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Thu Aug 07, 2008 12:56 pm

Polish Rifle wrote: Called around to local places and the prices came out to this:

Hankook (x4) = $536
I was very surprised that a local place would be selling them for that much. That is without tax, balancing and mounting.

I assume busdepot is the best place to order Hankook's?

$67.40 each
http://ssl.delti.com/cgi-bin/rshop.pl?details=Orde...amp;Achse=

Plus maybe $10 ea. UPS to your door. My first order came from SoCal, second order came from Portland.

So your local tire store wants 100% profit?

Thu Aug 07, 2008 1:12 pm

It depends on where you live, when you add in shipping charges, Bus Depot is cheaper if you live in the East.

Thu Aug 07, 2008 1:56 pm

dtrumbo wrote:

No, this is. http://www.onlinetires.com/default.aspx?PageData=tireDetails&tid=10510

$59.00/tire with reasonable shipping. I highly recommend them.

Thanks dtrumbo, that is a killer deal if I do say so. And yes, my local store does want 100% profit. They are the best place in town because of their service, not because of their prices.

Thu Aug 07, 2008 2:50 pm

Polish Rifle wrote: Thanks dtrumbo, that is a killer deal if I do say so. And yes, my local store does want 100% profit. They are the best place in town because of their service, not because of their prices.

Obviously you'll still need to find a place to mount and balance them which can be a challenge with the wide-five wheels. Start calling around now while your waiting for your Hankooks to arrive and see who can balance the wide-five and how much they'll charge you to do it. I had Discount Tire here in Bellevue do mine for $18.00/tire. Les Schwab wanted over twice that amount. :shock:

Thu Aug 07, 2008 5:32 pm

About 2 months ago after installing the new engine in our 71 Bus, the cheap Kumhos that the previous owner had installed just before we bought the Bus, had massive sidewall cracks from sitting for 4 years! Though I moved her "forward & back" about 100 feet once a week or so, after driving her about a 120 miles, I admitted to myself the tires needed to be replaced!
Our Bus has 15" X 6" Porsche Fuch wheels, so I started researching tires. After about a week of going to tire shops & physically looking at tires, I decided to buy a set from Sears!
I bought a set of 4, Michelin Weatherwise II's, P195/65R15s! Mounted, balanced, new valve stems, old tire disposal, installed, a 60,000 mile wear warrantee & a really good lifetime "road hazard" guarantee, the total was only $405.20!!!
They are slightly smaller than the tires that the factory installed on the Bus when new.
With the Michelins, the speedometer reads 3 mph "faster" than I am going.
The Kumho's were the same size (numerically), but on the speedo they read 4 mph "slower" than you were actually going.
The Bus "wandered" a bit with the Kumhos, but it is steady & true with the Michelins!

Thu Aug 07, 2008 11:02 pm

What is the listed pressure and what are you inflating then to? Also what is the listed load rating, and sidewall ply rating? Do they say reinforced?

Fri Aug 08, 2008 9:18 am

O.k. since folks can't/won't/don't-want-to read the previous 41 pages, I'll sum up.

Any tire that has the letter 'P' prior to the sizing numbers is designed for the weight requirements and performance of passenger vehicles. They are not built to the specifications that Volkswagen published for our buses. If that isn't good enough, go back and read EVERY one of the postings that say to the effect "I can't believe what a difference getting the passenger-car tires off and putting bus-rated tires on makes!"

Again, no tire that starts with 'P' should be mounted on a bus. However, they are black, round, will fit and probably the biggest factor, will save you a lot of money, at least initially, so knock yourself out. When you need to replace steering components prematurely because of squishy tires, destroy your bus in a rollover accident or, God forbid, injure or kill someone in the process, remember how much money you saved by buying incorrect tires.

End of rant. Have a nice day and I'll be back to cut-and-paste this into this thread again in another two or three pages.

Fri Aug 08, 2008 9:29 am

The obvious things I noticed right off in the Sears Weatherwise site are:

Type of Tire Passenger Car/Minivan

Tire Revolutions per Mile 841 vs. ~811 for stock 185R14s

Maximum Load 1279lbs.@44 psi

The only Michelin tires (I am aware of) that are suitable for our buses in suitable sizes are the Agillis 81s that come in sizes 185R14 and 205/65/15 and are considerably more "beefy" than passenger car tires.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/Spec.jsp?make=Michelin&model=Agilis&tirePageLocQty=

Fri Aug 08, 2008 11:59 am

Randy in Maine wrote:
Maximum Load 1279lbs.@44 psi

Dang, that is LOW! 17% below the minimum requirements for a bus, and that at rock-hard pressure.

After reading the horror stories I'm amazed that anyone would take tire advice from Sears salesmen or even let them near their vehicle!

Fri Aug 08, 2008 4:01 pm

Here is a syncro with under rated tires: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3...highlight=

Sat Aug 09, 2008 7:33 am

I've read through this sticky trying to decide between Hankook RA08s and Cooper SRM IIs, and I would be interested in hearing from a Cooper owner as to whether or not they do okay in snow. I know they are not snow tires, but it would be nice to get something that will at least function reasonably as "all seasons", and all I keep hearing about the Hankooks is how terrible they are in snow. Are the Coopers any better?

Wed Aug 13, 2008 2:34 pm

I just stumbled on this while looking for ratings for these. I don't know if it's significant or not.
http://aboutpolitics.com/complaints/9999/COOPER/COOPER%20SRM%20II%20RADIAL%20LT

Rob

Wed Aug 13, 2008 5:59 pm

Hippie wrote: I just stumbled on this while looking for ratings for these. I don't know if it's significant or not.
http://aboutpolitics.com/complaints/9999/COOPER/COOPER%20SRM%20II%20RADIAL%20LT

Rob

3 complaints by the same person on the same day of tread seperation. But the 2nd location does not make sense..... 1st appears to be Front Right. 3rd appears to be Passenger Side Rear. 2nd is ?? FSW?
Sounds awful fishy......

Wed Aug 13, 2008 6:02 pm

Karl wrote: Hippie wrote: I just stumbled on this while looking for ratings for these. I don't know if it's significant or not.
http://aboutpolitics.com/complaints/9999/COOPER/COOPER%20SRM%20II%20RADIAL%20LT

Rob

3 complaints by the same person on the same day of tread seperation. But the 2nd location does not make sense..... 1st appears to be Front Right. 3rd appears to be Passenger Side Rear. 2nd is ?? FSW?
Sounds awful fishy......

Yeah, and on a political blog site? And in a format that assumes that "cooper" is a vehicle, not a tire?

Not terribly reliable, that.

Thu Aug 14, 2008 6:03 am

I didn't take the time to read it.
Usually I think of Cooper as good tires.

Rob

Thu Aug 14, 2008 9:31 am

I weighed our 71 Bus yesterday & it weighed 2800 lbs.! That's with a full tank of gas & my toolbox sitting next to the spare tire!
The Michelin Weatherwise II tires have a load rating of 1279 lbs/per tire.
So... 1279 X 4 = 5116 lbs. That's way more tire than I'll ever need! They also have a "speed rating" of 89 mph! That means you can run at a sustained speed of 89 mph, without fear of the tire overheating or coming apart!
IMO & experience, anyone that would run them at 44 psi on a Bus is a fool!
I run the rear tires at 35 psi & the fronts at 32 psi. Even when I load about 800-1000 lbs. of antiques & collectibles into it, the tires are still way more than enough & I keep the same psi's!
Since my 71 VW Bus is a passenger vehicle & it only weighs 2800 lbs, a "P" rated tire with the standard load rating is more than enough tire for my needs.
Westfalias & Synchros need a tire with a "LT" (Light Truck) rating since they weigh quite a bit more than my Bus!

Thu Aug 14, 2008 9:46 am

manxmaniac@aol.com wrote: I weighed our 71 Bus yesterday & it weighed 2800 lbs.! That's with a full tank of gas & my toolbox sitting next to the spare tire!
The Michelin Weatherwise II tires have a load rating of 1279 lbs/per tire.
So... 1279 X 4 = 5116 lbs. That's way more tire than I'll ever need! They also have a "speed rating" of 89 mph! That means you can run at a sustained speed of 89 mph, without fear of the tire overheating or coming apart!
IMO & experience, anyone that would run them at 44 psi on a Bus is a fool!
I run the rear tires at 35 psi & the fronts at 32 psi. Even when I load about 800-1000 lbs. of antiques & collectibles into it, the tires are still way more than enough & I keep the same psi's!
Since my 71 VW Bus is a passenger vehicle & it only weighs 2800 lbs, a "P" rated tire with the standard load rating is more than enough tire for my needs.
Westfalias & Synchros need a tire with a "LT" (Light Truck) rating since they weigh quite a bit more than my Bus!
Easily confuses thoughts, opinions and facts, either has not read or does not understand this thread.

Thu Aug 14, 2008 9:51 am

Rick73Super... wake up, it's time to take your meds!!! :D :D :D

Thu Aug 14, 2008 9:55 am

manxmaniac@aol.com wrote: I weighed our 71 Bus yesterday & it weighed 2800 lbs.! That's with a full tank of gas & my toolbox sitting next to the spare tire!
The Michelin Weatherwise II tires have a load rating of 1279 lbs/per tire.
So... 1279 X 4 = 5116 lbs. That's way more tire than I'll ever need! They also have a "speed rating" of 89 mph! That means you can run at a sustained speed of 89 mph, without fear of the tire overheating or coming apart!
IMO & experience, anyone that would run them at 44 psi on a Bus is a fool!
I run the rear tires at 35 psi & the fronts at 32 psi. Even when I load about 800-1000 lbs. of antiques & collectibles into it, the tires are still way more than enough & I keep the same psi's!
Since my 71 VW Bus is a passenger vehicle & it only weighs 2800 lbs, a "P" rated tire with the standard load rating is more than enough tire for my needs.
Westfalias & Synchros need a tire with a "LT" (Light Truck) rating since they weigh quite a bit more than my Bus!

If you want to play the Ford Explorer/Firestone game of selecting tires, that is your choice. Just don't recommend it to others.

For the 1971 bus VW SPECIFIED tires with a MINUMUM weight load of 1520 lbs. Don't believe me? READ THE FRIGGING OWNERS MANUAL!!!!
Here is page 58 of the 1971 BUS owners manual, NOT a Westy manual, a BUS manual:

There is a BIG difference between standing weight and rolling weight when you drive. Scroll back up and LOOK at the pictures of the syncro.

Thu Aug 14, 2008 10:09 am

Manxmaniac, keep those underrated passenger tires and this could be you!