TheSamba.com :: View topic - Split Bus 14" tires

Fri Nov 06, 2015 7:20 pm

mandraks wrote: they are much smaller in diameter
that ^^^^^

Sat Nov 07, 2015 8:40 am

Here's a new tire out of Thailand. It's got almost the exact diameter of a 7.00 x 14 and carries the proper load rating. $67.99 per tire as well. I haven't found any reviews so quality is unknown.

http://simpletire.com/catalog/product/104832

Sat Nov 07, 2015 8:53 am

srfndoc wrote: Here's a new tire out of Thailand. It's got almost the exact diameter of a 7.00 x 14 and carries the proper load rating. $67.99 per tire as well. I haven't found any reviews so quality is unknown.

http://simpletire.com/catalog/product/104832

I have a set of these. I bought a vanagon really cheap and these were on it. I kept them and sold off the rest.

I have not driven on them yet, but they are at least a few years old. I don't recall the date code right now. The vanagon had spent some time in BC, so I am guessing the tires were installed in Canada. Have not seen them available in the states yet.

Sat Nov 07, 2015 12:50 pm

All hail The Thunderer!

In Barney Fife voice: "Yay-up....I got me a new set a' Thunderers..."

Actually they don't look bad.

Thu Apr 21, 2016 11:42 am

free shipping no tax. thought it was a good deal--

https://www.carshoez.com/4-new-195-14-achilles-ltr...104-q.html

Thu Oct 20, 2016 12:44 pm

I see that Hankook is now producing a "Vantra LT" RA18 195/R14"C tire. Anyone out there running this one on their 65-67 Split-Bus. Your opinions and review! I'd especially like to know how tall (26" - 26.5" - 27" ???) and the sidewall ply construction (how many sidewall plies?). Looks like $77.99 each on simpletire.com

Bill

Sat Oct 22, 2016 2:57 pm

I am running 27x8.5-14 LT tires on our 65 Westy. Good tires

Fri Dec 30, 2016 1:09 pm

Quote:
I see that Hankook is now producing a "Vantra LT" RA18 195/R14"C tire. Anyone out there running this one on their 65-67 Split-Bus. Your opinions and review! I'd especially like to know how tall (26" - 26.5" - 27" ???) and the sidewall ply construction (how many sidewall plies?). Looks like $77.99 each on simpletire.com

I just ordered a set of Five from Amazon for $90 ea. Will report back once they are mounted and driven.

Happy New Year!

Gerrie

Sat Dec 31, 2016 9:05 am

Awesome, please let us know what you think of them, and I'd like to know bout the outer tire diameter and sidewall plies. I have a set of old Hankook RA-08 195/14" tires on my Vanagon Westfalia wheels and love 'em but want to eventually buy two sets of tire, one for my Vanagon and one set for my '67 Westy SO-42. Hopefully the Vantra LT's are updated and similar to the RA-08's. Thanks for letting us know your opinion!

Bill

Sat Dec 31, 2016 9:41 am

srfndoc wrote: Here's a new tire out of Thailand. It's got almost the exact diameter of a 7.00 x 14 and carries the proper load rating. $67.99 per tire as well. I haven't found any reviews so quality is unknown.

http://simpletire.com/catalog/product/104832

I've been running the 15" version of this tire now for a while with about 800 miles on them and they have been great. The 14" version is now down to $59.99 each.

Sat Jan 07, 2017 3:37 pm

BulliBill wrote: Awesome, please let us know what you think of them, and I'd like to know bout the outer tire diameter and sidewall plies. I have a set of old Hankook RA-08 195/14" tires on my Vanagon Westfalia wheels and love 'em but want to eventually buy two sets of tire, one for my Vanagon and one set for my '67 Westy SO-42. Hopefully the Vantra LT's are updated and similar to the RA-08's. Thanks for letting us know your opinion!

Bill

Just got my Tires delivered and they look SWEET!
They look about the same diameter as my 7X14 Power Kings (Not impress with the PKs since I got less than 10K miles on them and they are shot). Diameter not inflated looks to be around 26" and the sidewalls are 8 ply.
I am hoping that these Radials will improve the performance and improve the ride.
I am a bit confused about the red and yellow markings on the sidewall any input from anyone who knows what they mean is appreciated.

Will hopefully have them mounted Monday!

Later
Gerrie

Sat Jan 07, 2017 3:48 pm

your tire shop will know what the dots are for, they mark the heavy and light spot on your tire.

you want to line those up with the light and heavy spots on your wheels, (valves)

found this online

The yellow dots should be aligned with the valve stem on both steel and aluminum wheels since this is the wheel's heavy balance point. This will help minimize the amount of weight needed to balance a tire and wheel assembly. So usually, whenever you see a yellow dot, match it up with the valve stem.

Sat Jan 07, 2017 4:07 pm

mandraks wrote: your tire shop will know what the dots are for, they mark the heavy and light spot on your tire.

you want to line those up with the light and heavy spots on your wheels, (valves)

found this online

The yellow dots should be aligned with the valve stem on both steel and aluminum wheels since this is the wheel's heavy balance point. This will help minimize the amount of weight needed to balance a tire and wheel assembly. So usually, whenever you see a yellow dot, match it up with the valve stem.

Thanks Uli!

Sun Jan 08, 2017 4:56 am

Great post guys thank you! I am also looking at the Hankook RA18 so looking forward to the feedback.

Cheers
Tom

Sun Jan 08, 2017 9:09 pm

I bought 2 of the Hankook R18 Vantra LT tires on amazon. Free shipping. The tire installer noticed the thicker sidewalls and liked them, but didn't know about the yellow circle, so I just asked him to line the circle up with the valve stem. It felt like I had power steering when I left the store! The new tires were fine on a 1220 mile round trip, to Big Bend TX, which included some rough dirt roads.

Mon Jan 09, 2017 7:32 pm

Tires were installed today.
The drive home was only a couple of miles but initial impression is that the drive is very much improved. I will get a better feel for them next week when I leave on an longer trip through SE USA and definitely later this year when we plan to do a cross country trip. (Will update or do a trip report then)

So far I would recommend them because they are a huge improvement on the Bias-ply Power Kings.

Regards
Gerrie

Here are pics of them on my bus.

Mon Jan 09, 2017 7:36 pm

boetgert wrote: Tires were installed today.
The drive home was only a couple of miles but initial impression is that the drive is very much improved. I will get a better feel for them next week when I leave on an longer trip through SE USA and definitely later this year when we plan to do a cross country trip. (Will update or do a trip report then)

So far I would recommend them because they are a huge improvement on the Bias-ply Power Kings.

Regards
Gerrie

Here are pics of them on my bus.

good work on the dots!

Mon Jan 09, 2017 8:08 pm

mandraks wrote: boetgert wrote: Tires were installed today.
The drive home was only a couple of miles but initial impression is that the drive is very much improved. I will get a better feel for them next week when I leave on an longer trip through SE USA and definitely later this year when we plan to do a cross country trip. (Will update or do a trip report then)

So far I would recommend them because they are a huge improvement on the Bias-ply Power Kings.

Regards
Gerrie

Here are pics of them on my bus.

good work on the dots!

:D

Mon Jan 09, 2017 8:31 pm

Hey Gerrie,

Now that you have the Hankooks mounted, balanced, aired up, could you do us all a favor? Could you jack one up off the ground, and run a fabric tape measure all the way around the inflated tire in the center of the tire and get us the outer measurement is inches (should be something like 79 to 85 inches all the way around). In other words, For each rotation of the axle, how many inches are traveled? Thanks for your great photos and initial impressions! I am very interested in possibly getting a set of these!

Bill Bowman

Mon Jan 09, 2017 9:20 pm

mandraks wrote: found this online

The yellow dots should be aligned with the valve stem on both steel and aluminum wheels since this is the wheel's heavy balance point. This will help minimize the amount of weight needed to balance a tire and wheel assembly. So usually, whenever you see a yellow dot, match it up with the valve stem. That's true, but "red rules"... here's the rest of that story (and keep watch on the tire monkey assigned to mounting your tires):

What mandraks quoted... is always true except in cases where a red dot also appears in the lower sidewall. The red dot indicates the high point for both radial runout and radial force variation. As I'm sure you know, not only is it hard for tire manufacturers to make a perfectly balanced tire, it also is very difficult to make a perfectly round tire.

Tires tend to have high spots and low spots. The difference between the high and the low is called radial runout. Radial runout changes the radius of the rotating assembly, causing it to raise and lower the vehicle as it rolls along. That gives the perception that the tire is ``hopping'' or ``bouncing'' down the road and ends up delivering a rough ride to the driver and irregular wear to the tread.

Radial force variation is similar to radial runout and is a result of a heavy or thicker area being manufactured into the tire due to variations in component thickness, placement and overlapping. Radial force variation applies more force against the road at the tire's thicker spot as the tire runs, which causes one sidewall to flex differently than the other. The result is tire/wheel assembly vibration and irregular tread wear.

To avoid or minimize these problems, whenever you see a red spot, match this up with the valve stem-unless you happen to have a steel wheel that has a dimple on the exterior side of the rim area. The dimple indicates the wheels' low spot and is spec'ed by some original equipment manufacturers so that they can match mount tires and wheels installed on new trucks at the factory.

If you see both a red as well as a yellow dot on the tire, the red dot takes priority. An easy way to remember this is the phrase ``Red Rules.'' Ignore the yellow dot and match the red dot to the wheel low point dimple as some vehicle manufacturers do or, if no dimple is marked on the wheel, align the red dot with the valve stem.