tire site, they should have a dealer locator for your area. You may want to look around the site as Cooper has a bunch of tires that may work, especially if you don't need such a stiff tire, plus they may be a bit cheaper in price.
http://www.coopertires.com/us/en/additionalBrands.asp

Wed Aug 06, 2003 10:08 pm

go to tirerack.com look at yokahama y356 tire it is 185/14r D load, correct for a vw bus, it is what is used on the current vw eurovan

Wed Aug 06, 2003 10:13 pm

thanks i will be making phone calls tomorrow!

Wed Aug 06, 2003 10:19 pm

Good tire, I've used them before on other busses. There's also a tire from Bridgestone that's quite similar. They're just not M+S rated like the Mastercraft tire.

Wed Aug 06, 2003 10:34 pm

i could not find the yokohamas on tire rack or the yokohama site. as far as the mastercrafts, did the tires last long for you in the past? i know i can get michelin lt's for 100 a pop plus when you buy 4(i need 4) you get 50 bucks from michelin. the mastercrafts sound good though!

Wed Aug 06, 2003 10:41 pm

are they noisy like a truck tire or quiet like a pass. car tire. sorry but i am anal and don't want to be disappointed!

Wed Aug 06, 2003 10:56 pm

The ride is pretty quiet, although the tread pattern is fairly aggressive. I would say that they are a little noisier than passenger tires. As far as tire wear, these are the first Mastercrafts I've owned, although I've been very pleased with Cooper tires in the past. Those yokohama tires can be found at tirerack.com at a great price. Search for tires by size 185/14 that search should turn up several tires including the yokohama. Here's a link that might work for you.
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/Compare1.jsp?startIn...&x=11&y=12

Wed Aug 06, 2003 11:40 pm

I'm pretty anal about tires too. I don't like that I have 195/75/14's, but by the time you add tax, mounting, valve stems, tire disposal fees and whatever other crap the tire guy can add on (warrenty certificate fees? WTF is that?) 3 days for delivy etc etc. I just couldnt afford the correct tire. I just got a job (unemployed for almost a year) and I had to have tires to drive on the freeway

If you can afford it go with the correct tires, the yokahama y356 D load (not the C load) is a great buy at tirerack.com. just about anywhere can order yokahama these days, so check around you might get a decent price local as well.

Thu Aug 07, 2003 5:16 am

thanks guys! you have been a great help. lets see what happens when i call people later?

Thu Aug 07, 2003 7:47 am

obus,
those Continental CR-21s are load rated at 1540lbs each at 40psi. Cross winds don't affect the drive like my old Cooper 185/75s did.

here are some links about bus tires to help out:

http://www.23window.com/tire_sizes.asp

http://www.type2.com/rescue/tires.html

Thu Aug 07, 2003 10:19 am

yeah i had checked out the one site previously. the other one was new to me. the one says that a 195/14 is closer to the og but i don't think it is a drastic difference according to the stats on that site. At this point i would drive on baloney skins as opposed to what i have on there now! Thanks for the added info! i called a shop earlier and they were going to get prices for me on about 6 diff. tire choices. i will keep you and other "tire lurkers" how i make out.