14" Tire Options

vermontgirl · Posted: Mon Apr 30, 2012 9:47 am Post subject:

Okay.. I thought I'd give a report halfway across the country. ( Currently in sioux falls south dakota)

First of all my Bilstein HD shocks have made all the diffrence in the world. Wind, trucks, speed bumps; they are all my friends now.

The BFG's Have 100 percent served my purpose thus far on the trip: a few times I have gone to sleep with dry ground only to wake up with 4+ inches of snow out in the woods. With these tires I've had no problems with traction. In the badlands I suddenly found myself in what seemed like quicksand. I was out of that mess in a matter of minutes. With my old tires (hancooks) I would've definitely had to go find someone to push me!
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vermontgirl · Posted: Mon Apr 30, 2012 9:51 am Post subject:

Oh yeah they've also been great long long stretches of pavement.
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r39o · Posted: Mon Apr 30, 2012 10:05 am Post subject:

syncromike · Posted: Mon Apr 30, 2012 10:06 am Post subject:

vermontgirl · Posted: Mon Apr 30, 2012 11:11 am Post subject:

pigryder · Posted: Mon Apr 30, 2012 11:28 am Post subject:

I have to totaly agree with vermontgirl, I put the 195/75/14 BFG ATs on stink and am amazed at how well they perform. Stinks travels include lots and lots of dirt, rocks, and mud.... Cool

Highway is quiet, no worries about pinch flats while crawling on rocks either. The only real downside is the price of the 14"s, the grabbers are cheaper but overall diameter is larger and I didnt want to comprimise stinks trail gearing, otherwise would have went with the grabbers because of prior experience on other vehicles.
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1983 GTI a 15 year love affair
2011 Tiguan 4motion

WestyBob · Posted: Mon Apr 30, 2012 7:45 pm Post subject:

I'm sure the new BFG's are better than the old Hankooks for the recent applications cited. Give us a report on how they do in New England mud, wet snow and ice this winter, if you get any (and get into any).

I'm particulalry interested in the wind factor. BFG's are not known as great wind resisters (about average) so I presume your new shocks have helped a lot and/or supplemented the new tires.

devesvws · Posted: Sat Sep 01, 2012 1:01 pm Post subject:

WILDTHINGS said QUOTE ''As I have stated before, the 195R14 Hankooks which I had on my 83 1/2 had poor handling characteristics when heavily loaded, as far as I am concerned they are an experiment that didn't pan out'' i feel the same with a little over 9000 miles on mine now. the best thing about the tires i feel are still new looking with out any type of wear what so ever and i have a feeling they will last a very long time. i was thinking about going for 2 rear winter tires but whats up with the

WARNING: DO NOT MIX WINTER TIRES WITH OTHER TIRES!
Winter Tires should be installed on your car only in complete sets of four. According to the manufacturer, it is unsafe to mix them with other tires. Your tires should all have the same tread pattern, size, and construction. Question

anyone running winter tires on the rear and say HANKOOKS on the front??
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danfromsyr · Posted: Sat Sep 01, 2012 2:51 pm Post subject:

not sure if they were mentioned here but the HERCULES POWER CV tires are available in a 185/14 or 195/14 with a Load range=D and index rating over 100

$104/$110 ea with free UPS ground shipping
tough tire to beat.and tough tire to wear. more aggressive than the RA08 for sure and not as aggressive as the BFG tread.

http://www.buywheelstoday.com/products/Power+CV.bwt?rsku=0
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peaceful warrior · Posted: Sat Sep 01, 2012 8:39 pm Post subject:

Running BFG LT195/75 14's on the Syncro. I like them in all conditions, don't notice any road noise, but from an aesthetic perspective, they look like skateboard wheels on a Truck. If I could have found them, I would have gotten a wider tread, but next time it is 15" wheels and Yokohama Geolanders which I have on the other Syncro.....great tire! Only wish they made them in 14's.
BFG's
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regis101 · Posted: Wed Nov 07, 2012 6:14 pm Post subject:

I've been through a few sets of 14 and 15 inch wheel/tire combo's
when I was a Bushead. Made me dizzy at times and poor. In the end, stock was just fine.

With the new to me Weekender, I'm going to try the Hercules Power CV 195's. The spec's read well. 106 load at 65 psi. Summer tire though but no big deal with my climate. This answer came up on WikiAnswers about origin,
*Since 2004, they are sourced from China, I believe Hercules is / was part of Cooper Tires, OH*

There is a vendor close to me and quoted a tad under six hun for five. These should be just right for the stock steelie rims and hubcaps.
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drumbum68 · Samba Member Joined: October 15, 2010 Posts: 201

I put a set of Hankook ra-08 185-14's on one of my vans after reading so many glowing reviews and have to say I'm extremely disappointed in how they drive. Really noticeable @50mph or above, having to make constant corrections while cruising down the road. If it's windy fuggettaboutit. Tried different pressures up to 60F-65R. Kept thinking they have to break-in a little, 3000+ miles, no change. Fresh rebuild and alignment ( upper control bushes, ball joints and tierod ends). Taking a trip next week ,have to swap tires/wheels from my other van because it drives way better with those tires (Federal MAHA steel 327 185-14). So many people don't know how these vans are supposed to handle, just think that's the way it is. I hope this doesn't offend anybody.

crazyvwvanman · Posted: Thu Nov 08, 2012 7:37 am Post subject:

You didn't mention year or model van.

try 44 front , 52 rear

then try 42 front, 48 rear

Mark

danfromsyr · Posted: Thu Nov 08, 2012 7:45 am Post subject:

I'd say you might want to revisit your wheel alignement.
the RA-08s tread is in a more straight line fashion to other treads that are blocky
the RA-08s may be sensative to a slight incorrect wheel alignment where a blocky tire offers side resistance to remove 'twitchy' or quick steering tendencies.

I've noticed this on my own van going from my Michelins to RA-08s to Nokians..

don't rule the RA-08s out yet, they can and DO handle like these vans are supposed to.. I just don't prefer the wet/snow/sand grip they offer and went to Nokans for my upgraded engine powered van.

denwood · Posted: Thu Nov 08, 2012 9:21 am Post subject:

I checked out the initial impressions of the General Grabber AT2 at 27 x 8.5 14" on this forum. Any one using these for some time now with thoughts? I'm interested to hear what they perform like in snow and colder weather?

This chart shows the 14" size is winter rated: http://www.generaltire.ca/pdfs/grabberat2.pdf

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/gti-05684400000/overview/

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pigryder · Posted: Thu Nov 08, 2012 9:27 am Post subject:

I had the grabbers on a different vehicle and they performed easily as well as the BFG T/As.... easily!

I personally think they worked better is nasty snowy conditions than the BFGs do.
_________________
1982 Westfalia Diesel L "Stink"
1983 GTI a 15 year love affair
2011 Tiguan 4motion

Wildthings · Samba Member Joined: March 13, 2005 Posts: 20174

0to60in6min · Posted: Thu Nov 08, 2012 10:58 am Post subject:

excuse me for ignorance but..

what is the difference between 195/75/14 and 27/8.5/14 since they both fit 14" rim? - diameter, width etc..?

I have now 27/8.5/14 BFG but they don't make them anymore..

many thanks

chimivee · Posted: Thu Nov 08, 2012 11:57 am Post subject:

0to60in6min · Posted: Thu Nov 08, 2012 12:11 pm Post subject:

hi James,

yup ... that's it... so the 27/8.5/14 is a bit taller and wider than the 195/75/14..

so I would go for General Grabber AT2 at 27 x 8.5 14" for next set...

thanks

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14" Tire Options
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