TheSamba.com :: View topic - What TIRES fit? The ultimate tire thread!

Mon Mar 11, 2024 10:27 am

16 in carrot rims with 215 x 55 x16 Michelin crossclimate 2 tires

[/url]

Fri Mar 15, 2024 10:51 pm

looking for reviews from those of you with Falken Wildpeaks. looking to upgrade my 1986 2wd's 14" stock steelies to 16", and before i choose a wheel i'd like to get some insight from those of you that have used the wildpeaks. i've got a small group of friends with a variety of vehicles (landcruisers, subarus) who swear by them, and i've got winterpeaks on my wifes vehicle for snow tires and i love them.

can i roll with wildpeaks on 16's without affecting my gearing or speedo? should i be looking for 15" wheels instead? i see a couple posts in the search of this thread, but they're a few years old

thanks in advance,

Sat Mar 16, 2024 9:09 am

danbeerpig wrote: looking for reviews from those of you with Falken Wildpeaks. looking to upgrade my 1986 2wd's 14" stock steelies to 16", and before i choose a wheel i'd like to get some insight from those of you that have used the wildpeaks. i've got a small group of friends with a variety of vehicles (landcruisers, subarus) who swear by them, and i've got winterpeaks on my wifes vehicle for snow tires and i love them.

can i roll with wildpeaks on 16's without affecting my gearing or speedo? should i be looking for 15" wheels instead? i see a couple posts in the search of this thread, but they're a few years old

thanks in advance,

I'm not able to give you in-site to your tire brand selection, but I see you also posted on another thread asking for thoughts.
I'm just gonna mention some stuff to give you something to consider or muddle about.

Background; My van had the original 14inch alloys, and when it came time to replace the tires, I was not happy with the choices or prices.
Also, my speedo read about 8mph fast and my odo was off.
I was also told more than once, that a stock van is gonna have trouble moving a larger whee/tire combo.

I managed to find some 15inch factory Audi alloys. They required machining out the center bores, spacers and longer bolts/studs and nuts. I did replace my front bolts with studs.
I wanted tires that were just slightly larger dia than the stock 14inch size, and chose 205/70-15. At the time, there was a wonderful selection of tires. The new tires (load rated) made my speedo/odo much closer to true, and my stock van had no problems moving them. In fact, handling and ride was better.
AND! The new tire/wheel combo with the spacers, weighed about 2lbs LESS than the original 14inch alloys!!

Then, some yrs later, I managed to find some nice 16inch factory Mercedes alloys. These only needed the lug holes drilled out. No spacers needed, the lug nuts happen to be the same as the Audi's, and the previously installed longer studs were fine, I was good to go.
UNTIL! I went in search of load rated tires in the size I was wanting, 205/65-16.
This was during the pandemic, so, things MIGHT be different now, but I had VERY few choices I was willing to entertain.
Ultimately, I did manage to find load rated tires in a brand that I was happy with. The new 16inch combo's are about the same weight as the 15's with spacers, and my speedo/odo are now very close to true.

Ugh, too much writing, think I need a nap....

Sat Mar 16, 2024 3:42 pm

do.dah wrote: danbeerpig wrote: looking for reviews from those of you with Falken Wildpeaks. looking to upgrade my 1986 2wd's 14" stock steelies to 16", and before i choose a wheel i'd like to get some insight from those of you that have used the wildpeaks. i've got a small group of friends with a variety of vehicles (landcruisers, subarus) who swear by them, and i've got winterpeaks on my wifes vehicle for snow tires and i love them.

can i roll with wildpeaks on 16's without affecting my gearing or speedo? should i be looking for 15" wheels instead? i see a couple posts in the search of this thread, but they're a few years old

thanks in advance,

UNTIL! I went in search of load rated tires in the size I was wanting, 205/65-16.
This was during the pandemic, so, things MIGHT be different now, but I had VERY few choices I was willing to entertain.

I've posted about these before but it's worth repeating in this quote. Great load rating, very reasonably priced.

That tire between two in the stock 14" size, a worn Wynstar on the left and a replacement spare Nexen.

Here mounted to a 16" Mercedes CLK alloy that needed only to have the lug holes drilled out.

No Wildpeak inifo for you, but I was considering them for my big van project that I sold before it reached the new tire stage.

Sun Mar 17, 2024 4:46 pm

Thanks to both of you for your replies, greatly appreciated!

Tue Mar 19, 2024 5:30 am

danbeerpig wrote: looking for reviews from those of you with Falken Wildpeaks. looking to upgrade my 1986 2wd's 14" stock steelies to 16", and before i choose a wheel i'd like to get some insight from those of you that have used the wildpeaks. i've got a small group of friends with a variety of vehicles (landcruisers, subarus) who swear by them, and i've got winterpeaks on my wifes vehicle for snow tires and i love them.

can i roll with wildpeaks on 16's without affecting my gearing or speedo? should i be looking for 15" wheels instead? i see a couple posts in the search of this thread, but they're a few years old

thanks in advance,

My next tire upgrade will be the Wildpeak A/T Trail. I have these on my Subaru Outback and just an all around good tire in rain, snow and dirt. They wear very well with tire rotations and are not too loud as the miles rack up.

Tue Mar 19, 2024 9:30 pm

to have an idea when switching tire size...

https://tiresize.com/converter/

Thu May 02, 2024 11:08 am

Dono Be wrote:
Here is a before and after pic... side by side of my new 215/65/16 on the 16"x7.5" Mercedes rims

Thanks for all the info on here.

Dono

2 questions.. 1. Stock height / full westy? 2. Any rubbing on front wheel at full turn? I'm looking to go from 15's to 16's and am trying to figure out tire size and this is my lead option, so would be very helpful to hear your experience so far.
Thanks!

Fri May 03, 2024 8:44 pm

eeebee wrote: 16 in carrot rims with 215 x 55 x16 Michelin crossclimate 2 tires

[/url]

How easy is it to find your van in a parking lot?

Mon May 13, 2024 3:55 pm

Anyone running Pirelli Scorpion Verde A/S 215/65R16 XL 102H 50 PSI 27"

Thu Jun 06, 2024 8:04 am

Any feedback on these Nokian? https://www.amazon.com/NOKIAN-100H-All-Season-Radial-Tire-215/dp/B07ND44TVX

There's a set of these new near me for a great price. Thinking they might be good for a cross country trip where 99% of travel is on pavement. Load rating seems adequate at 1764lbs.

Wed Jul 31, 2024 11:45 am

My Westy is in need of new shoes….considering 3 options. Currently have Nokian Hakkapelita C that are 10 years old with about 30k. Starting to show sidewall cracks and delamination.

First are the Thunderer Ranger R402 commercial van tires. Anyone have any experience with Thunderer tires? They have a variety of sizes and all with excellent load ratings. I just never heard of them. Are they on par with Milestar and Generals? Or an upgrade like Firestone and Goodyear?

Next are the Firestone Transforce. Solid reputable company. Haven’t read about too many folks here running them.

I had Michelin CrossClimates on my Wolfie but replaced them with the Continental Vanco 4Seasons when Michelin recalled their previous version due to it not meeting the Snowflake rating. I’m still considering these as they’re probably the top of the line tires you can buy.

Any inputs appreciated.

Wed Jul 31, 2024 1:47 pm

Ride-Fly wrote: My Westy is in need of new shoes…. considering 3 options. Thunderer Ranger R402
Next are the Firestone Transforce
Continental Vanco 4

Out of that list, the Vanco 4. Although, I'm biased because my Westy sported those for about 6 years. Replaced them with Cooper Discoverers; only reasons for that are 1) Discount had to special order the Vanco 4s, while the Coopers were immediately available; 2) Coopers were slightly less $ and I needed 5, thus saved a fair bit of coin.

The Vanco 4 is a great tire.

Wed Jul 31, 2024 4:26 pm

kamzcab86 wrote: Ride-Fly wrote: My Westy is in need of new shoes…. considering 3 options. Thunderer Ranger R402
Next are the Firestone Transforce
Continental Vanco 4

Out of that list, the Vanco 4. Although, I'm biased because my Westy sported those for about 6 years. Replaced them with Cooper Discoverers; only reasons for that are 1) Discount had to special order the Vanco 4s, while the Coopers were immediately available; 2) Coopers were slightly less $ and I needed 5, thus saved a fair bit of coin.

The Vanco 4 is a great tire.

I love the Vancos on my Wolfie, but they’re being discontinued :cry:

Otherwise, I’d have gone with them again. I’m thinking I’m going to have go with the CrossClimates. Great tires too. But muy espensive 😎

Sat Oct 05, 2024 11:59 am

Currently I've built these wheels to 8" front and 9" rear.

I'm looking for tires.
I see Tristar Eric on his race van has 215/50/17 on 7.5 front wheels.
I'm looking at 275/40/17 for the 9" rear wheels.
Tire calculator says the diameters would be
25.46 tall front
25.65 tall rear.

This is about as close to a match i have found so far. Rear may require a spacer or that I grind off some of the pinch weld of the trailing arm and weld it back up with flat plate. Spacer means a slight poke out of the wheel arch. Not a deal breaker....I have no fender on one side at the moment and ...well I could do cosmetic rebuild surgery on the non damaged side and just rebuild the damaged side a bit wider...or just let the tire poke out .25-.50 of an inch.

If I go to 225/50 front i can't find a matching hight rear, or a match I feel is acceptable.

Opinions ?

Fri Oct 25, 2024 2:25 pm

eeebee wrote: 16 in carrot rims with 215 x 55 x16 Michelin crossclimate 2 tires

[img]

The follow-up, I've had these on for almost 6 months and they've worked out great. They're actually identical diameter to the original alloy wheels. They are great all-around tire.

Sun Nov 03, 2024 5:46 pm

Hi,

Just replaced my yoko geolander GO15 last week. Those tires have been good to me, no complaints. I wore them out. Replacements are Kumho road venture AT52. Sort of newish model. Supposedly better wear characteristics than the AT51.

Why I chose them … they have a higher load rating than the geolanders. And the price was better.

I mounted and balanced last Friday. So not much to say about them except they handled heavy rain and hwy just fine. In the pics there’s one with a representative reading on the machine before weights added.

Mon Nov 04, 2024 5:03 pm

Another data point for the thread. Yoko Geolandar A/T in 215/70 R16 installed on Mobelwagen Interceptor 512. My goal was the largest practical diameter with no rubbing, and no major modifications needed. I am running Schwenk Westy springs, which supposedly give a sub-1" lift.

Overall tire diameter is 27.9 inches. Did some parking lot lock-to-lock maneuvers and no rubbing. Went over some large speed bumps at various speeds and tires did not touch the wheel arches. Seems like 27.9" works nicely with zero rubbing observed.

I like that the Interceptor wheels accept the OEM chrome hub caps. I do wish they came in a 6.5" width though instead of 7.5". A 6.5 inch wheel would be better suited to the 215 tire section width.

Sat Nov 30, 2024 9:57 am

Ride-Fly wrote: I love the Vancos on my Wolfie, but they’re being discontinued :cry:

I don't know where that rumor came from, because my Continental dealership says it's not true. The Vanco is one of their best-selling tires. I just installed four new ones 195/70 15 . . .

Sat Nov 30, 2024 10:04 am

I stand corrected - the Vanco 4 Season IS being discontinued :-(
Ergo, my next set will be General Grabber HD Vans.

https://generaltire.com/tires/light-trucksuv/grabb...20HD%20Van