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Sat Mar 18, 2006 8:29 pm

Code: [url=https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=162278]The Tire Sticky FAQ[/url]

The Tire Sticky

Ok, it's all yours......debate, argue (be nice), and inform. Anyone asks about tires, send 'em here :-)

Enjoy!

Original tire specifications from the 1969 Owner's Manual

Or
185R14 C-Rated.
185R14 = 185/82/14

Sat Mar 18, 2006 8:44 pm

Continental CR21 185r14 reinforced

Thread done, lock er down. :P

Sat Mar 18, 2006 8:46 pm

steponmebbbboom wrote: Continental CR21 185r14 reinforced

Thread done, lock er down. :P

Somehow I don't think it's gonna be that easy :-)

Sat Mar 18, 2006 9:03 pm

another option:

Hankook RA08 185R14 8 ply...I love mine.

let the debate...continue!

Sat Mar 18, 2006 9:15 pm

Useful information http://busdepot.com/details/tires.jsp

Sat Mar 18, 2006 9:19 pm

Randy in Maine wrote: Useful information http://busdepot.com/details/tires.jsp

Good one! Thanks!

Sun Mar 19, 2006 2:25 am

Didn't VWBusrepairman say:
I run passenger car tires on my bus with no problems..... could the tire shops get away with selling me these tires for my VW Bus?_________________________________________________________________________

Of course. Always trust all of the tire shops. They might be like all the other wonderful retail stores. They probably are unquestionably ethical, moral, highest technically oriented, and only care about the clients welfare and not at all about the evening dollar tally. And they most definately are Bus experts. And they always use the torque wrench. And just for fun, ask the wrench guy what the setting is.

Or, you could go by the tire requirements, the tire ratings and all that.

P.S. Undoubtably, there are some shops that are great and above board.

Sun Mar 19, 2006 12:33 pm

BTW, here is a good link for comparing the diameter of various sizes of tires.

http://www.1010tires.com/TireSizeCalculator.asp

Mon Mar 20, 2006 2:08 pm

Quote: Or, you could go by the tire requirements, the tire ratings and all that.

There are plenty of passenger tires that meet the load requirement needed for our busses.

Mon Mar 20, 2006 7:21 pm

jberger wrote: Quote: Or, you could go by the tire requirements, the tire ratings and all that.

There are plenty of passenger tires that meet the load requirement needed for our busses.

Time for show and tell!

SHOW me a passenger tire in the CORRECT 185R14 size that has a max load weight rating of 1540 lbs. minmum!

The CORRECT 185R14 tire is either a reinforced sidewall OR a 185R14C. The C means Commercial.

ANY PASSENGER tire you put on a bus MUST have the max load weight divided by 110%. THAT is FEDERAL LAW!!!!

S4.2.2.2 below. And then you need to read S4.2.2.3(a) after that.

http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/05dec20031...71.110.htm

S4.2.1 Tire load limits for passenger cars.
S4.2.1.1 The vehicle maximum load on the tire shall not be greater
than the applicable maximum load rating as marked on the sidewall of the
tire.
S4.2.1.2 The vehicle normal load on the tire shall not be greater
than 94 percent of the load rating at the vehicle manufacturer's
recommended cold inflation pressure for that tire.
S4.2.2 Tire load limits for multipurpose passenger vehicles, trucks,
buses, and trailers.
S4.2.2.1 Except as provided in S4.2.2.2, the sum of the maximum load
ratings of the tires fitted to an axle shall not be less than the GAWR
of the axle system as specified on the vehicle's certification label
required by 49 CFR part 567. If the certification label shows more than
one GAWR for the axle system, the sum shall be not less than the GAWR
corresponding to the size designation of the tires fitted to the axle.
S4.2.2.2 When passenger car (P-metric) tires are installed on an
MPV, truck, bus, or trailer, each tire's load rating is reduced by
dividing it by 1.10 before determining, under S4.2.2.1, the sum of the
maximum load ratings of the tires fitted to an axle.
S4.2.2.3 (a) For vehicles equipped with P-metric tires, the vehicle
normal load on the tire shall be no greater than the value of 94 percent
of the derated load rating at the vehicle manufacturer's recommended
cold inflation pressure for that tire.
(b) For vehicles equipped with LT tires, the vehicle normal load on
the tire shall be no greater than 94 percent of the load rating at the
vehicle manufacturer's recommended cold inflation pressure for that
tire.

So you have your spiiffy Maypop brand of Pmetric passenger tires that are max rated on the sidewall of 1300 lbs. Already they are 240 lbs below minimum. Now divide that 1300 by 1.10.... bet you feel good at 1182 lbs.?? But wait..... you can only load that tire to a max of 94%.
WOW, that is now 1111 lbs. max weight you can put on that tire. Feel safe now??

If you can't dazzle them with brillance, then buffalo them with bullshit.

Tue Mar 21, 2006 1:05 am

Karl wrote:
SHOW me a passenger tire in the CORRECT 185R14 size that has a max load weight rating of 1540 lbs. minmum!
The CORRECT 185R14 tire is either a reinforced sidewall OR a 185R14C. The C means Commercial.
ANY PASSENGER tire you put on a bus MUST have the max load weight divided by 110%. THAT is FEDERAL LAW!!!!

So you have your spiiffy Maypop brand of Pmetric passenger tires that are max rated on the sidewall of 1300 lbs. Already they are 240 lbs below minimum. Now divide that 1300 by 1.10.... bet you feel good at 1182 lbs.?? But wait..... you can only load that tire to a max of 94%.
WOW, that is now 1111 lbs. max weight you can put on that tire. Feel safe now??

If you can't dazzle them with brillance, then buffalo them with bullshit.

Jeeze, Karl, a little strident are we? Dazzling caps and exclamations does not change the reality for many of us that we have enough experience to select appropriate tires for our cars. I use passenger car tires on my bus, they beat your 110%!!!! FEDERAL LAW!! and they are INCORRECT! (who cares?) 205-75-14s made by Michelin. I feel safe and I have done the math. Every other car in my driveway weighes more than my bus, and the GVWR of the bus exceeds the BMWs by only 70 lbs.
That said, it is the responsibility of a bus pilot to know how much his bus weighes at both axles, his tire ratings and current condition, and current inflation pressures. That is just common sense. I have seen some pathetic little beat up tires on buses and bring it to the attention of the owners. But I am not a jack-boot knee-jerk tire hysteric, I appreciate the fact that some of us here may have to get only what we can afford.
Colin

Tue Mar 21, 2006 5:15 am

In an emergency avoidance maneuver, what one can afford right now versus what one should have waited and saved up for can make the difference between life, and death.

Tue Mar 21, 2006 7:21 am

I am stating facts.

You guys can go out and buy whatever you can afford to put on your bus. You know you will. You don't give a damn as long as it is black, round, holds air, and are proud because you got a deal. I just don't want to be behind you people on the freeway because you guys are ignorant cheapskates.

I kept out of this sticky because of this.

The ONLY reason I said anything was because jberger wrote:
"There are plenty of passenger tires that meet the load requirement needed for our busses." Bullshit.

Line 'em up, jberger. Show and tell time.

And Colin, you can belly up to the bar too. Tell us what the specs are on your passenger car tires that you are so proud of. Ford and Firestone must love you guys. Their tire people were experts!!!

Tue Mar 21, 2006 8:32 am

MrBreeze wrote: steponmebbbboom wrote: Continental CR21 185r14 reinforced

Thread done, lock er down. :P

Somehow I don't think it's gonna be that easy :-)

Ya think?? :D

I am very happy with my Hankook RA 08's. The load rating and size is correct, and the price was right too. Only time will tell but when I am looking for tires again, they will be at the top of the list.

Tue Mar 21, 2006 8:50 am

I put these on mine and the highway handling is way better than the passenger tires that came with mine, also seems to ride better. MICHELIN AGILIS 81 185R 14C

Tue Mar 21, 2006 9:43 am

Karl wrote: I am stating facts.

You guys can go out and buy whatever you can afford to put on your bus. You know you will. You don't give a damn as long as it is black, round, holds air, and are proud because you got a deal. I just don't want to be behind you people on the freeway because you guys are ignorant cheapskates.

I kept out of this sticky because of this.

The ONLY reason I said anything was because jberger wrote:
"There are plenty of passenger tires that meet the load requirement needed for our busses." Bullshit.

Line 'em up, jberger. Show and tell time.

And Colin, you can belly up to the bar too. Tell us what the specs are on your passenger car tires that you are so proud of. Ford and Firestone must love you guys. Their tire people were experts!!!

C'mon Karl, you're just a buzzkill coming in here and polluting this place with FACTS. :roll:

Tue Mar 21, 2006 10:18 am

Quote: If you can't dazzle them with brillance, then buffalo them with bullshit.

I resemble that remark :shock:

How about the Cooper Weather Master 1521lbs per

78 Westy GVWR for the front is 2227 lbs. and the rear is 2800 lbs. So, "S4.2.2.3 (a) For vehicles equipped with P-metric tires, the vehicle
normal load on the tire shall be no greater than the value of 94 percent
of the derated load rating at the vehicle manufacturer's recommended
cold inflation pressure for that tire. " the 1521 more than meets the requirement. Check your facts before you call bull shit on me, looks to me that the spec is 94%, and the loads I am talking about are for a late model westy, aren't the passenger models sprung softly with lower GVWRs?

By the way, I run Yoko Y356D with a 1850lb rating.

Tue Mar 21, 2006 11:32 am

Desertbusman wrote: Didn't VWBusrepairman say:
I run passenger car tires on my bus with no problems..... could the tire shops get away with selling me these tires for my VW Bus?_________________________________________________________________________

Of course. Always trust all of the tire shops. They might be like all the other wonderful retail stores. They probably are unquestionably ethical, moral, highest technically oriented, and only care about the clients welfare and not at all about the evening dollar tally. And they most definately are Bus experts. And they always use the torque wrench. And just for fun, ask the wrench guy what the setting is.

Or, you could go by the tire requirements, the tire ratings and all that.

P.S. Undoubtably, there are some shops that are great and above board.
not exactly, I said this:
VWBusrepairman wrote:

I run passenger car tires on my bus with no problems. I'm sure there are passenger cars which weigh comparable to that of the VW Bus otherwise, could the tire shops get away with selling me these tires for my VW Bus? Spend the money on the sound system.
this was before I was aware that the bus needed light truck tires. I will continue to run these tires until it's time for a new set. It's not so critical now since the bus isn't driven daily any longer. It is just for fun now. glad this was finally made into a sticky so the others will be aware.

Tue Mar 21, 2006 1:22 pm

Who ever started this thread opened up a can of worms. Just checked my tires and - Oh' crap. The PO had them put by the local good guys tire chain store. I doubt that they have 1,000 miles total, they look wonderful, but they are about 10 years old. This had been bugging me since a recent topic on the news has been tire old age. But they do look great. So, just checked the descriptions and -woops! P205/75 R14 with load rating 12 lbs. higher than the owners manual. But the max inflation pressure is considerably less than the owners manual. And side wall plys are less.
Early bay ('71) has different description (7.00 x 14) and ratings in the owners manual than you guys are mentioning. And then Bentley has requirements for 3 different Bay year groups and models.
So what I'm learning:
-I had been happy with my tires but not now, particularly since finally it's getting close to hitting the highway.
-The PO was as blind as I have been.
-The wonderful tire store isn't that wonderful.
-This reminds me why I've always liked a lowered ride and wide stance wheels. It tends to slide and not roll when things go wrong.
-Need more money!

Tue Mar 21, 2006 6:42 pm

Karl wrote: I am stating facts.

You guys can go out and buy whatever you can afford to put on your bus. You know you will. You don't give a damn as long as it is black, round, holds air, and are proud because you got a deal. I just don't want to be behind you people on the freeway because you guys are ignorant cheapskates.

I kept out of this sticky because of this.

The ONLY reason I said anything was because jberger wrote:
"There are plenty of passenger tires that meet the load requirement needed for our busses." Bullshit.

Line 'em up, jberger. Show and tell time.

And Colin, you can belly up to the bar too. Tell us what the specs are on your passenger car tires that you are so proud of. Ford and Firestone must love you guys. Their tire people were experts!!!

8) IMA Believer, Thanks!