TheSamba.com :: View topic - Large tire/big meats

Thu Mar 29, 2018 1:06 pm

The Bus beam is bolted in differently (from the sides instead of front to back.) but I guess someone could elongate a few of the holes but that would cause issues with the steering arm (ain't going to be me though.).

Thu Mar 29, 2018 2:45 pm

I ran 215/75/15 on my old 70 westy & the same on my 68 double cab without any problems had 73-79 disk brakes & ran the Wolfgang 3/4" 5x112 to 2x205 wheel adapters up front tires were mounted on bus 15" rims not bug rims that I see in your photo

Sun Apr 08, 2018 2:54 pm

Just received my Starfire (Cooper) sf510s. 27x8.5x14.
Date code is December 2014, what do you guys think is an acceptable date for new tires?

Mon Apr 30, 2018 12:37 pm

I just installed these E78-14 STA Super Traxion Tires on my 1965 Danish army highroof. Most of the military-style tires on the vintage vehicle market are only available for larger wheel diameters. But the STA Super Traxions have the appropriate look and are available for 14" rims. According to my measurements they looked like they would fit, but it still felt like a bit of a gamble investing in a setup that hadn't been very well proven. I did find pics of one person running this setup, however, so thanks to Samba member dropgatedrinkery for posting pics of your single cab. These tires fit perfectly for me; no issues at all. Even the spare fits great behind the driver's seat.

Mon Apr 30, 2018 6:46 pm

Baaad to the bone. How do they sound?

Tue May 01, 2018 7:40 am

Killer combo of those tires on such a mean looking bus!

Thu May 10, 2018 12:16 pm

BarryL wrote: Baaad to the bone. How do they sound?

Thanks man! There's a bit of tire noise I'm still getting used to around town, but it's not noticeable at highway speeds.

Peter_N wrote: Killer combo of those tires on such a mean looking bus!

Thanks! I'm still loving the tires after a week, and I find that my speedometer is suddenly spot on, after being slightly off when I was running 195s.

Sat May 12, 2018 7:13 am

rusbus wrote:

Superexcellent Grampa Grips! Good look. I remember when a set of these at the Fleet Farm cost about a hunnerd bucks, mounted and balanced.

Sun Jun 24, 2018 12:26 am

Has anyone tried this <gasp> RETREAD? Looks like a pleasing aggressive tread and I think it's a radial...not sure though. They have multiple sizes but this one is a 205/65R15 (26x26x7)

$86 bucks
https://www.tirerecappers.com/tires/mud-terrain-tires/p23575r15-retread-all-star-ms-2/

This one looks even better, but is taller

$65 bucks
https://www.tirerecappers.com/tires/mud-terrain-tires/p23575r15-retread-all-star-ms-2/

Sun Jun 24, 2018 4:00 pm

I have had two sets of these...one on a s.c. ...then another set I purchased for my '59 mango..which I have yet to drive.
I did take the ones from the '59 and put them on my '66 13window for campout trip this winter..put about 200 miles on them.Not much to say other than they were loud on the hwy ..look pretty boss but will prob go a different route for the longhaul on the '59

Mon Jun 25, 2018 6:46 am

235/75/15 was the stock size on my little mazda b3000 (ford ranger). upgraded that to 265/75/15, a 30 inch tire.

Mon Jun 25, 2018 10:18 pm

epayne611 wrote: Just received my Starfire (Cooper) sf510s. 27x8.5x14.
Date code is December 2014, what do you guys think is an acceptable date for new tires?

Missed this somehow, and nobody else answered your query. I would not accept a tire that old if I had paid full price for a new set. Tire shops will shy away from a tire over six years old, and you are starting with less than half that time left on a brand new set.

Time to make some phone calls. Remember that old honey/vinegar adage, too.

Tue Jun 26, 2018 3:59 am

Also on tire age, you won't be able to get repairs on them when they reach 10 years old,shops wont touch them. I normally don't wear out tire's before they get too old, just replaced my bug tires 27 years old!
One of the 5 I just bought was almost 2 years old, made them get a new one.

Tue Jun 26, 2018 8:10 am

The 4 year old starfires I purchased were off eBay. These came from a large tire dealer who assured me in an email beforehand that all their tires were fresh ( I had asked for date codes...they wouldn’t give them). It was a bit of a battle getting them to take them back, I copied them on their own email and they finally agreed. I had also called up a bunch of tire mounting places and none would mount tires that were 4 years old.
I then called up simpletire, lady said she couldn’t check date codes either. I told her what I went through with the eBay seller. She then called warehouses and found fresh tires. She manually put the order in so that it would pull the tires from the farther warehouse with the newer tires.
I really like the look of the starfires, plus they are much taller than what I was running so the bus looks much better proportioned.

Tue Jun 26, 2018 12:33 pm

epayne611 wrote: The 4 year old starfires I purchased were off eBay. These came from a large tire dealer who assured me in an email beforehand that all their tires were fresh ( I had asked for date codes...they wouldn’t give them). It was a bit of a battle getting them to take them back, I copied them on their own email and they finally agreed. I had also called up a bunch of tire mounting places and none would mount tires that were 4 years old.
I then called up simpletire, lady said she couldn’t check date codes either. I told her what I went through with the eBay seller. She then called warehouses and found fresh tires. She manually put the order in so that it would pull the tires from the farther warehouse with the newer tires.
I really like the look of the starfires, plus they are much taller than what I was running so the bus looks much better proportioned.

Glad to hear you got it worked out. They are great tires.

Thu Jun 28, 2018 3:27 pm

225/75/15 was the biggest I could get on the stock height Westy.

Thu Jul 05, 2018 6:45 am

Those look nice! Look smaller than the 215 I've seen posted

Thu Jul 05, 2018 11:21 pm

rusbus wrote: I just installed these E78-14 STA Super Traxion Tires on my 1965 Danish army highroof. Most of the military-style tires on the vintage vehicle market are only available for larger wheel diameters. But the STA Super Traxions have the appropriate look and are available for 14" rims. According to my measurements they looked like they would fit, but it still felt like a bit of a gamble investing in a setup that hadn't been very well proven. I did find pics of one person running this setup, however, so thanks to Samba member dropgatedrinkery for posting pics of your single cab. These tires fit perfectly for me; no issues at all. Even the spare fits great behind the driver's seat.

I kinda think those are tires original to the USPS LLV's. Not too expensive. gotta be strong carcasses.

Fri Jul 06, 2018 6:58 am

I really wanted to run 15" on my 65, but those click so many boxes! And fit in the spare tire well....

Wed Aug 15, 2018 10:49 pm

After going thru all these, and other pages, and chatting with several peeps, I picked my tires. 205 75 15 Firestone Destination A/T. Pictured is the front tire that came on the bus.

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=704860