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Tire question from Colombia
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juanb
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PostPosted: Thu Sep 12, 2013 7:27 am    Post subject: Tire question from Colombia Reply with quote

Hi all,

I am running Nokian Hakka C tires, which are great for the road. I installed them on January 2011, and according to my records have put about 32K miles in them.

Now, driving from California to Colombia, it hasn't all been really nice tarmac, so I think I've punished them more than usual.

Here is the one that is in worse shape, right now on the read passenger side:

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


I'm worried about the crack that's visible on the edge of one of the grooves.

The "5" wear indicator is still visible on this one (6 and 7 still visible on the others), which would mean I still have some miles in the tire, but the worn rubber makes me want to change them.

Right now I'm about to put the spare I have in the back in place of this one. I have a couple of questions though:

- The spare has been on the rear driver side for many miles (prob 25K or so). It's in good shape, with a lot more thread than the one in the photos, but it has rotated all its life in the other direction. Does this matter?

- No Nokians in Colombia. It seems like I can find Hankooks RA08, 205 70 15 for $140 each or so. Opinions?

- Any recommendations on a tire that's a bit more aggressive than the Hakka Cs (great on pavement, but you say "sand" next to them and they get stuck), while being relatively smooth on pavement?

I can see many of the main brands (except Nokian), plus all kinds of Chinese ones too. Will probably stick to the good stuff though.

All opinions welcome. Thanks!
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danfromsyr
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PostPosted: Thu Sep 12, 2013 7:30 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

WHOA... that tire is not ... well I wouldn't run it on a swingset
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joseph928
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PostPosted: Thu Sep 12, 2013 7:41 am    Post subject: tires Reply with quote

Blue Bay Bus You need new tires those don't look safe. Your are not in snow, go with the Hankooks RA08 and have fun on the rest of your trip. Very Happy
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61Scout
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PostPosted: Thu Sep 12, 2013 7:46 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Geez, what happened here? A defective tire? Inflation problem? Left to weather without driving? The Hakka C is properly load rated... seems to me there might be another issue at play here.
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1986 Westfalia Weekender Wolfsburg, RJE 2.3
1985 Tin Top, Subie 2.2 + 5MT
Floppy Mirrors no more: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=653018&highlight=
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juanb
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PostPosted: Thu Sep 12, 2013 7:47 am    Post subject: Re: tires Reply with quote

joseph928 wrote:
Blue Bay Bus You need new tires those don't look safe. Your are not in snow, go with the Hankooks RA08 and have fun on the rest of your trip. Very Happy


I know... They look bad, huh? Smile

I guess I let myself go--we didn't ever have a flat in one year through Mexico, Central America and now Colombia. Got used to not thinking about the tires!

I'll install the one I have that's in better shape, and then stop at the first nice tire shop I see on the road.

Unless someone chimes in with a warning about changing the rolling direction on the Hakkas. From what I understand of what the Nokian site says, it doesn't matter.
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juanb
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PostPosted: Thu Sep 12, 2013 8:21 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

61Scout wrote:
Geez, what happened here? A defective tire? Inflation problem? Left to weather without driving? The Hakka C is properly load rated... seems to me there might be another issue at play here.


Maybe the fact that I've driven those on really bad roads? They have miles and miles on places with sharp rocks and more potholes than road.

They haven't been left without driving for longer than a week or two, and pressure is up to spec. I haven't been totally diligent in lowering air pressure when going through really bad roads, but every time I did, I was good at bringing them back to pressure as soon as we were back to pavement.
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madspaniard
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PostPosted: Thu Sep 12, 2013 9:58 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

juanb wrote:

Maybe the fact that I've driven those on really bad roads? They have miles and miles on places with sharp rocks and more potholes than road.


That will do it. We have to realize how many miles your van has done, fully loaded, over less than smooth pavement or dirt. Those tires are done.

If I were you I would try to figure out what kind of roads/pavement you will be rolling on during the rest of your adventure and then buy tires that match those conditions. Local people should probably know a bit about this.
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Wildthings
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PostPosted: Thu Sep 12, 2013 10:33 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I would think that a set of 27/8.5r14's would be the way to go. They are designed to take more abuse than a standard light weight truck tire and are a bit wider on the tread to boot. For all the flag waving about running 8 ply truck tires that goes on here on Samba, 185r14 8ply truck tires only weight in at about a pound more than 205/70r14 P-metric tires (some actually weigh less), while the 27/8.5r14 are 5-7 pounds heavier.

If you install 27/8.5r14's only on the back your handling may worsen as they tend to be stickier than 185r14's and will over power the ones on the front, while, if you install them only on the front then your handling will probably be better.
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wenholzm
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PostPosted: Thu Sep 12, 2013 10:48 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Juan - I run the RA08 in Mexico, they are very good, they hold up very well on the rough roads. Price is high, pero ni modo.
Have fun in Colombia, I grew up there as a boy.
Mark
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61Scout
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PostPosted: Thu Sep 12, 2013 12:45 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I don't know OP... sure you're running on rough roads, but that last picture with the long vertical crack is the one that sticks out as some sort of defect. I've run passenger cars for tens of thousands of miles on rough roads and they get chips and scratches, but I've never had those cracks without age or overloading. I'd think any tire manufacturer would build tires that can go over some gravel/rough roads.

Maybe the rubber is too hard of a compound? What's the date stamp on the tires? Sure you may have put them on in 2011, but how long were they on the shelf?
_________________
1986 Westfalia Weekender Wolfsburg, RJE 2.3
1985 Tin Top, Subie 2.2 + 5MT
Floppy Mirrors no more: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=653018&highlight=
Remove the front spindle nut with ease: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=679567&highlight=
Remove the rear wheel bearing housing without messing with the big 46mm nut: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=679507&highlight=

-Nec Spe, Nec Metu
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Farf
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PostPosted: Thu Sep 12, 2013 4:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Juan, check out the Firestone cv3000 tires, I bought a set in Peru on the way back up from Argentina they are 8 ply with a D load rating. I started the trip with the Hankook 195R14 tires, I really liked them but was unable to find any in stock. The cv3000 tires have worn well and are quite smooth on the pavement, i'm still using them and they have plenty of thread left. Good luck....

Mike
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0to60in6min
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PostPosted: Thu Sep 12, 2013 4:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

you mentioned 15" tire, someone suggested 14" tire....

you have 15" rims or 14" rims?

Hankook R08 are good - BFG TA KO are better for rough roads...
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juanb
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PostPosted: Fri Sep 13, 2013 11:55 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'm running with 15" rims.

Having lunch now and trying to decide whether to pull the trigger on the ra08s. A local place here has them. Mounted/balanced for ~$125 per tire.

I don't see cracks like that in any of the other four tires (replaced the cracked one with the spare). And I see "6" in both front tires, and 7 and 8 on the rear ones, which would mean I still have plenty of thread left.

I'm also carrying the original 14" spare in the stock location, btw.

Decisions...
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0to60in6min
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PostPosted: Fri Sep 13, 2013 12:42 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have both...

RA08 on my Carat... good over all... so so on rough roads...

BFG TA KO on my Syncro.. a bit noisier than the RA08 on hi-way because of the thread design

I like the BFG better.. so I put BFG on my Carat when the set was worn so both run on BFG now...
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juanb
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PostPosted: Fri Sep 13, 2013 1:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ok, I just went for it. I was hesitating because a couple of my nokians seemed quite alright. But considering that these tires are here now, the price is right, and I'm not sure they will be easy to find south of here, I just did it.

Good thing: with the van on the lift I realized it's leaking oil from the plug. I already suspected they had over tightened it two oil changes ago. So we are going to fix that now as well.

Thanks for all the tire advice! And, Danfromsyr, I have three tires that are good enough for your swing set if you want to come pick them up Smile
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